Received some very sickening news this afternoon. One of my employees, a young man named James, has not heard from his father since last Tuesday morning!!! This young man has worked for me for two years and is a very well liked and respectful man. His father is a Lt. in the Fire Department, and heads one of the the Rescue squads in NYC. He was one of the first on the scene and it is feared that he has perished in this horrible tragedy!!! This man was a very good man. When Oklahoma City was bombed, this man led his battalion all the way to Oklahoma City and wound up heading the rescue mission. He was a great father to his two boys, and a very great man. My heart is breaking for his family, as I have known them for two years now.

Don Cardi

Don Cardi,

So glad you are ok. I can't imagine what you went through. Thank you for sharing with us and we will be thinking about you and praying for all New Yorkers, the ones who didn't make it, their families, their friends and all of you who had to witness such a horrible, horrible event.

God bless you!

Don Cardi my sentiments of respect to you once again. The heroism of the rescue crews is magnified a thousandfold when you consider that these trained professionals knew when they entered the devastated infernos that they would in all likelihood lose their lives in the effort to save the trapped victims. Peace and blessings upon all of the heroes and innocent lives taken.

A Don Cardi update -

Don Cardi emailed me, and reported that he was able to return to work through a special dispensation from the Mayor's Office. Because of the essential nature of his business, his was the only business allowed to open WEST of Broadway (see map below) near the Trade Center Complex. (His building is right next to the Hudson River, and the only one down there in that area that wasn't damaged in some way by the collapse of the Towers).

I trust we will all keep him, and others in that area in our prayers. It must be awfully difficult, and distracting (they are being guarded by National Guard troops) to be in that close proximity of Ground Zero. (BTW - Cardinal Egan, of New York, renamed that "Ground Hero".

To give you a better idea of the effects of this tragedy, here is a map of lower Manhattan. All businesses WEST (to the left) of "Broadway" are still closed, while many to the east of Broadway have re-opened, depending on whether or not electricity and phones are available to their buildings. Don Cardi's building is at the extreme left (just off the Hudson River near Liberty Street). The NY Stock Exchange, which re-opened today (and just closed DOWN 676 points) is marked in red.

Grazie SC. That does help put things in perspective.