Hero and Tree ~ a Tale of Two for Many

Sometimes someone comes along who makes sense out of a horrible tragedy.  He or she injects hope, love and even normalcy to an otherwise nightmarish scenario.  Today, on the 10-year anniversary of the mindless, hateful, evil and tragic attack on the Twin Towers in New York City, I salute one of those heroes.  He took the simple yet almost insurmountable task of restoring life where so many lives had been stamped out.  Today, I bring you the story, in his own words, of Richard Cabo, Director of the Arthur Ross Citywide Nursery and the "Survivor Tree."

"I had just started working at the Parks Department on September 11 when they brought the 'Survivor Tree' to the Citywide Nursery.  During the cleanup at Ground Zero, someone noticed a branch in the rubble of bricks, metal and glass.  When they brought it here, it was just a stump except for one branch with a few leaves, and there were still ashes where there used to be the crown of a Callery pear tree."

"I thought it would never make it.  I helped nurse it back to life.  We stabilized it, pruned it, fertilized it and gave it water, but at a certain point, the tree took care of itself."

"I was honored to be there when the tree was returned to the memorial site last December.  It now stands over 30 feet tall and flowers in the spring.  It really symbolizes the recovery of America, the way the country, and the city in particular, bounced back."

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This blogmeister stands and salutes Richard Cabo and every other American hero of that tragic day ~ whether they were one of the fallen, one who suffered the loss of a family member, friend or colleague, one who fought the good fight that day and many days after, or one who is helping rebuild.  God Bless America.  I love my country, as blemished as it is, there is no other place I'd rather live.

(note from the blogmeister ~ Richard's words and the photos were taken directly from the August 1, 2011 issue of PEOPLE magazine., pg 64)