Let us not forget (Sept 11)

New Yorkers and the rest of the world are paying their respects to those lost on this day 13 years ago. I will spend the day thinking about two New Yorkers I met several weeks following the Sept 11 attacks.

I was a journalism student when I interviewed Kris McFerren and Dorothy Cubas. Kris lost her fiance, Brad, and Dorothy lost her son, Kenneth, that day. Both Brad and Kenneth worked in the Twin Towers. Brad Vadas, 37, was a senior vice president at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and was one of the firm's top traders. Kenneth Cubas, 48, was a vice president for Fiduciary Trust and died attempting to help others escape the South Tower.

It's been a very long time since I talked to Kris. But I remember the way she looked when she talked about Brad. Her eyes would light up. Her voice would get soft. I'm sure all she could think about in those weeks following Brad's death was a future that would never be. She would never see Brad again. She would never be his wife. So she told me she spent a lot of time skating, finding solace alone on the ice.

I still exchange Christmas cards with Dorothy. The Staten Island native lives in the same house. I know her address so well I've memorized it. Last weekend, the corner of Richmond Terrace and Dongan Street was renamed in honor of her son, who is considered a local hero.

Today, I remember Kris and Dorothy and all the individuals who lost loved ones.


Explaining 9/11 to my son.
The worst day of Steve Kandell's life is now NYC's hottest tourist attraction. (BuzzFeed)