This page is the very beginning of a 9/11 archive of materials from my experience as a WTC volunteer in the weeks and months after 9/11. On that terrible morning I went up on my roof after the first plane hit – thinking, like everyone else, what a horrific accident – and then saw the second plane fly into the building. When both towers fell I thought it was the end of life as we knew it. I volunteered from Sept 15, 2001 until the closing of the WTC site, on May 20, 2002.
Volunteering on the front lines at the WTC site during those long months of recovery was indescribable. It changed my life. It was intense. It was horrifying. Yet at the same time, the way people came together, to help in the face of such utter destruction, loss and pain, was stunningly human, uplifting and meaningful. At the site, every day – several times a day (and nights) – we went around to each supply tent to find out what specific supplies were needed by PAPD, FDNY, FEMA, NYPD, Red Cross, Salvation Army, EMS, and many more. We raised funds and purchased respirators, Carhardts and a tool kit for each WTC recovery worker. I organized concerts by and for recovery workers to support the seemingly never-ending work, produced the CD “We’ll Carry On“ (West Street Records, 2002) a benefit album of 16 original songs written by FDNY, PAPD, WTC volunteers and NYC musicians, and a book of all the poems and lyrics presented at the concerts titled simply, “word“.
Working so closely with WTC recovery workers and meeting 9/11 family members showed me over and over the positive impact of music. Inspired by the power of music to heal and create community post-disaster, I formed the nonprofit, World Foundation for Music and Healing, aka Feel the Music!, in 2005 to bring music to children who had lost a parent on 9/11. We served hundreds of children, teens and families impacted by 9/11, recovery workers and their families, local schools, and residents. Over the years Feel the Music! expanded, and today brings music and art to children, families and adults impacted by trauma, loss and illness. (feelthemusic.org)
WQXR Radio Interview: Stories of Loss and Recovery (archive)
“Cloud” – Valerie Ghent, singer-songwriter and 9/11 recovery volunteer
Interviewed by Marianne McCune for WNYC News (October 16, 2001)
This archive page will grow as materials are added.
9/11 Memorial Museum – interview
In 2002 I was asked to do an interview for the future 9/11 Memorial Museum, audio of the interview is apparently in the museum today. You can read an excerpt on the 9/11 Memorial Museum website:
Musician recalls coordinating the volunteer effort at Ground Zero
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, lower Manhattan resident Valerie Ghent found herself living in the “frozen zone”—the part of the city closest to the World Trade Center site where access was restricted.
Emergency personnel and barricades lined 14th Street, north of Ghent’s home in the West Village. Schools, courthouses, and most businesses were closed…. READ MORE
Emails re: World Trade Center & 9/11 Recovery
These are public emails that I sent to my music list in 2001-2002. I wrote these to tell people what specific supplies were needed at the site – and how people could help. Looking back, I’m sure I also wrote to begin to process some of what I was witnessing on a day-to-day basis.
Sat, 15 Sep 2001
Subject: Needed items at Pier 40 and other info
Sun, 16 Sep 2001
Subject: Down to specifics
Sun, 16 Sep 2001
Subject: Important update
Sun, 16 Sep 2001
Subject: [Fwd: Laptops needed for recovery effort!]
Tue, 18 Sep 2001
Subject: American flags and Vicks and other info
Fri, 21 Sep 2001
Subject: Support station
Sat, 22 Sep 2001
Subject: Central Park Event Sunday
Sat, 29 Sep 2001
Subject: Supplies direct to Ground Zero
Sun, 30 Sep 2001
Subject: General supply list for Ground Zero
Mon, 01 Oct 2001
Subject: Direct observation
Thu, 04 Oct 2001
Subject: Teddy bears and the electric cross
Mon, 08 Oct 2001
Subject: First writing since
Tue, 09 Oct 2001
Subject: as it gets colder
Sat, 13 Oct 2001
Subject: massage therapists needed
Sat, 20 Oct 2001
Subject: Busier than ever
Tue, 23 Oct 2001
Subject: The Spirits of Permanent Midnight
Fri, 26 Oct 2001
Subject: rational information
Sat, 10 Nov 2001
Subject: Lots of news
Tue, 13 Nov 2001
Subject: Far Rockaway
Tue, 11 Dec 2001
Subject: Volunteers with cars needed
Sat, 15 Dec 2001
Subject: Tribute concert 3/11/02 & Universal Love 4 Kids CD/mp3’s/
Tue, 18 Dec 2001
Subject: Holiday Events – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!! – We’ll Carry On
Thu, 10 Jan 2002
Subject: Volunteers needed
Sun, 20 Jan 2002
Subject: Volunteers needed
Mon, 11 Feb 2002
Subject: NY Times article & 3/11/2002 tribute concert
Fri, 08 Mar 2002
Subject: 3/11/2002 tribute concert/’challenge’ grant information
Wed, 13 Mar 2002
Subject: NY Times article about 3/11 concert
Sun, 17 Mar 2002
Subject: PAPD traveling Memorial
Wed, 15 May 2002
Subject: WTC Ground Zero Relief benefit 5/20
———-
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001
Subject: Needed items at Pier 40 and other info
Hello friends,
After days of despair and shock, and now that the barricades are down I have found a few things to do. Life below 14th street during the area closing was surreal: silent streets except for the continual sirens; people standing completely still and silent in the middle of every north/south street, gazing downtown at the massive plumes of smoke; most businesses closed – though many restaurants were open; no newspaper delivery (I rode my bike up to 72nd street along the bike path to find one last Wednesday); of course no mail; no deliveries; ‘border patrols’ at 14th, Houston and Canal Streets where only a photo ID showing you are a resident got you through. The building I live in is on West Street which has been the main route down to the WTC rescue and clean up area on West below Chambers. I have been riding my bike every day up and down to see what is going on and today at Pier 40 I found they need some very specific items:
– FYI Pier 40, at Houston and West Street, is ground zero for the rescue and clean up workers, they go there for supplies and respite –
Needed items at Pier 40 specifically:
Vicks VaporRub – high priority –
respirators – the good, yes expensive, ones – also high priority but harder to come by
duct tape
boot insoles
medical supplies
sweatshirts – XL and XXL please
women’s boots
cigarettes (many of the workers down there are Army people and apparently many want cigarettes)
I am going back there now, and will be going there regularily to help when I can. You can bring things to Pier 40 directly, it is at Houston and West Streets, or if that’s hard to get to – it’s a bit far out of the way from subways by foot, and forget driving there, biking is the easist actually – you, or if you live far away but know someone in the area, can bring them to me and I will bring them there myself. Please email me and let me know if you would like to arrange that. This will be an ongoing area for assistance, they are predicting by Monday they may need more help as volunteer people return to work and/or burn out.
Also, if you are a Battery Park City resident or know one, there will be a meeting for more information about BPC tomorrow, Sunday 9/16/01, at 4pm at the corner of 6th Avenue and Canal Streets. My sister, for those of you who know my family and have been asking, is ok, as is her son Grady, though they can not return to their apartment as it is only a few blocks from what was the WTC. They were able to pick up a few things from their place today for the first time, under escort (before this only residents with pets were allowed to briefly return).
