[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 121 (Monday, September 25, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ON THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 25, 2006

  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Ms. Leslie Blair and the 
hundreds of other individuals from Massachusetts who lost loved ones on 
September 11, 2001. This September 11th, I attended an event at the 
Massachusetts State House with Ms. Blair and other families who lost 
loved ones on September 11, 2001 to commemorate and celebrate their 
lives. The day of remembrance and reflection was filled with heart 
wrenching testimonials of loss, powerful tributes to inspirational 
courage, and life affirming stories of love and family. Ms. Blair's 
testimonial about her sister, Susan Leigh Blair, was truly moving.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include Ms. Blair's remarks 
in the Congressional Record.
  Good morning. My name is Leslie Blair. My sister Susan Leigh Blair 
was one of the beautiful faces you just saw in that extraordinarily 
moving tribute video. Sue was killed on September 11, 2001, as she went 
about her normal routine on an exceptionally beautiful Tuesday in the 
South Tower of the World Trade Center.
  That video is such a moving tribute to the beautiful souls we lost on 
horrible and hateful day. Now I have seen a lot of beautiful memorials 
to the tragedy of September 11, but in static, granite ways, they tend 
to honor the memory of a day where nearly 3000 vibrant individuals 
died. This video montage honors the lives, not the deaths, of our loved 
ones. In those faces, we see the joy of today. And in those eyes, we 
see the promise for tomorrow, a tomorrow that never came, and a promise 
that could not be fulfilled.
  My son, Nicolas is three. He and I watched this video together, and 
he asked me what it was. Looking at the smiles, the celebrations, the 
graduations and weddings, the sun and the sea, the embraces, the 
families, he looked at all of these lives, and he said, ``It's too 
much.'' And as you and I know too well, the loss of one is too much. 
This video memorializes the loss, not just of individuals, but their 
lives, their promises, their hopes and their joy, and it's just too 
much.
  I was asked to speak today about the value of one life and what one 
life means--how powerful and impactful one life can be. And like you, I 
know what I have lost because Susan isn't here. But magnify that loss 
by all of the families and friends and factor in thousands of coworkers 
and clients from a today five years ago, and then somehow add in the 
tomorrows that will never come, and I mean, our country, our world has 
truly suffered an amazing blow by not having them here. What have we 
lost as a society because just one of these beautiful smiling faces is 
no longer here? That is a big question. Let me tell you how I tried to 
answer it.
  I started off by reading recent commentary by some of today' s most 
intelligent economists, authors, politicians, sociologists. Surely the 
war on terror, the unease and unrest, the social upheaval can somehow 
be related to our loss. But that didn't seem to answer my question very 
well. So I turned to the great philosophers and thinkers from a world 
before 9/11 to see how they had answered that question. The meaning of 
life--very academic and metaphysical, but, in fact, not very helpful in 
answering my question.

  Then, I looked through my copy of the Portraits of 9/11 book--a 
consolidation of many of the NY Times obituaries. Certainly we lost 
smart, successful people in the prime years of their contributions to 
the world. We lost bankers, investment brokers, insurance executives, 
servicemen and women, rescue workers, flight crew, corporate 
management, consultants, technicians, hockey scouts. To lose the 
brightest, most productive individuals in a society certainly has an 
economic impact, a social impact. But that didn't seem to answer the 
question either.
  Then I looked my copy of We Remember, a compilation of tributes from 
Mass 9/11 Fund members, from us. There I found the heart wrenching loss 
of children, spouses, siblings, parents, friends, and more photos of 
life and love. I tried, but I couldn't read it cover to cover. So I 
flipped around. I landed on Capt. John Ogonowski's tribute, and in 
there, John's family included a poem by Bessie Anderson Stanley. In 
1904, Bessie entered a magazine contest and won $250--so maybe not a 
great thinker of her time, but her definition of success started to get 
at what we lost.

       He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, 
     and loved much; who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the 
     respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; 
     who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has 
     left the world better than he found it, whether an improved 
     poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has always 
     looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; 
     whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction.

  And I read the rest of John's pages, and I read Ann's pages, and 
Ace's pages, and Fred's pages, and Betty's pages, and Robin's pages, 
and it was easier to read more and more pages of these beautiful people 
whose lives, by Mrs. Stanley's definition were clearly successful. 
Their lives inspired others and their memories have been a blessing to 
those who loved them.
  And I read the little booklet in front where I found pages of 
scholarships and funds, awards, forums, lectures, and music. These 
beautiful souls, through the inspiration and blessing of their living, 
of having been here and made a mark, these people are still 
contributing to society today. They are no longer corporate executives 
or technicians or bankers, or hockey scouts but through their memory 
and in honor of their lives, we are able to perpetuate their success.
  My sister's scholarship rewards teachers so that her passionate 
commitment to children and her unfulfilled dream of teaching can live 
on. Mark Bavis' foundation provides college funding and leadership 
training. Todd Hill's scholarship awards sportsmanship and 
perseverance. The list goes on. Surely the promise of Susan and Mark 
and Todd has not died.
  So at this point in my research, I abandoned my original question, 
because inspired by these individuals and how much they were loved and 
how unique they were and how their promises could be fulfilled, I think 
I found a more important question. If we, as individuals, incorporate 
the spirit of our loved ones, their vibrancy, their vitality, their 
potential, their love, can we not change the world? Can we not increase 
the potential we had before 9/11 by carrying the potential of our loved 
ones in our hearts and in our lives and in our own successes?
  We all know, too well, the devastating impact of a few evil 
individuals. But we, as individuals, can and are counteracting that 
evil impact. In honor of those vibrant successful lives, we can make a 
more significant impact on society, in our communities, our schools, 
our businesses, by our own individual actions.
  And I think back to that video, the smiles of a today that has passed 
and the hope for a tomorrow that will never come. And I remember the 
success described by Mrs. Stanley. Surely our loved ones left a mark on 
the world in their own right. And we, by loving them and remembering 
them, make their mark deeper. And we, by doing that, make our own mark. 
Honoring the characteristics that we loved about them and carrying 
those characteristics into our today's, do we not carry our loved ones 
into the future? We have the opportunity today to continue their 
success. And despite our loss, or maybe because of it, we have the 
opportunity to live our individual lives successfully, as if tomorrow 
may never come. Individually, yes, together certainly, we can leave the 
world better than we found it, as they did. And we can give their 
promise for tomorrow, through our own promise, to those who love us.

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