Labor Day, September 5, 2011, tribute is being paid to New Yorkers. The reprobates who masterminded and carried out the slaughter of 9/11, chose the wrong city.

The plan was that the murders would be so horrific, the destruction of the Twin Towers, so devastating that New Yorkers would bow down in submission. It did not happen. The murderers died in vain. New York is still standing. The Towers are being rebuilt. Did I mention that the 72 virgins are nowhere to be found? Keep looking boys, as you wipe the sweat from your brows, in the non-air conditioned place you now call home.

I just stated that New York was the wrong city to choose. Back on September 15, 2001, in “Thoughts Of A Proud American,” I wrote:

For the foreseeable future, we are all New Yorkers. We have all become

our brothers’ keepers. Let us as adults show the children who are weeping, that we have now dried our tears. Weeping has been replaced by a great resolve to make a difference. Those who chose to import terror to the USA overreached, and grossly miscalculated. New York was not the city to have chosen for this barbaric act. New York is a city of fierce warriors who will not cower under their beds. Instead of hiding under the sheets, New Yorkers came out in force to help their fellow men and women.  “Evil,” whose purpose it is to highlight “Goodness” had served its purpose. Goodness poured out in torrents both from within and outside of New York.

I have not changed my opinion. It is true that some, mainly politicians, have subsequently chosen to, if not to cower, at least bend down low, to those who mean no good for New York, or America. That “fella” who goes by the name of “political correctness,” which I interpret to mean, I don’t want to lose those valuable donations, has caused many a politician to forget his or her true constituency – “we the people,” not just those flashing the “In God We Trust” dollars. However, although I could be wrong, I don’t think that this type of politician is reflecting the views of real New Yorkers.

It is only in looking through the contents of my book for references to New York, that I began to realize that I recorded some real tidbits of information, such as the following:

Saturday, 10/27/01

One good piece of news that I just saw is that a Polish immigrant from

Minneapolis, MN, died and left $1 million dollars to the people of New York, in memory of 9/11/01. This man lived very frugally and left his large estate for an immensely worthy cause. Hopefully, his faith and patriotism will not be in vain.

Prior to 9/11, I could have been accurately called a sports nut. One of the residual effects of 9/11, is that unfortunately, I lost my avid interest in sports. I have not regained it. Back in 2001, because of 9/11, and my “adoption” of New York, I was even rooting for the Yankees. I recorded:

Tuesday, 10/30/01

Finally the Yankees won! I personally believe that those emaciated bats

we saw on display, were not being wielded by the real Yankees. The CIA is

not stating it, but I do believe that we had a case of “Invasion of the Body

Snatchers!” The real Yankees were able to escape to the curative confines of

Yankee stadium. Their fans revived them, and wiped away the last traces of that pod-like substance. It did not hurt that the President was there to show his support. I think that he was the Yankees secret weapon. When they saw how perfectly he pitched that first ball, they were inspired to go out there and “win one for the Gipper” – not to mention winning one for the real Yankee fans, and all of we faux Yankee fans!

The team had to be further inspired by the sight of that Flag that was rescued from the ruins of WTC, flying so proudly! Equally majestic was that eagle gliding around the stadium! There was a camera shot of the eagle appearing to fl y through the flag. Splendiferous! Daniel Rodriguez, the NYC police officer, with that glorious voice singing “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch, was like a slice of New York cheesecake, ending a perfect meal!

Was I enthused? You betcha!

I noted the election of the current mayor, the one who is now denying the first responders access to the 10^th memorial ceremony. Is it because he was not directly involved on that day? Inquiring minds want to know. I noted:

Wednesday, 11/7/01

The city of New York elected a new mayor last evening. This one could find

himself with a tough act in trying to follow Mayor Rudy. At the very least, the new mayor is so wealthy, he can single-handedly bail out New York, in these financially perilous times. A $4 billion fortune is not chump change.

Has that mayor lived up to Mayor Rudy’s reputation and governance? I guess so. New Yorkers fairly recently re-elected him.

I remember this airplane crash that I wrote about:

Monday, 11/12/01

Once again on an early morning, West Coast time, we were greeted

with the news of another airplane crash in New York. Today is just one

day past the two-month anniversary of 9/11/01. Of course the initial

reaction is that this is another act of terror. Initial reports state that this

may not be a terrorist act. Even if it is not – how much more can the city of New York take?

My heart really goes out to the people of New York. Why Lord, and how long Lord? The people of New York are coming through yet again. Civilians are assisting their firefighters in putting out fires caused by the plane crash earlier in the day. My initial thought was to feel pity for the people of New York, Rockaway in particular. Rockaway had been particularly hard hit by 9/11/01, as many of the firefighters who perished, lived there. I take back my pity and replace it with admiration. They have been adjusting after the horrific savagery of 9/11/01. They are now cleaning up after the plane crash of 11/12/01. What an example of fortitude!

Although tragic, it was a relief that the crash was not terrorism. That would have been an even more devastating blow, and a big propaganda coup for the terrorists and their fan clubs.

I noted the following about Nino Vendome, as a symbol of the New York spirit:

Saturday, 12/01/01

I saw an interview with Nino Vendome of “Nino’s” in New York. This

gentleman has spent a considerable amount of money feeding the rescue

workers who are pulling bodies and rubble from the WTC site. He closed his restaurant for business so that he could feed the volunteers 24/7. When asked why he was doing this, his simple response was that he was doing his part in the  war effort.

