Dear Editor:
"There was a time when the world asked ordinary men to do extraordinary things."
Tuesday, September 11, 2001 marked a day:
When people did not talk of the time of day;
People just spoke of day and night.
When people did not talk specific cities or states;
People only talked about Americans.
When leaders did not speak of political party lines;
Leaders talked only about what needs to be done.
A day when no one asked for help;
The help just arrived and kept on arriving.
Tuesday, September 11, 2001 marked a day when:
Thousands of uniformed and non-uniformed individuals worked shoulder to shoulder
No one spoke of lunch breaks, or eight hour days, or of clocking out of work.
People just kept working and working and working.
People didn’t ask if there were any survivors;
People just asked what they had to do to get the survivors out.
Workers spoke of the urgency of how to get survivors out of harms way,
While the workers themselves thrust life and limb into the danger zone.
On Tuesday, September 11, 2001:
There was no hate at "Ground Zero," nor were there any ripples of hate in surrounding communities.
Only Hope, Compassion and Bravery rippled from that area to the North, South, East and West.
Now that some time of reflection has passed, and the President has raised the Flag to full mast, and as our people continue to pray for the victims, survivors, heroes and their families, we need to reflect on and take pride in our own community’s efforts. Efforts which assisted our great Nation in time of need.
We must now find time to extend our hands in gratitude to Jersey City’s heroes who inspired us all as we watched them give of themselves. Thanks to the Office of Emergency Management. Thanks to all Jersey City Policemen, Firemen, Medical Personnel and City Employees. Thanks to all the private organizations and businesses. And thanks to all the citizens of Jersey City whose cooperation made an extremely difficult job a little less difficult.
Lastly thank you and God Bless you Mayor Cunningham for your unwavering leadership and coordination of all concerned.
L. Harvey Smith
Council President