Jeanette...

...we won't forget.


(Picture used with permission)

The 2,996 Project: A Tribute to the Victims of 9-11-01...another "day that will live in infamy".

This project was first brought to my attention by Benning's Writing Pad; after the concept caught on and gained momentum, several others on my blogroll (and I) got on board.

The idea is for bloggers to pay homage to the innocent victims of that awful day.

In my case, I have the honor to write in memory of Jeanette LaFond-Menichino, who was 49 at the time of the attack.

Jeanette lived in New York City, was a senior account analyst for Marsh & McLennan and was confirmed dead at the World Trade Center.
(295 Marsh & McLennan employees were killed in the attacks; they were working in Marsh's One World Trade Center offices located at the impact zone. In fact, on October 11, 2001 Marsh established a crisis consulting practice specializing in terrorism)

I didn't know Jeanette, so first I shall defer to those who did...

Her sister (Anita) wrote:
This is my sister. I miss her very much. She was beautiful, fun and a big part of my life. Now there is just a big void. How can she be gone? I think of her laugh, how we used to joke on the phone and how we looked forward to being together. I hope she knows how much she is loved and missed. My little sister, Jeanette, I love you.

A co-worker (Jerry) wrote:
I worked with both Jeanette & her mom in Bankers Trust. She was a great person & friend. I will always remember her & her wonderful smile.

Jeanette was an American, unlike many who perished during the events of that fateful day.
(There were citizens from several dozen other countries killed in the attacks as well)

Of course, what we call "Americans" is a diverse collection of individuals, with ancestry from every place on the planet.

But back to Jeanette, the point of the post. I have only conjecture to work with, in addition to the limited amount of information available to me. But I am of an age now with her when she died, and I'm quite sure that we share certain commonalities. Americans, working towards that "American Dream", looking to the future with hope...possibly hoping for a comfortable retirement.

However, for Jeanette, all of that was cut short. One can only hope that the end was quick, and relatively painless.

For some people in this world, the lives of innocents like Jeanette are meaningless, something to be thrown away to make a misguided point.

There are those who think that the ideology of hate that motivated the attacks is symptomatic of a great many adherents to a particular belief system. I choose not to accept that, believing instead that it is a minority of fanatics who use that belief system to justify their own agenda. It wouldn't be the first time in history this has happened, although it would be great if we citizens of Planet Earth could work on making it the last. But I digress; a habit of mine.

I'd like to think that Jeanette would agree with me, but because of some individuals who were deluded by a hateful group of small-minded people, I shall never know.

For Jeanette, may her death not have been in vain.

Rather, let Jeanette be remembered with honor, and hopefully we as a nation can move forward together...just as we did, all too briefly it seems, in the aftermath of those terrible events.

May God bless Jeanette, and may God Bless America...