Thank you for this moving post.

----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2001 1:57 PM
Subject: Re: Flowers of the forrest


> I had some errands to do and I was uptown across from St. Pats the
following
> is what I saw of a fire captains funeral.
> I passed St.Patricks at noon yesterday;a beautiful day ;cloudless sunny
> perfect fall day in New York
> the great doors of the church  swung open as the sounds of muffled drums
> rounded the corner
>  a little boy in his sunday best clutched his mommys hand as an large red
> fire truck  along curbside
> uniformed fire fighters lowered a flag draped coffin to the pre position
of
> their commrades on the steps.
> A team of white Belgian horses with empty waggon accompanied the fire
> truck.The horses were in black plume and crepe they appeared wild eyed and
> snorting.
>   The crowd pressed forward as the white hat  fire captain slowly
presented
> the battered fire helmet to the widow who was black veiled  and still
> clutching her sons hand.
> She became unsteady in the moment and had to be assisted under elbow by
the
> fire captain.    She then  beckons to her little boy to recieved his
Daddys
> battered helmet.
> The little boy did so with both hands as if were recieving a crown ..
> .many in the crowd are choking  back tears
>  The six year old now  turns heel to face the procession of the coffin
with
> his  mom still under arm of the fire captain the sea of family and
> firefighters fall into position.
> Then  there was a cry crack to  command  attention as a phlanx of kilted
> pipers skirl the air with  the sounds of bagpipes.
> The procession of uniform and family begin to mount the steps to a  a
> mournfull aire "Flowers of the Forrest"
> The little boy mounts the steps  behind the flag draped coffin with both
> hands holding the batterd helmet as a few in the   crowd call out "courage
"
> There is not a dry eye.
>     With flags snapping at half mast the  procession enters the massive
doors
> and drifts into  the gothic spiritual   darkness of this holy place.
> With that my cell phone rings and informs me of a meeting in ten minuets I
> have to be at . I grab cab and stare listless out the window .
>
> The capatain was 33 his pretty wife was 26 their little boy is six .
> There are 20,000 children affected by this attack
>  When Tich Nacht Hahn the famous buddhist and zen poet  (sp?) was attacked
by
> pirates in the Yellow sea he did not sit SatSeng(sp) he fought with all
the
> cunning and daing God had given him so did the passengers on the pennsy
> flight that crashed ..our path is obvious; our resolve is deep
> Pray for peace in the hearts of all our women and men overseas right now ;
> that they can get the job done.
>