Yes the helicopters and F16’s are flying overhead. Yes the waters are filled with ships, I see them from my window. Yes the smoke still billows through our skies, and yes while the smell is growing more acrid right now the wind has changed. We are at the whim of the wind. At night the smoke is lit up from the searchlights, while the rest of downtown is dark. Everyone is jumpy, the slightest unusual sound makes for unrest. Yet last night at the Union Square vigil the entire park was lit up not only by the candles, endless candles, there was a huge peace sign made with candles, but by the presence of so many people. And then there was this couple, walking on black stilts, dressed completely in black cat suits, head to toe, with pieces of broken glass glued on. They were walking and torking their bodies, two eerie symbolic figures of the towers making their way through the crowd.
About tomorrow’s songwriter/spoken word concert in Riverside Park South there was much deliberation, we were going to postpone, and only after many conversations among the Parks Dept representative, JJ, Michael, Booker and myself were we able to collectively reach the decision that we shall carry on. Interestingly today, after sending the email announcement, I sat down to try and focus on which songs would be not only appropriate but which I felt I would be able to sing, I sat down today to prepare music for the concert. I thought of those who have left us, and those of us left here, and the following lyrics and (the accompanying music) tumbled out in minutes. This song is dedicated to those whose presence we all still feel among us, to the weight of their souls which we all carry now.
We’ll Carry On
Valerie Ghent 9/15/01 ©2001
can you hear us
cause we hear you
can you feel us
cause we feel you
can you see us
cause oh we see you
everywhere and in everything we do
we’ll carry on
we’ll carry on
we’ll carry on – as long as we can
we’ll carry on
and though we survivors
we walk the streets
stare into
each others eyes
we search for connection
to feel that weâre alive
though part of us has died
yes deep down part of us has died
every morning
every night
we look downtown
there is no light
but we feel your presence
we feel your weight
we feel your souls as they alight
if it’s any comfort
as you watch from there
I hope you see how much we care
and know we carry you with every breath of air
we’ll carry on – as long as we can
we’ll carry on – doing what we can
we’ll carry on – even if we donât know how
we’ll carry on
for those who are left
to face the truth
no one knows
all we fear
no one knows
where we’re gonna go from here
but we’ll carry on
we’ll carry on – even if weâre scared
we’ll carry on – we carry you in our prayers
we’ll carry on
we’ll carry on
we’ll carry on
With grace and humility,
Val
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001
Subject: Down to specifics
Hello friends,
After spending most of the night as a volunteer at Pier 40 with the medical, food, and clothing sections I have been asked to email this list to everyone, and if anyone has a contact to the media, TV, press, anything, to please make this information known. Pier 40 is to be the immediate contact point for supplies needed by the rescue and cleanup teams, basically as items are needed a truck drives up from the site or radios ahead to please prepare a truckload which is then driven or, if only small things, sometimes rollerbladed down to Ground Zero.
There are specific items needed at the site, and many other items are in overload, so here goes:
NEEDED items at Pier 40 specifically:
double cannister respirators – also called MSA masks
spare cannisters
welders gloves (up to the elbow)
welders jackets
double insulated leather gloves
sawz blades
red spray paint
Mag lights
AAA batteries
9 volt batteries
head lamps
glow sticks
flashlights
rapelling ropes and harnesses
1 foot long shovels
1 foot long pick axes
ladders
bolt cutters, small and large
duct tape
bio hazard bags
razor blades
knives
Vicks VaporRub
sun screen
sunglasses
cigarettes
sweatshirts – XL and XXL please
good boots – men’s and women’s
boot insoles
knee pads
Gatorade
NOT NEEDED, currently in overload at Pier 40:
dog food
water
basic work gloves
surgical gloves
power bars etc
D batteries
packaged bread
You can bring items directly to Pier 40, which is located at West Street and Houston. Or email me to arrange drop off here and I will bring items. I know how much people have wanted to not only give, but give what will be needed and useful, I hope this list helps.
If anyone is interested in volunteering they -sometimes- need people from 9pm-9am, as a volunteer you hang out as much as you want/can, no pressure to stay any longer than that. I recommend going there in person, and if they say ‘no not right now’ then come back, and maybe they’ll need someone later.
There is also another originally unofficial supply station on West Street, just above Pier 40 at Clarkson Street which hands water and sandwiches to the workers in the trucks as they go by, and they are welcoming volunteers as well.
I hope this finds you in good health and spirits.
peace,
Val
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001
Subject: Important update
Hello friends,
Just back again now from Pier 40. We are now trying to inventory what has been already donated to Javits Center. We have been asked not to further televise or otherwise ‘airwave’ this list as it leads to overwhelming donations as so many people who want to help. By this evening we should hopefully have a clearer idea of supply and demand. Local deliveries to Pier 40 of respirators and any welding equipment are welcome. Cigarettes are also always welcome. (Respirators and cigarettes. Hmmm.)
MOST IMPORTANT: Respirators, ones with a P100 rating and/or that can handle BOTH organic vapors and asbestos are in demand. Anyone with corporate ties to companies that can provide the more expensive items would be helpful.
Brands are manufacturer: North model# 7700-30M
3M model# 6100/6200/6300/7000 series
** please ** NO paper masks or any masks without the above requirements.
More detailed list after inventory, items previously mentioned are still needed, the thing we are now trying to organize is supply and demand and communication about both. I will be back at Pier 40 tonight after the concert if anyone would like to find me there.
peace and love,
Val
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001
Subject: [Fwd: Laptops needed for recovery effort!]
Hello friends,
My friend Daylle began by being the intermediary for finding laptops for the relief effort. She sent me this email a few days ago but in the madness I forgot to forward it. She emailed me this morning to relate the following update:
I’ve somehow gotten myself involved as a sort of intermediary betw large corps that want to donate services and the rescue operation. Time Warner calls me to locate tech support. I sent out an email looking for donated laptops when I heard they were needed after going downtown on Wed. to donate med supplies. My email circulated
and I’ve been hearing from the pres of Intel, who wants to donate tech support, to Kenneth Cole, who wants to donate shoes. Liaisoning with the
head of United Way.
If you know of available laptops, or can provide tech support or know of someone who can, please email Daylle. They may still need old or unused laptops.
Thanks,
peace,
Val
FOWARDED:
From: Daylle Deanna Schwartz
Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001
Subject: Laptops needed for recovery effort!
Hi all,
I just came back from a command post for the recovery efforts. I was anxious to do something to help. They desperately need laptops +. Only have 5 right now. So that’s my job. I asked for a shopping list. I’m sending this to anyone I know.
PC Laptops ? windows based with Ethernet cards and Microsoft Office Scanners for photos HP Laser printer
If anyone has a used one in NY and would like to donate it to help with the recovery efforts, please contact me. They need all the specifications indicated.
OR, if you have contacts with a company that might have older ones they’d donate
Or, if you have a connections with a computer company that might donate older models or refurbished ones.
I plan to try contacting IBM tomorrow. Any suggestions are greatly welcome. They need a lot of computers. Feel forward this to anyone you think might be able to help.
Thanks!
