October - November 2002 Edition 

Borough Remembers 9-11 With Sadness & Resolve By Chris Neidenberg Though we may be more than a year removed from the horrific terror attacks which struck our nation - and hit close to home - on Sept. 11, 2001, for many of us, the events will always seem as though they happened yesterday. The images will forever be seared into our collective memories.    These certainly were the feelings expressed by four ministers presiding over a dignified - yet moving - ecumenical service arranged a year to the day by the municipality next to the veterans memorial in front of Borough Hall, and warmly embraced by some 200 residents.    The roughly 45-minute service - marked the one-year anniversary of the series of traumatic events which have forever changed the way we Americans go about our daily living - and ended on a hopeful note. On the eve of this somber ceremony, the Borough Council limited all discussion during its Sept. 10 meeting to residents' reflections of that day. Mayor David L. Ganz explained that the council decided conducting business as usual on the anniversary's eve was inappropriate.    On that fateful morning, for the first time since British troops wrought havoc and destruction upon our shores during the War of 1812, hostile forces - operating with the sanction of a foreign government - waged direct suicide attacks on territory within the continental United States. Their acts killed scores of unsuspecting and innocent Americans. Islamic terrorists, backed by a rogue government controlling Afghanistan, hijacked four commercial airliners and staged clandestine missile-style assaults on two very important sites in New York and Virginia. Their dastardly deeds killed thousands of U.S. citizens, along with visiting foreigners from at least 91 nations.    In the terrorists' wake, well over 3,500 people lost their lives. The victims included WTC employees and visitors (estimated at just over 2,400), as well as civilian and military Pentagon office workers. Most of these victims were average people just starting what, they had no reason to believe, would be anything other than a normal work day.     The World Trade Center assault also inflicted a tragic local toll. Four Fair Lawn residents, either working in or doing business at the site, perished. Yet the disaster also brought out the best in Fair Lawn's volunteers, who either raced into Manhattan to help at the site, or aided in obtaining donations of supplies needed for the massive recovery effort.    On this relatively cool and pleasant evening, the ceremonies began when a fire department honor guard presented colors. Representatives from the municipality's various emergency services then lowered the American flag flying high above borough grounds to half staff.    Four ministers from churches of various faiths followed. They offered brief remarks, quoted biblical passages and asked those atttending to pray for the families of the four local victims. The Rev. Lee Morris, with Van Riper Ellis Baptist Church, lamented that America lost much of its innocence on that fateful day. "We felt vulnerable. We felt fragile. We felt exposed," said Morris, recalling being immediately alerted to the attack by a staff member, and staying riveted to the television throughout the day. "Things like that just didn't happen - at least they didn't happen here." Morris added that the "little pit" which has become of "Ground Zero" - a term used in nuclear warfare and now commonly applied to the area closest to the former towers site - symbolizes the "formless void" many people have felt in the wake of the attacks. The once bustling region was full of life and business activity, before the terrorist onslaught reduced it to a huge pile of rubble covering thousands of dead bodies.    A round-the-clock cleanup effort, launched by dedicated workers, completely cleared the area of all debris by early May. Father Ron Pecce, of St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church, spoke on behalf of Fair Lawn Rabbi Jonathan Wohl, who could not attend the proceedings. Peace himself suffered a tremendous personal loss that day upon learning of the death of Father Mychal Judge. The popular chaplain of the New York City Fire Department died inside the trade center while ministering to dying firemen. Judge served as a mentor to Pecce while both worked in clergy posts in New Jersey. Though men of different faiths, Pecce said Wohl asked that he read a passage from the Holy Scriptures important to both the Catholic and Jewish religions. He quoted from the Third Psalm, also known as the Psalm of David, which asks us to have "Trust in God in Time of Danger." "I call to the Lord for help, and from his sacred hill, he answered me," said the priest. "I laid down to sleep and I woke up, not tired, because the Lord sustains me." Morris vowed that God will lead the way in helping the nation move on from the horrific tragedy. "This is God," said an emotional Morris. "We need to remember that God is not stumped, and God will not be stopped."    At the ceremony's conclusion, two members of the police and auxiliary police departments raised the flag to its former perch - perhaps a symbol of better days ahead. A bell then rang twice, at intervals equaling the elapsed time between the separate south and north tower attacks, and the event came to a quiet end..   Note: Mr. Neidenberg is a talented local writer looking for a job. If you have a job tip for him, send an e- mail to chrisneidenberg@hotmail.com