Follow Up Edition – 9/11 Stories Sent or Told to Me (Originally posted on 9/13)

To: TapRooT® Friends/Experts

From: Mark Paradies

Subject: Follow up on SPECIAL EDITION: Terrorist Response

Cc:

Bcc:

The response to my e-mail has helped me see how many good, kind, wonderful people there are that really care about their fellow man.

I won’t reprint all the responses here because I don’t want to overwhelm people with things to read.

I will pass along information about people who are missing and in need of prayer for their rescue and for their loved ones.

I will also pass along a first-hand report from my brother (who was 4 blocks away and lives in Greenwich Village – a part of what I think of as the dust zone) of his experience.

WHAT PEOPLE CAN DO AND HAVE DONE

I have received some wonderful prayers and expressions of sympathy from people from around the world. I think that for most of us, this is all we can do to help.

I want everyone to know that these include places and cultures FAR from the US including people from Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, and the Middle East.

These thoughts and prayers come from people of many different faiths, including Muslims, who are shocked by the tremendous loss and have trouble understanding how someone could commit such an act.

I want to keep this hope and spirit alive so in this section, I will pass along the names of people who need prayers or know of people who need prayers.

PRAYERS NEEDED

These three e-mails are passed along to add to your prayer list:

– – –

From Mary Lundgren:

Mark,

Genuity Inc. lost 3 technicians in Tuesday’s tragedy at the WTC.

Mary Lundgren

– – –

From James Johnston:

Our neighbor next door is still missing from the World Trade Center.

James C. Johnston, PE , CSP

AHPC Director- Safety,Occupational Health & Loss Prevention

– – –

From Bruce Brown:

I have a brother-in-law MIA. He worked on the 103rd floor of the 2nd

building to be hit. Glad your brother is okay.

I’m in Argentina & I am still in shock.

Thanks for the prayers and concern…we pray for the best but are prepared

for the worst.

Take care & thanks again,

Bruce

– – –

MY BROTHER’S STORY

Chris is five years younger than I am.

He lives in Greenwich Village.

He has a Ph.D. in metallurgy and is an intellectual property attorney.

He works just 4 blocks from one of the World Trade Center Towers.

He was walking to work in the morning and he saw people pointing, and looking into the air. When he looked up he saw a giant hole in one of the WTC Towers with fire coming out. He said he really could NOT believe what he was seeing. So he went to his office.

Shortly thereafter he heard that a second plane had just hit the other tower. He went to his boss and they decided that people should go home. They started telling people who were all standing around in disbelief.

Everyone went down to the lobby of the building. He says that he was in the lobby of his building when the first WTC Tower collapsed. The dust and papers blotted out the sky. They waited until the dust cloud passed and started to subside and they decided that this was the time to leave.

He had made it a couple of blocks when the second tower collapsed. He could see the second dust cloud coming so he ducked into the lobby of another building and waited for the second cloud to pass and clear somewhat.

He then continued north with the crowd and eventually made his way to his apartment.

The firm he works for is still closed for business. Their building is too close to “ground zero.” They are working out of their homes until the recovery and clean-up efforts are complete enough to make their building accessible.

Chris’s apartment is South of 14th street – inside the “dust zone.” He has to go through checkpoints to go home if he travels outside Lower Manhattan.

Of course, Chris gave me a detailed account of the metallurgy of steel and how the extreme heat from an aviation fuel fire would cause a phase transformation in high-strength steel and cause it to lose its strength (as opposed to the “melting” described on TV). This was the cause of the collapse of the top of the towers. The momentum of the debris from the top of the tower was then enough to cause the collapse to continue down the building.

I just wish all the other stories could turn out as well as Chris’s story. Unfortunately, it looks as if there will be thousands of casualties.

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

Let our prayers be with those who are still wondering about their loved ones and acquaintances who are still missing and those searching for them. Perhaps more miracles are possible. They just found some firemen alive a few minutes ago.

Once the final toll is known, let our prayers go out to those suffering from loss and those who will be permanently changed by the horror that they have witnessed.

Let us also remember the heroes – some that we know about and some that we will never hear about – that helped, or were trying to help, those at the scene in New York and Washington.

Also, let us remember the heroics of the crew and passengers of the high-jacked jets.

Evil will always exist in the world. We must remember that there is also tremendous good and that most people are kind and loving. I think that is what makes evil so hard to understand.

ONE LAST IDEA

Several people have suggested that we (System Improvements and all the e-newsletter readers) somehow volunteer our efforts to help with the investigation.

I’m not sure what I think about this.

First, I think that there is a potential for us to contribute to the effort.

I saw the “increased security measures” that were proposed yesterday (no visitors in the secure area of the terminal, no pocket knives allowed on board, and no curbside check-in) and I thought that these measures would not do anything to prevent what happened or to prevent future incidents.

So, I think that someone obviously needs help.

But with the biggest investigation in the history of the US already started, it is almost impossible to find the right person to volunteer. AND that person is already, no doubt, overwhelmed with all the “help” they can stand.

This reminds me of what I advise people in the 5-Day TapRooT® Course. You have to prepare for the investigation BEFORE the accident happens.

Perhaps we have already helped by training some of the investigators in the TapRooT® System? This is probably the only contribution that we can (and probably have) made to the investigation.

But if anyone has any ideas of ways to help, I am ready to listen.

THANKS AGAIN, to all for the wonderful e-mails that I have been receiving. Continue to pray and keep your hopes up.

Mark Paradies
Partner & President
System Improvements, Inc.
238 S. Peters Road, Suite 301
Knoxville, TN 37923
865-539-2139