Daylle
— Revenge Productions
http://www.outersound.com/revenge
“Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich.” Sarah Bernhardt
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001
Subject: American flags and Vicks and other info
Hello friends,
I first of all want to thank everyone for their efforts and email, those of you who have found some of these specific items thank you so much. I would also like to apologize for the intial flurry of emails, the information kept changing so quickly as soon as I sent the first announcement I realized it was necessary to update it once and then again. Thank you for your understanding about that and I hope it wasn’t too confusing initially.
The one thing everyone still wants and needs is American flags. All sizes, even the small ones – the guys down in the ground zero site wear them on their helmets. You can bring those to the parking lot across the street from the Javits Center at 34th Street and the West Side Highway, though they are not accepting most donations due to overload they will accpet these.
The other thing they need is Vicks Vapor Rub, as much as possible. If anyone out there has a corporate connection please contact me immediately. I am in regular contact now with the people at Javits and at Pier 40 and we can authorize this need.
And finally, there is need for welding tips (sizes 4, 5, 6, 7) and welding sleeves (which cover from elbow to shoulder). If you have anything like this, or have corporate connections to this kind of manufacturer, please email me ASAP and we will set up getting them straight to the people who need them.
I will be getting another specific list this afternoon after an evaluation is made at Ground Zero.
There have been a lot of transitional changes going on here as the National Guard, Red Cross and other governmental organizations set up their networks. One of the results of that change is that Pier 40 has shifted from being a supply station, now the Javits Center and Shea Stadium are the supply locations.
I spent part of yesterday up at the Red Cross, on 68th street and 10th Avenue, and they are taking names for blood donations. I went up there with another person from Westbeth with whom I had watched and photographed the events last Tuesday (in both his and my photos you can see the impact of the second plane hitting and the collapse of the first and then the second tower). It’s a long story, but we ended up there after meeting some people who were helping at a supply station run by the Red Cross. One of the helpers was from Pensylvania, he had driven here in his dump truck hoping to put his truck to use. The Red Cross people told us we had to get official badges if we wanted to stay there and help, so with our bikes in the back of his dump truck we rode up to the Red Cross.
That was yesterday though, and today I am back in contact with the Javits people, and from this point on should have specific needs information from them.
If you have a specific item like the flags, or Vicks, and you would like to donate them, please bring to the parking lot across from the Javits Center at 34th Street and the West Side Highway. For anything else though, please wait to donate (and no food please) – they are asking people not to stop donating, there will be need for quite some time, but that at the present moment they are overwhelmed with food and supply donations and are trying to organize and inventory them. Most likely soon there will be another call for specific items as the needs become identified.
In the time being, other types of donations are welcome, for example I have been by several firehouses in the area and each one is surrounded by fields of flowers, notes, photos, as you can imagine they are in tremendous need.
the below information is from www.ny1.com
VOLUNTEERS & DONATIONS
THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT says it now has all the volunteers it needs, so no one else should report to the Jacob Javits Convention Center. In addition, No more food donations are necessary.
WORLD TRADE CENTER RELIEF FUND:
Call 1-800-801-8092, or write PO BOX 5028, Albany, NY 12205
UNITED WAY: To make donations to the September 11 Fund to aid victims and families of the attacks, call the United Way/ New York Community Trust Fund at 1-800-710-8002 or go to www.uwnyc.org. Checks can also me mailed care of the United Way, 2 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016.
POLICE & FIREFIGHTERS: To donate to the families of New York police and firefighters lost in the attacks, send checks to: NY Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund, PO Box 3713, Grand Central Station, NY, NY 10163.
PORT AUTHORITY: To donate to the families and members of the Port Authority Police Department, send donations to: Port Authority Police, World Trade Disaster Survivors’ Fund, c/o Port Authority PBA, Inc. 611 Palisade Ave.,Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
THE SALVATION ARMY doesn’t need any more food donations but could use tools including construction gloves, helmets, etc. For more information or to make cash donations, call 1-800-SAL-ARMY
NEW YORK CARES is offering updated information on donation needs and drop sites in New York and New Jersey on its website at www.nycares.org. The site lists the items that are in greatest demand and specific addresses for drop-offs.
BLOOD: To donate blood, call 1-800-GIVE BLOOD
RED CROSS donations, call 1-800-HELP NOW
A WIDE RANGE OF DONATIONS CAN BE MADE AT www.helping.org.
BENEFIT CONCERTS:
And many of the musicians I know are setting up benefit conerts, you can add your support by attending one of these, for example:
THE SONGWRITER’S BEAT
with Joe Bowie, Kim Clarke, Too Human, Letitia Guillory, John Murray and Valerie Ghent
Wednesday Sept 19th
9pm Cornelia Street Cafe
from Ina May Wool:
TUESDAY, SEPT. 18, TRIAD LOUNGE – 158 W. 72ND ST. – 7:30-10PM – $10
suggested min.donation for Firefighters Fund (all details below)
from Ben Perowsky:
TONITE!! Tues. 9/18
8pm Emergency (Zorn, Ribot, Medeski, Perowsky)
10pm Medeski Martin &Wood (acoustic).
Weds.9/19: Masada & Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos
Thurs.9/20: Arto Lindsay & Dave Douglas’ Witness
midnight: Sex Mob
Fri. 9/21: Milford Graves & Cibo Matto
midnight: Millenial Territory Orchestra
Sat. 9/22: Improvisations with Erik Friedlander, Ikue Mori, Susie Ibarra, Sylvie Courvoisier, Mark Feldman & Eyvind Kang; Matt Shipp & Rob Brown duo; Bill Laswell
Tickets $25 100% of the ticket price goes to American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund
Tonic 107 norfolk st. btwn. delancy and rivington
212 358-7504
and from Frank Stabile – with LANKY –
Recently I was standing on line to see a Martin Sexton show and someone said “One man and his guitar, what else do you need?”
Sept. 28th
C-Note
157 Ave C btwn 9th and 10th
7 PM
No Cover
21+
ps- arlene benefit raised $2000. !*#%
And finally, there is still the another (originally unofficial) supply station on West Street, just above Pier 40 at Clarkson Street, which hands water and sandwiches to the police and workers in the trucks as they go by, and they are still welcoming volunteers.
Sorry this is so long, but now you have all of this info in one email!
I hope this finds you in good health and spirits.
in peace, with love,
Val
Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2001
Subject: Transitions…..
Hello friends,
First of all a huge thank you to the people who came to last night’s benefit concert at the Cornelia Street Cafe. The performers, John Murray, Too Human, Joe Bowie and Kim Clarke, and Letitia Guillory, were phenomenal and an inspiration to us all. I could easily fill this email with a long description of the night!!! After the concert I visited the Fire Station we were benefiting: Engine 24 Ladder 5 227 Avenue of the Americas (between Houston Street and King Street) with flowers and will be sending a check to their family fund today from our proceeds. They lost 11 people, one firefighter was a woman.
As many of you probably know by now, the relief efforts are in a state of massive transition: the city Office for Emergency Management or OEM, FEMA, the Red Cross and the National Guard have started to set up their networks; there are now 26 government agencies involved.
Need I say more?