Red Cross if you are psychic and reading my thoughts, I do not mind

some of my contributions going to assist him. If we could be allocating money to promote the cause of “tolerance,” we could show our “tolerance” by sending some assistance Nino’s way. I do not have much at this point, but I am going to send off a check. That check could at least provide some rolls and coffee.

The reference to the funneling of money to “tolerance, and the other fatuous word “outreach,” was about a report that came out, that the Red Cross, flush with donations, was planning to set aside millions for outreach to Muslims. “Outreach” is ideally a two way street. At the time I was not seeing much outreach from the intended recipients of the money. I read about a lot of the “victimhood” card being played. The Red Cross had a change of mind.

As I indicate in the following paragraph, I frantically wanted to help:

Monday, 12/10/01

I am so overwhelmed by 9/11 that I find that I have to keep reaching

out and trying to help out. I called an organization called NY Cares to

offer to help out Santa by buying some toys for the organization’s program

of providing toys for children in New York City. I called Nino’s Restaurant

in NYC to find out how I can help in the effort to feed the volunteers

working at Ground Hero. I am ordering 10 “Remember 9/11” pins from

our Police Protective League here in L.A. Some of my friends will be

receiving those pins for Christmas. I am not giving frivolous presents

this year.

Both Nino Vendome and NY Cares did receive checks from me. I still have two of those “Remember 9/11” pins. I will be proudly wearing one this coming Sunday.

The memories keep coming, as I tried to record anything and everything that I considered worth noting, about what was happening in New York, after 9/11/. The following is about the debate over Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. Yep, the supposedly now dead Osama/Usama/Whatever bin Laden was actually in the running. Go figure. I wrote:

Sunday, 12/23/01

Time Magazine did the honorable thing and did not give the face of Evil any more prominence or exposure. Yo-Sama-Scum-Leaden is not going to be the poster boy. Instead, a face of courage, bravery, calm, confidence, competence, in the face of unspeakable carnage, is on the cover. Mayor Rudy Giuliani is the “Person of the Year!”

Here is another piece of good news, really the best since the Tail-Banned

lived down to the moniker that I gave them. Girls are back – in school in

Afghanistan! Math is back in school there! Science is back! Reading is back! Girls and real education had been banned under the Tail-Banned. A wise mother said it best when she stated that not being able to get an education is like being blind. “Blindness” is precisely the condition in which the Tail-Banned hoped to keep the citizens of Afghanistan, especially the women. The Tail-Banned, not being complete idiots, realized that the saying “knowledge is power,” is not just a trite saying. Of course the boys did receive the requisite “religious” teaching – how to subjugate women, how to make bombs, and how to kill innocent people?

Mayor Rudy just spoke at City Hall responding to being chosen “Person of

the Year” by Time Magazine. I think that we can forget the politically correct claptrap and just call him what he is, “Man of the Year!” Mayor Rudy showed those “girlie box cutter using, flight attendant biting Terrorists” how real men behave. He summed it up very succinctly when he declared that Yo-Sama-Scum-Leaden “did not break our spirit. He lost the war on the very first day, the very first hour of 9/11/01.” Amen, Mayor Rudy!

When my thoughts first poured out of me on 9/15/01, I wrote that Yo picked  the wrong city on which to unleash his massacre. Yo’s minions were successful in grinding the WTC (buildings) into dust, and killed thousands of people in the process, but New Yorkers would not let a Terrorist attack grind their spirit into dust. Buildings can be rebuilt. The human beings who were murdered cannot be replaced, but their spirits live on, and they are an inspiration to us all. I know that there has been a profound change in me. In many ways, I really was meandering through

life – house, decent job, good friends, and some charitable contributions – the usual steady, unspectacular life. The life may still be steady and unspectacular, but the meandering is over. Thanks Yo for the focus.

I really should learn how to be more outspoken, shouldn’t I?

I was such a newly minted New Yorker that I kind of trashed LA politicians in the following observation:

Saturday, 1/26/02

From here in the trenches, it seems as if some of the politicians in this

state are all about running for election or reelection, about six months into

their current terms. I love L.A., but I feel that if what happened in New

York on 9/11, had happened here, I am not sure if the aftermath would have been handled as capably. The firefighters and police would have performed heroically. This heroism would have extended to most of our citizens who perform other services. My doubt creeps in when it comes to assessing the response of those who do not slow down long enough, from running for office, to actually do the work of the office.

It is a good thing that I am currently in a “secret, undisclosed location,” safe from revenge, from the LA politicians who may see their resemblance in the above description! Somebody had to take over that location, since former VP Dick Cheney vacated it, right? He is now in the open and irritating quite a few luminaries.

Two years later, I was still very impressed by the manner in which New Yorkers handled themselves in the face of difficult circumstances:

Thursday, 8/14/03

The big news of the day is the blackout in New York City, Detroit,

Ottawa and Toronto, even reaching into parts of Cleveland and Connecticut. The subways in New York City are without electricity, and riders are being evacuated. The good news is that the blackouts are not the work of the Terrormeisters. The bad news is that many citizens are totally inconvenienced.

Another piece of good news is that those affected, have been very understanding and are making an orderly exit from NYC. One never wants to have bad things happen anywhere but if these things happen anyplace, NYC is the place where the citizens handle disaster with grace and grit.

To those premier examples of “grace and grit,” I dedicate not just one song, but a quartet. No tribute to New York or New Yorkers should omit New York, New York, or New York State Of Mind . I felt compelled to also include the Star Spangled Banner. Finally, a plea to God in the form of The Lord's Prayer. God, please bless New York. Please bless all of the other 49 states – God bless America.