[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14210-14211]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




LOOKING BACK: YOUNG WOMAN'S LETTER TO HER MOTHER LOST ON SEPTEMBER 11, 
                                  2001

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 15, 2015

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, as we remember those we lost 
14 years ago, I submit one of the most poignant expressions I've seen 
since that grave day. Written by Anjunelly Jean-Pierre as a letter to 
her mother, whose life was lost on 9/11, this moving tribute both shows 
how inspiring her mom was to her and how her memory will be 
everlasting.

                          Letters to the Lost

                      (Collected by Sheila Weller)

       On a clear day 10 years ago, nearly 3,000 people died. They 
     were the sisters, brothers, boyfriends and mothers of young 
     women who mourn them still--and who write intimate messages 
     to them here.
       Dear Mommy, last night I made a whole chicken with 
     vegetables for dinner. You would have been proud.
       My children, Brianna, seven, and Elijah, eight--the 
     children you never met--loved it.
       When I cook, I remember the meals you made. I was the only 
     kid who had manicotti for lunch on the first-grade school 
     trip. Everyone else had a turkey or peanut-butter-and-jelly 
     sandwich, but you were then the housekeeper for an Italian 
     family, so you learned to make things they liked. Eventually 
     your cooking talent landed you--an immigrant from the 
     Dominican Republic with an elementary school education who 
     had to learn English from scratch--a chef's job at Cantor 
     Fitzgerald, on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center.
       In the summer of 2001, I was planning to join the military. 
     And then September 11 happened. It took me years to come to 
     terms with the fact that you were gone. I actually kept your 
     phone number in my cell phone

[[Page 14211]]

     until 2009! I had to keep you ``alive'' so that I myself 
     could survive.
       But after you died, I tapped into the passion for cooking 
     you'd instilled in me. I went to culinary school, then was a 
     sous-chef on Emeril Lagasse's show Emeril Green. Now I have 
     my own catering business. The meal my clients like best is 
     the Dominican rice-and-peas dish you made me as comfort food. 
     I guess the love and heritage comes through.
       I wish you could see your grandchildren. Brianna looks so 
     much like I did at her age. As for Elijah, he has your 
     perfectionism. I remember you said, ``Children should have 
     names that are strong and great in meaning.'' I gave Brianna 
     her middle name, Maxima, in honor of you. And to keep your 
     spirit alive, every Friday night we have tea and a relaxing 
     talk about life, just like you and I did, to mark the end of 
     a long week of work and school.
       Being a single mom running a one-person business hasn't 
     always been easy. I sometimes find myself driving boxes of 
     cheesecakes and pound cakes to a customer and then dashing 
     off to pick up the kids at school. But you, too, were a 
     single mom, one who'd conquered so many challenges. You've 
     remained my guiding force. And you always will be.
       Anjunelly Jean-Pierre, 29, of Dumfries, Virginia, lost her 
     mother, Maxima. Today she is a mom and owner of Max & Jax 
     Cafe.

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