They say they no longer need volunteers, goods or services, however, the Daily News today published the following list: (p.53)
Heavy duty asbestos approved respirators
sunblock
Sawzall and Tiger Saw blades
gas powered welding tools
heavy duty tips for welding tools
gouging tips
leather palm work gloves
goggles
20 inch landscaping picks for digging
30 inch landscaping shovels
heavy duty oxyacetylene torches
3/8 or 1/2 inch oxyacetylene hoses 500 feet or longer
heavy duty oxyacetylene regulators with guards
oxyacetylene generators
liquid oxygen generators
nonsaline eye solution
gauze
shrink wrap
(Cool to see some of the weekend’s list published!)
The Daily News said to bring these items to Javits. HOWEVER…. THIS IS NOT CORRECT. On the contrary – Javits is not accepting more supplies. I just called there and asked them myself. They are moving supplies out of there to upstate and other locations.
So, after calling OEM this afternoon about where they suggested to bring specific donations they directed me to the NY State Hotline for the Relief Effort 800.801.8092 and there I was told anyone with a specific item on this list should call them, they will take your information, enter it into a database which is then forwarded to OEM, and then when the need for that item arises they will contact you. If it is an item in immediate demand, then a supervisor will get involved to speed up the process.
This same office told me that the one item they were telling people they need is tents. I just called again, confirmed the above information and also discovered that they are located in Albany.
Or….if you have a personal donation of any of these specific items you may have luck at the Armory on 66th Street and Park Avenue, but can’t confirm that. The other suggestion is to take them out to Fresh Kills in Staten Island where they would be needed by people working there. Or perhaps bring to your local police or firehouse and ask them.
So for out of state or overseas shipments, there is no specific address for shipments to be made, they are suggesting companies make financial contributions instead. One point someone emailed to me is that the Red Cross can buy supplies much cheaper than you ir I can, so your money goes farther – in theory anyway.
Here is a link to the largest website I’ve seen yet with all the possible contribution options:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/US/Emergency_Information/
(thanks Sarah!)
and another option I hadn’t heard mentioned before, this is from an email announcement, feel free to copy, and forward: (thanks Elena!)
Windows on the World was staffed by Local 100 employees who, I imagine, had very little in the way of pensions, life insurance, etc. They have no press release, advertisement, or webpage—I had to call their union representative to get this address. Over 100 employees are missing and I am giving my money to their families. Please forward this email to those who might be interested. Send donations to:
HERE NY Assistance Fund
Local 100
321 West 44th St.
5th Floor
New York, Ny 10011
Make checks payable to HERE NY Assistance Fund
OK, that’s it for today’s update – now I am going to update my Mac OS to 9.1 (gasp!), and reinstall a bunch of software, so if you email me back and don’t hear from me you’ll know why…but am hoping for the best….!!!
Stay well, take good care of those close to you and to yourselves.
in peace, with love,
Val
Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001
Subject: Support station
Hello friends,
In response to the many people who have emailed about local volunteering here are two options:
Although most of the ‘authorized’ and grass roots supply/support stations along West Street (thank you Mike and everyone else) have been moved or closed, there is still one left on the North Side of West Street just above Houston Street that is in need of volunteers to pass out water and soda to the passing trucks and police cars, and to help clean up. No food. Just drinks. They do not need supplies – there is an incredible amount of water and soda on Pier 40 and they restock from there – they need people. They are there 24 hours a day, see a woman named Susan.
Also, as you may have seen on the news, there has been an incredibly stalwart group of people who applaud the passing workers and police/firemen/women with signs and resounding cheers everytime the trucks go by – even last night in the rain. As the days pass and morale shifts among the workers every little bit of support helps, the group has dwindled and could use more people. They are at Christopher and West Streets. People and local children have also hung signs, poems, words of support and yellow ribbons along the fence at bike path from Charles Street to about Christopher Street, feel free to add your contribution. The workers see these as they drive by.
We’ll carry on…..
in peace, with love, Val
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001
Subject: Central Park Event Sunday
Hello friends,
Sunday afternoon, at Bethesda Fountain in Central Park at 3pm there will be singers and songwriters performing individually and with the group, as well as speakers. Please join us, lift our collective spirits, we hope to see you there. If you would like to perform please read the guidelines below, or just come and listen and join in when you like…..
thanks! and stay well
Val
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001
Subject: Supplies direct to Ground Zero
Hello friends,
I have some wonderful news: for those of you who have emailed me about wanting an address to ship specific supplies for the relief effort, for those of you wanting to volunteer, I just came back from a not-for-profit operation on Spring Street who are taking supplies themselves – in their own trucks – to Ground Zero. They are also welcoming volunteers and are storing supplies in their warehouse at 304-306 Spring Street, between Hudson and Greenwich Streets.
There is a long general supply list, and a priority list from today, Saturday 9/29/01. For efficiency’s sake I’ll type the priority list here and send the general list in another email later tonight (it’s rather long and requires some typing!). For those of you reading the lists sent at the beginning of this effort, you may be amazed that many of the same supplies are still in demand, yet others have shifted as the effort has sadly shifted from rescue to removal.
PRIORITY LIST for GROUND ZERO 9/29/2001
1. Steel Toe construction boots men’s sizes 8-13 (they need thousands!)
2. Navy/black sweatshirts and sweatpants L, XL, 1X, 2X only please
3. Hard hats
4. Miner lights for hardhats
5. AAA batteries
6. Cigars and cigarettes
7. Yellow Work rain suits XL, 1X, 2X sizes only
8. plastic and paper bowls and paper napkins (….they are serving 11,000 meals per day at just one location – chef David Bouley is at Ground Zero)
9. heavy rubber gloves (blue for morgue and hazardous materials only)
10. tinted safety goggles and glasses
11. boot laces
12. tylenol and other cold rememdy caplets
More on this incredible, efficient, civilian operation later with the general supply list.
I read something beautiful in our local paper, The Villager, this afternoon upon my return from a gig in Washington DC last night: “…To say we will never be the same is a platitude, but what we each take from this tragedy, and how we choose to use it, is a choice. Choose carefully with kindness and love. Choose well.”
in peace, with love, Val
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001
Subject: General supply list for Ground Zero
Hello friends,
As I wrote in my email yesterday, here is the general supply list needed for items at Ground Zero. Yesterday’s list was the priority list, which changes daily, this list is general and anything from this list would be welcome. Anyone with corporate connections who can enable a larger donation please work them!
Good volunteers are still in demand, you can go directly to 304 Spring Street and talk with Rhonda.
Below you will find the general supply list from their warehouse:
We are taking much needed supplies Directly To Ground Zero!! Deliver to our warehouse: 304-306 Spring Street, between Hudson and Greenwich streets
Heavy Duty Clothing & Personal Safety Equipment
– reflector gloves & vests
– safety goggles – tinted for sun glare if possible
– heavy construction boots – men’s sizes 8-13
(diggers often need 1 new pair per day because of contaminants and heat melting boot bottoms)
– boot laces
– rain gear – full outfits, slickers and rain boots
– backpacks/fanny packs (to carry gear into the pit)
– dark coloured cargo pants – men’s large sizes
(clothing is thrown out after shifts and placed in hazard waste bags, due to contamination by bodily fluids and hazardous materials (such as lead and asbestos))
– navy/black sweatshirts men’s XL sizes
– white tube socks
– dark coloured long sleeve tee shirts
– flip flops – men’s large sizes
– soft shoes, rubber bottomed or slippers – men’s XL sizes (for tired police and firemen who throw all their clothes and boots away after their shift and need to put on sweats and have comfortable shoes to walk out of Ground Zero)
Miscellaneous
– duct tape
– saws all blades for cutting metal
– welding masks and goggles
– reflective tape (for shirts and gloves of people dealing with traffic or who need to identify themselves on the pile amid heavy equipment)
– miner helmets and lamp lights (they are now duct taping flashlights to helmets!)
