I remember where I was when the news came on over the show I was watching...
We were getting ready to move... Josh was just a baby.
I remember wondering about the families and people I never knew that lost their lives.
A few years after that day in 2006, I found a project online.
Project 2996.
And I signed up.
In honor of the fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts and grandmothers whose faces and names suddenly became numbers on a list, I blog.
Every year, I remember. I remove that number and remember
Jerry Devito. Every year, I search the internet and hope to find out more about him... This year, I didn't. Some years, I do. It doesn't seem like it's been 10 years...
At the same time, it seems like it was forever ago.
And I still remember.
May he never return to just being a part of the list.
Here is my original post about Jerry...
Jerry DeVito. He was 67. That's what
THE LIST says. It says that he was 67 and that he was a Driver. That's it. A name, and an age, and what he did. I looked. I looked. I looked so HARD....
I
couldn't find
A N Y T H I N G.
(ETA: I found new information this year that says Jerry was actually 66.)
Is that what 9~11 has become?
THE LISTIt has over 2996 names on it. Name after name, after name.They are all there, in neat little letters. All tidy. So precise.
But I
REMEMBER
m o r e......
heart wrenching red eyed puffy faced snotty nosed dripping chin
M
O
R
E
Jerry. He was 67. He was a Father. He was an Uncle. He was a Friend. He was a Husband. He was a Son. He was There. He was alive.
was.
Now, he's part of it.
Part of
THE LIST.I want him to be
MORE.
Because he's been lost in all those letters, and ages, and places, and jobs. Lost in that horrible cloud of grey suffocation. Lost in the roar of plane engines. Lost even in the flags that flew for months after.
I did find a few things about Jerry.
Things written over three years ago by people who knew him. loved him.
miss
HIM.
I don't know why there wasn't
MORE.
Maybe those people don't need to rethink and revisit that day. I don't think that I would want to if I were them. I don't think that they have forgotten. I don't think that their pain has lessened. I know that for them,
Jerry IS more.(ETA: This is evident in words written years ago by Jerry's Nephew) "
Uncle Jerry: For never passing judgement on others; for always being there; for your love, friendship and smile I am forever grateful. You are loved and missed very much!" ~Albert Carrozza, nephew)
He was always making others laugh.
He was always taking care of friends.
He was a Baseball fan.
He was giving.
He brought donuts EVERY TUESDAY.
He was a hard worker.
He loved life.
He cherished.
He savored.
He told really good stories.
He worked in Hollywood once upon a time, and owned a cigar store once.
Everyone came to his retirement party even though he really never did REALLY retire.
I know Jerry. I had Grampas like him. Always there with a smile, a laugh.
Hardworking, and full of integrity.
You know Jerry.
He's the man next door. The guy who you can count on to follow through.
I know that you have heard it before.
Live everyday like it is your last.
I didn't know Jerry,
but I can tell you that from what I was able to learn about him,
I am pretty sure he did.
I have lived by this rule for quite some time now.
I think though, that I will be adding Donut tuesday to my list. It's not much, but it's a sweet way to remember. To keep Jerry from being swallowed up.
by
THE LIST.
It's easy to say that you will remember, but it's easy to let the names and the ages and the places and the planes and the news and the interviews push the
i n d i v i d u a l
back into
THE LIST.To the Friends, and Family, and Nieces, and Nephews, and Daughter, and Son, and Grandchildren, and Wife, and Co-Workers..... I have not forgotten.
I have flown the flag since that day. It never comes down. I have added Jerry's name to the edge of that flag. And we have Donut Tuesday at our house now. The second Tuesday of every month. May his memory bring you smiles and good thoughts.
™
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