Posts tagged september 11 memorial

Linda Gronlund, Passenger On United Airlines Flight 93, Remembered As ‘Formidable’ 

Award-Winning Blog In Memory

Walking through the front door, Elsa Gronlund Griffin quickly flipped on the television, noting a smoldering field from a crashed plane on the screen, and continued toward the answering machine. The red light was blinking. She had three messages.

The first was from a friend. The second was from her mother, Doris Gronlund, just to say hello.

The third was her sister’s voice.

“Elsa, it’s Lin,” she started.

“Um. I only have a minute. I’m on United 93, and it’s been hijacked, uh, by terrorists who say they have a bomb.”

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‘We Lived and Went to Hell’: Retired Port Authority Police Officer Relives Months on the 9/11 Pile

Blog In Memory

At age 47, Doris Caridi could see it — the way her retirement would unfold.

In a matter of months, she would give up her apartment in Brooklyn and move into her modest, cozy home in Water Mill, spending her free time with her sister, who lived nearby, and soaking in the bucolic surroundings.

She would mark the end of her 21-year career with the Port Authority Police alongside her closest colleagues, her final assignment being with the Emergency Service Unit at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. There, she reported to Inspector Anthony Infante, who promised to speak to human resources at the Port Authority Police to pin down a target date for her.

That was Friday, September 7, 2001, and Ms. Caridi was happy, she recalled — truly, deeply happy.

“But it didn’t work out,” she said, speaking 20 years later. “And I never saw him again.”

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Reflecting On The ‘Why’: Father Alex Karloutsos Retires

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On Monday morning, Father Alex Karloutsos answered the phone in a reflective mood. It was his first day without his official title as vicar general of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America — and, not to mention, his 51st wedding anniversary.

This deliberately chosen date, May 3, set the stage for the priest’s new batch of priorities, which include spending more time with his wife, Xanthi, their three children and nine grandchildren, and continuing to lead the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Shinnecock Hills.

All the while, he carries on in his pursuit of “why” — the question that has given him purpose, substance and meaning for much of his life, he said.

And, yet, he still doesn’t have his answer.

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