– hard knee pads (these guys are on their hands and knees all day)
– AA/AAA batteries
– massage tables and battery powered massage devices (they have volunteer massage and physical therapists treating firemen and policemen 24/7 at Stuyvesant High School – a center which will soon be moving further South closer to Ground Zero)
– foot soak appliances as used for pedicures
– towels and sheets
Medical
– foot pads, men’s & women’s – please Heavy Duty or “Jelly” types only
– nasal spray
– new skin
– foot soak
– Cepacol throat spray & lozenges
– Vick’s Vapo Rub (to put under noses to mask horrible smells)
– toe/bunion pads (worker’s throats, feet and noses hurt)
Plastic/Rubber Products
– heavy rubber gloves (for morgue and hazardous material duties)
*Respirators & Filters
– 3M, 7000 series respirators, face and full face masks
– 3M, 60926 Cartridge filters
(vital for future health of diggers, firemen and police personnel)
Food and Paper Products
– paper plates (to give a sense of magnitude, they are serving 11,000
meals per day at just one location – chef David Bouley at Ground Zero – plastic cutlery
– sternos (they want hot food)
I know this list is long – but the needs are great, and will continue to be so. As the immediate crisis shifts into a long term effort, and your eyes want to glaze over, please remember every little effort helps, no matter how small. In his NY Times Op-Ed article Stephen Jay Gould wrote about 12 brown bettys donated by a chef – which, though it seemed almost meaningless at first in the face of such great need, the welcomed reaction, and restoration, by those workers who ate them, still warm, was, as he wrote in the beginning of the article: “one of those innumerable little kindnesses”.
We’ll carry on –
Val
Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2001
Subject: Direct observation
Hello friends,
Thanks to Rhonda and London with the Art Science Research Lab I was asked to help out last night at the supply station in PS 89 which is located at West and Chambers Sts. The supply station is one of several in the restricted area, the main task being supplying workers with very specific items like boots, safety glasses, eye drops, rain gear. There is a logistical support plan for the area, and each supply station is coordinated with the others.
Where Art Science Research Labs come into much needed use is for providing specific items that are not quickly available to the supply station(s). Their warehouse is very close to PS 89 so items can be brought there quickly and then distributed. They can also arrange for a police escort for trucks to their warehouse.
Last night at 4:30am I visited the actual Ground Zero site. Although some rubble has been cleared away, and some of the jagged, top pieces of the recognizable parts of the reamining base of Tower 2 WTC has been cut away by iron workers, the sheer amount of devastation is indescribable.
Here is the top 10 list as determined by direct observation and requests from workers last night:
(And yes, in answer to many of your questions, Art Science Research Lab have given their permission for this list and contact information to be distributed, aired, broadcast)
TOP 10 LIST 10/1/2001
Sweatshirts – hooded, preferably, or without hoods XL and XXL (and XXXL if they exist?)
Steel toed boots – mens’ sizes 8-13, a few requests for womens’ size 7, 8 and 9
Boot laces (the iron workers need them as the laces get torn accidentally all the time)
Socks
Rain suits (pants and jackets)
Rain coats (long)
chocolate
hot chocolate mix – boxes of individual packets only please
cold medicine – boxes of individual packets only please
cigarettes
I could write pages on all the conversations, people, acts of kindness which I witnessed in one 12 hour shift, but this is already long (!) and I will save that for another email for anyone interested. The main focus right now is relaying this information, and getting the needed supplies to the very real people who are doing the actual back breaking, heart wrenching work.
In peace, with love,
Val
Date: Thu, 04 Oct 2001
Subject: Teddy bears and the electric cross
Hello friends,
I know I haven’t emailed since Sunday – there have been many long nights and busy days and not a whole lot of sleep, nor time to answer a lot of email, so please forgive me if you have emailed recently and I haven’t yet responded.
The donations are getting to the relief workers, rest assured! There have been countless trips, day and night, between the warehouse, the supply stations, and the impromptu restaurant (run by Bouley) across from Ground Zero. And the supplies keep coming in at Spring Street, thank you and keep spreading the word!
Two nights ago an 18 wheeler arrived at Spring Street from Tucson Arizona, filled with not only supplies but 5,000 stuffed teddy bears, all sizes and colours, and a hand made 7′ cross decorated with red, white and blue lightblubs – and yes it lights up when you plug it in. we all gasped when we uppacked it. London Allen brought it to the site yesterday and the cross is being set up on a building right down there. The cross was made by a volunteer firefighting dept in Patagonia, AZ. The teddy bears, some handmade, were each tagged “With Love, from Tucson AZ”. Crawling around in an 8′ box of stuffed animals as we sorted them into sizes brought more joy (although still a bit bittersweet in kind), than I can describe. A lot of the bears will be set aside for local displaced children (many downtown schools have been merged, some classes have 90 kids each), still others saved for Christmas time for the widows and childrens’ fund, and some of them have made their way downtown where they are hugged a lot by everyone, even some uniformed army folks let down their usual distance and hugged a few (now that’s a sight to see!).
UPDATED HOT LIST:
The hot list hasn’t changed much, but there are a few important new items which I’ve put at the top, the others you probably read here before:
1. *** long underwear
2. *** knit stocking hats in dark colours – the pull down kind (you can buy 12 for $12 anywhere in the garment district)
3. *** windbreakers, jackets and coats
4. *** chocolate bars, individual hot chocolate powder packages
5. *** soda, in cans – Coke, Pepsi especially!
6. Steel Toe construction boots men’s sizes 8-13 (they need thousands!)
7. Dark coloured sweatshirts and sweatpants L, XL, 1X, 2X only please
8. Hard hats
9. Miner lights for hardhats
10. AAA/AA batteries
11. Cigars and cigarettes
12. rain suits, rain coats XL, 1X, 2X sizes only
13. pad locks with keys, not combination locks (to secure gear and equipment)
14. tinted safety goggles and glasses
15. boot laces
16. tylenol and other cold rememdy caplets in individual packets please
17. waterless hand wash in small bottles (like Purell)
18. rice, vegetables, meat in large quantities
Anyone with corporate connections who can enable a larger donation please work them!
Good volunteers are still in demand, you can go directly to 304 Spring Street and talk with Rhonda.
Rhonda Roland Shearer, her husband Stephen Jay Gould and her daughter, London Allen, are the people who spearheaded this civilian effort, they have a not-for-profit company and are able to take donations, deliveries, supplies and get them directly to Ground Zero with their own trucks. You may have read about this in last Wednesday’s NY Times (9/26/01), in an Op-Ed article by Stephen Jay Gould, where he wrote about this effort you can read the article at this link: NYTimes.com
A friend recently emailed me the below link, it is to one of the most beautiful tribute websites I’ve ever seen. It is called “Can’t Cry Hard Enough” – it is such a moving portait of this entire experience, with a song and photo slideshow of what life has been like here for so many. If so inclined you can go to this link: Tribute
Keep on keeping on,
with love,
Val
Date: Mon, 08 Oct 2001
Subject: First writing since
After another late night shift bringing supplies to the different ‘caches’ at the incomprehensible Ground Zero, I came home tonight and read this piece start to finish. ‘Powerful’ is an understatment….
we are a world at war.
“affirm life” she writes. Affirm life.
Affirm life.
—
This powerful piece is from Suheir Hammad. Suheir is the author “Born Palestinian, Born Black” and other books.
She calls its simply “First writing since”
1. there have been no words. i have not written one word. no poetry in the ashes south of canal street. no prose in the refrigerated trucks driving debris and DNA. not one word.
today is a week, and seven is of heavens, gods, science. evident out my kitchen window is an abstract reality. sky where once was steel. smoke where once was flesh.
fire in the city air and i feared for my sister’s life in a way never before. and then, and now, i fear for the rest of us.
first, please god, let it be a mistake, the pilot’s heart failed, the plane’s engine died. then please god, let it be a nightmare, wake me now. please god, after the second plane, please, don’t let it be anyone who looks like my brothers.
i do not know how bad a life has to break in order to kill. i have never been so hungry that i willed hunger i have never been so angry as to want to control a gun over a pen. not really. even as a woman, as a Palestinian, as a broken human being. never this broken.
more than ever, i believe there is no difference. the most privileged nation, most americans do not know the difference between indians, afghanis, syrians, muslims, sikhs, hindus. more than ever, there is no difference.
2. thank you korea for kimchi and bibim bob, and corn tea and the genteel smiles of the wait staff at wonjo the smiles never revealing the heat of the food or how tired they must be working long midtown shifts. thank you korea, for the belly craving that brought me into the city late the night before and diverted my daily train ride into the world trade center.
there are plenty of thank yous in ny right now. thank you for my lazy procrastinating late ass. thank you to the germs that had me call in sick. thank you, my attitude, you had me fired the week before. thank you for the train that never came, the rude nyer who stole my cab going downtown. thank you for the sense my mama gave me to run. thank you for my legs, my eyes, my life.
3. the dead are called lost and their families hold up shaky printouts in front of us through screens smoked up.
we are looking for iris, mother of three. please call with any information. we are searching for priti, last seen on the 103rd floor. she was talking to her husband on the phone and the line went. please help us find george, also known as adel. his family is waiting for him with his favorite meal. i am looking for my son, who was delivering coffee. i am looking for my sister girl, she started her job on monday.
i am looking for peace. i am looking for mercy. i am looking for evidence of compassion. any evidence of life. i am looking for life.
4. ricardo on the radio said in his accent thick as yuca, “i will feel so much better when the first bombs drop over there. and my friends feel the same way.”
on my block, a woman was crying in a car parked and stranded in hurt. i offered comfort, extended a hand she did not see before she said, “we”re gonna burn them so bad, i swear, so bad.” my hand went to my head and my head went to the numbers within it of the dead iraqi children, the dead in nicaragua. the dead in rwanda who had to vie with fake sport wrestling for america’s attention.
yet when people sent emails saying, this was bound to happen, lets not forget u.s. transgressions, for half a second i felt resentful. hold up with that, cause i live here, these are my friends and fam, and it could have been me in those buildings, and we”re not bad people, do not support america’s bullying. can i just have a half second to feel bad?
if i can find through this exhaust people who were left behind to mourn and to resist mass murder, i might be alright.
thank you to the woman who saw me brinking my cool and blinking back tears. she opened her arms before she asked “do you want a hug?” a big white woman, and her embrace was the kind only people with the warmth of flesh can offer. i wasn’t about to say no to any comfort. “my brother’s in the navy,” i said. “and we”re arabs”. “wow, you got double trouble.” word.
5. one more person ask me if i knew the hijackers. one more motherfucker ask me what navy my brother is in. one more person assume no arabs or muslims were killed. one more person assume they know me, or that i represent a people. or that a people represent an evil. or that evil is as simple as a flag and words on a page.
we did not vilify all white men when mcveigh bombed oklahoma. america did not give out his family’s addresses or where he went to church. or blame the bible or pat robertson.
and when the networks air footage of palestinians dancing in the street, there is no apology that hungry children are bribed with sweets that turn their teeth brown. that correspondents edit images. that archives are there to facilitate lazy and inaccurate journalism.
and when we talk about holy books and hooded men and death, why do we never mention the kkk?
if there are any people on earth who understand how new york is feeling right now, they are in the west bank and the gaza strip.
6. today it is ten days. last night bush waged war on a man once openly funded by the cia. i do not know who is responsible. read too many books, know too many people to believe what i am told. i don’t give a fuck about bin laden. his vision of the world does not include me or those i love. and petittions have been going around for years trying to get the u.s. sponsored taliban out of power. shit is complicated, and i don’t know what to think.
but i know for sure who will pay.
in the world, it will be women, mostly colored and poor. women will have to bury children, and support themselves through grief. “either you are with us, or with the terrorists” – meaning keep your people under control and your resistance censored. meaning we got the loot and the nukes.
in america, it will be those amongst us who refuse blanket attacks on the shivering. those of us who work toward social justice, in support of civil liberties, in opposition to hateful foreign policies.
i have never felt less american and more new yorker, particularly brooklyn, than these past days. the stars and stripes on all these cars and apartment windows represent the dead as citizens first, not family members, not lovers.
i feel like my skin is real thin, and that my eyes are only going to get darker. the future holds little light.
my baby brother is a man now, and on alert, and praying five times a day that the orders he will take in a few days time are righteous and will not weigh his soul down from the afterlife he deserves.
both my brothers – my heart stops when i try to pray – not a beat to disturb my fear. one a rock god, the other a sergeant, and both palestinian, practicing muslim, gentle men. both born in brooklyn and their faces are of the archetypal arab man, all eyelashes and nose and beautiful color and stubborn hair.
what will their lives be like now?
over there is over here.
7. all day, across the river, the smell of burning rubber and limbs floats through. the sirens have stopped now. the advertisers are back on the air. the rescue workers are traumatized. the skyline is brought back to human size. no longer taunting the gods with its height.
i have not cried at all while writing this. i cried when i saw those buildings collapse on themselves like a broken heart. i have never owned pain that needs to spread like that. and i cry daily that my brothers return to our mother safe and whole.
there is no poetry in this. there are causes and effects. there are symbols and ideologies. mad conspiracy here, and information we will never know. there is death here, and there are promises of more.
there is life here. anyone reading this is breathing, maybe hurting, but breathing for sure. and if there is any light to come, it will shine from the eyes of those who look for peace and justice after the rubble and rhetoric are cleared and the phoenix has risen.
affirm life.
affirm life.
we got to carry each other now.
you are either with life, or against it.
affirm life.
suheir hammad
Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2001
Subject: as it gets colder
Hello friends,
As it gets colder we all feel the change of seasons. Earlier this evening I stood on West Street just north of Liberty St, directly across from the site, with Rhonda and a fireman and he said to us, “imagine this in January”. Imagining the vast expanse covered in snow was completely bizarre, yet at the rate the metal workers are going much of the remaining towers will be probably be gone by then. But yet again, everything there is bizarre, unreal, surreal, too real. The mind finds one small detail in the face of so much destruction to focus upon – look at that, the side of that building, with 4 stories of steel on the corner hanging down like it was made of tin foil, or look there, at that fire escape, on a small three story building, every part of it covered in papers.
We are at war, yet simultaneously, the details of this massive process continue. The workers have almost completed a road though the debris between West Street and Church. This will make it much easier to manouver the trucks. Most of the sniffer dogs are gone (so please, no more dog items! We are swimming in dog booties!) but there are a few dogs left, and tonight the 2 that we saw received red white and blue kerchiefs, tied around their necks by London.
We were given a flier last week that said, “This is a marathon, not a sprint”. So as we pace ourselves, or try to, the colder weather brings on the realities of what everyone will need to gather and prepare to get the people at Ground Zero through this fall and winter.
***** WE ACCEPT YOUR DONATIONS 9am to 9pm 7 DAYS A WEEK!!!!! ***** and most of the time will load them right onto the trucks and bring them straight to Ground Zero.
THE NUMBER ONE DESIRED ITEM by everyone, everywhere we go is:
KNIT STOCKING HATS – dark colours, they fit under the hard hats, they are warm….. and everyone, everyone, everyone wants one!
You can find them anywhere in NYC, in the garment district they run as inexpensively as a dollar apiece.
Second most desired item is (and perhaps hardest to find):
MINER’s LIGHTS, the kind that are on a band and go around the hard hat, leaving hands free….
We also really need:
WOMEN’S BOOTS, steel toe, sizes 6-8, or men’s small sizes from 5 – 7 1/2. They are now sending more women, and they need boots too
SWEATSHIRTS with Hoods, zip up great, pockets great, LARGE, XL, XXL and XXXL. Still need them and will keep on needing them!
SPECIFIC HOT LIST as of TONIGHT – we’d love to be able to bring these things tomorrow or Wednesday night,
Throat spray – Vicks, Cepacol etc
Non-drowsy cold medecine
Small packs of Kleenex
Chapstick, Carmex, any lip balm (small individual sizes please)
Cepacol/Choloroseptic lozenges
Cough drops with Vitamin C
Pepcid A/C
hand warmers (to go inside gloves)
and
NAIL BRUSHES to clean nails and fingertips before eating and after shifts.
CHOCOLATE, home made cookies and brownies always appreciated. Looking ahead as the weather gets even colder we’ll be needing Insulated Gloves soon. Any children’s drawings, letters, can be collected by us at the warehouse as well, we will deliver them!
GENERAL HOT LIST: (the same as before, as is the below information)
1. *** thermal underwear
2. *** Knit stocking hats
3. *** windbreakers and jackets
4. *** chocolate bars, individual hot chocolate powder packages,
5. *** soda, in cans – Coke, Pepsi especially!
6. Steel Toe construction boots men’s sizes 8-13 (they need thousands!)
7. Dark coloured sweatshirts and sweatpants L, XL, 1X, 2X only please
8. Hard hats
9. Miner lights for hardhats
10. AAA/AA batteries AAA especially
11. Cigars and cigarettes
12. rain suits, rain coats XL, 1X, 2X sizes only
13. pad locks with keys, not combination locks (to secure gear and equipment)
14. tinted safety glasses
15. boot laces
16. cold rememdy caplets in individual packets please
17. waterless hand wash in small bottles (like Purell)
Anyone with corporate connections who can enable a larger donation please work them!
Good volunteers are still in demand, you can go directly to 304 Spring Street.
SHIPPING INFORMATION:
Supplies can be brought in person or shipped directly to:
Art Science Research Laboratory
304 Spring Street
NYC NY 10013
or call 212.925.8812 or 212.966.9628
Thank YOU! Thank YOU! Thank YOU!
with love,
Val
PS Don’t forget: next Wed 10/17/01 The Songwriter’s Beat at the Cornelia Street Cafe, announcement to follow soon!
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2001
Subject: massage therapists needed
Hello friends,
If anyone knows of massage therapists who would be interested in volunteering for the WTC relief effort could you please have them email me at valghent@earthlink.net Thank you so much!
There is a great need for massage therapists of all kinds, they need people for 6 hour shifts, every day of the week, starting immediately. I was at one massage area at th site a few nights ago and there was one man treating, 15 massage tables open, and a line of firemen and workers waiting.
Thank you in advance,
Val
PS In addition to the usual specific supplies as of last night’s run we are now also looking for large amounts of chewing gum and small dairy or non-dairy creamers. If anyone knows someone at a company which makes either of these items could you please contact me directly? Thanks.
our website: http://wtcgroundzerorelief.org
Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2001
Subject: Busier than ever
Hello friends,
The pause in email updates reflects how busy we have been, not that we have stopped! On the contrary, we are busier than ever and are in short supply again of a few crucial items.
Major events as of this week:
Sunday we brought our first supply load to Fresh Kills in Staten Island, where police are going through and sorting every bit of debris removed from the WTC site, and also identifying people. This experience, I must say, took more out of us than anything we have yet seen at the WTC site. They expect the job there will take at least 9 months, if not a year or more. One firemen commented at the WTC site – “it took 6 years to build, and they expect us to remove it in 6 months?” And after the removal comes this crucial next phase of work at Fresh Kills, and it will take a lot of time and effort to complete. We are wholeheartedly doing everything we can to support the people doing this work.
Sunday also brought the needed relief for the workers of finding the bodies of two policemen, who were the first police found onsite. We were on West Street and Chambers bringing in spplies as the police escorted ambulance proceeded uptown, lines of police along West Street holding their hats over their hearts. A few days later a Port Authority policeman was found, bringing the total of police found to three.
Mid-week we received a full 18 wheeler of supplies from a charity called Feed the Children, they brought us much needed rainsuits, batteries and clothing, as well as miner’s headlights. Thank you so very much, we have already distributed a large amount.
We now have a website with the needed specific supplies listed, as well as links to the other supplies we are giving ou to the people going to work out at Fresh Kills and photos taken by London Allen from the warehouse location and further downtown on 9/11/01.
Rhonda was interviewed on C-Span, you can go to http://Cspan.org and type in ‘Rhonda Roland Shearer’ in the search field and hear the interview yourself. We have received all kinds of feedback since this aired.
On NPR yesterday (Friday 10/19/01) you may have heard an interview with Rhonda, Denise and myself about our supply efforts. I am hoping this will be posted online, and will let you know if and when it will be. Already people have been bringing supplies to us that they said were not accepted anywhere else, including a much needed box of high quality headlamps (already given out completely!), and really good thick warm socks.
There is an incredible, powerful WTC photo exhibit on Prince Street between Wooster and Green which if you haven’t yet visited I highly recommend.
On to the supply list!!
we are in very short supply of the following much needed items:
– SAFETY VESTS
– HEAVY DUY FLASHLIGHTS
– MINER’S HEADLAMPS
– BOOTS sizes 4-14, steel toe, winterized if possible, most demand is for sizes 9, 10, 10.5 and 11, the larger sizes we need in wider widths please!
– HOODED SWEATSHIRTS
– CHAPSTICK
– D BATTERIES (we have more C than we can use!)
We invite any of you to please visit the warehouse at anytime, even just to say hello, we are open from 9am to at least 9pm daily.
Art Science Research Lab
304 Spring Street between Husdon and Greenwich
NYC NY 10013
PREVIOUS INFO:
Anyone with corporate connections who can enable a larger donation please work them!
Good volunteers are still in demand, you can go directly to 304 Spring Street.
SHIPPING INFORMATION: Supplies can be brought in person or shipped directly to: Art Science Research Laboratory 304 Spring Street NYC NY 10013
or call 212.925.8812 or 212.966.9628
CONTACT INFORMATION:
London Allen, project coordinator
cell phone 917.412.4905
main number: 212.925.8812/966-7628
Rhonda Roland Shearer cell phone: 917.379.4250
email: sgturbo@aol.comOTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ORGANIZATION:
Art Science Research Lab, not-for-profit 501(c)(3)
Directors: Rhonda Roland Shearer & Stephen Jay Gould (Harvard University, New York University)
Rhonda Roland Shearer, her husband Stephen Jay Gould and her daughter, London Allen, are the people who spearheaded this civilian effort, they have a not-for-profit company and are able to take donations, deliveries, supplies and get them directly to Ground Zero with their own trucks.
Thanks you for all your support, for your emails, for your phone calls, I know some of you have concerns about my wellbeing in this effort as well. Thank you for your concern and just so you know I am doing some things for myself – right now I am off to see my nephew play soccer on Pier 40!! and I can’t wait to get there. The songwriter’s beat night on Wednesday night was wonderful, one of our best. Huge thanks to Mike Ciro, Sara Divine, Eric Stuart and Robert Hill for participating, and to those of you who come by and continue to return month after month to support songwriters.
In peace, with love,
Val
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001
Subject: The Spirits of Permanent Midnight
Hello friends,
This morning I received the email below from a woman I have been working with since the very beginning, and the supply tent she and Angelo mention is one on the ‘route’ to which we were taking the very supplies you have so generously been donating. Read about the boots and miner lights! That supply tent has now been replaced with another, but many of the people volunteering there are the same. We were just there last night (Monday), with boots, insoles, hand sanitizer, rain gear and more….you must know the list by heart by now!
We need chapstick, cough drops, knit hats, boots, hooded sweatshirts. The hot list has been updated at:
http://wtcgroundzerorelief.org/
please visit, and yes – we still need volunteers at the warehouse.
The words written here say many of the things I have not written about in my updates and calls for donations; when I get home in the middle of the night and send out another ‘hot list’ I have wanted to describe so much – but have purposely steered myself away from doing so in order, I thought, to keep the focus on the much needed supplies – and besides, the emails are long enough! I am wondering now if part of me has wanted to ‘protect’ you (and perhaps my self) from relaying some of the more emotional parts of our experiences. I realize now you are all able and capable of reading between the lines and probably have been doing so since the beginning. But as Angelo writes so eloquently, “the deeper I go into this experience, the more I learn about how joy and misery often walk side by side”. And this in part explains why I choose to continue to work here, in the middle of this seeming paradox of simultaneous immense loss and grief and of newfound fortitude and appreciation of life, whether it is from handing out magnetic insoles to each and every cop and worker and fireman we pass by in the truck, fitting a fireman with the right size boots, informing people how to stay as safe as possible at Fresh Kills, or reading a handwritten letter fom a child addressed to Mr. Fireman or Mr. Policeman. One school sent a box of gloves, with snacks inside each and every pair, and written on each pair of gloves were the words “Hands Are For Helping”.
Perhaps there will be a time when I can write here about some of my personal experiences, when I find the strength and the time to reread some of my journal writings perhaps, but for now Jennifer and Angelo’s words express so eloquently what our lives are like at the site I will let them speak for themselves.
Love,
Val
Hello from NYC,
I have not been able to stop or catch up on my sleep to articulate what volunteering at ground zero has become. I appreciate all of your support, messages, emails, It helps me to detox from each shift at 3am. Hearing a voice or words from outside helps bring you back. I am doing well thanks to your support. Below is an email i received from a fellow volunteer at our supply tent. He articulates a lot of the highs and lows of how we keep going and what it means. I apologize to those I have not returned calls to. My schedule to say the least is quite off working a night shift from 8-2am at Ground Zero & working. Helene and I are also coordinating additional corporate donations to several firehouses in Harlem & Brooklyn that are not receiving the support of the Manhattan Firehouses. Last night they found 16 firemen in a stairwell in tower 1. Around 1:30am I got a cup of coffee and sat down on the ground next to an exhausted fireman from Rescue 1. He smelled that unfortunately familiar smell of death. He looked at me and said “Tell me a story” I told him a story of one too many sour apple vodka martini’s in lower Manhattan & a really bad pool game that ended in my bra hanging on a moose head at hogs & heifers. He laughed and laughed, finished his coffee and walked back out to the pile. You are in my heart and with me for these men.
Jen
Subject: THE SPIRITS OF PERMANENT MIDNIGHT
“One day the rains will be softer One day the winds will be sweeter Sweet as the springtime And the whisper of lilac, apple, pine and pear Will fill the air and One Day A child full of wonder Won’t fear the dark sound of thunder No dreams of danger When a soldier’s a stranger from a distant time Distant world…” Hey everybody–
It’s been nearly three weeks since we’ve been volunteering down at Ground Zero. The never-ending troops of inspiring, enigmatic workers are, to say the least, spent. So are the volunteers. Recently, the mood has shifted: from the utopian hope of rescuing survivors to the cruel, inescapable truth of uncovering the dead.
The Supply Tent I’m working at is directly opposite the south end of the rubble. The rescue teams come and go to our station for boots, socks, hardhats and whatever else. You can tell in a glance who has been down there and for how long. Depending on their gaze. It’s strange; everyone at Ground Zero wears the same expression–a look of compassion…and detachment. It’s worn the same way we wear our respirators: almost constantly. The longer you’ve been down there, the more detached you look. What lies beneath this essential layer of armor, however, is what lies beneath the rubble: the spirit of the victims.
Last week, Autumn arrived and this was the first cold night in Manhattan. It came out of nowhere and nobody was prepared. Around 11 PM, about eight fireman approached the tent. They heard we had boots. And mining lights for the helmets. This was a significant event–getting supplies to our tent became increasingly difficult. With all the bomb-threats, bio-hazard threats, thieves, the suspicion that somebody or something could poison the food or supplies AND the endless bottom feeders aching for a chance to obtain something they could sell, it was necessary for the Office of Emergency Management to inspect every single item that was distributed. Security became so tight that it was understandable that there would be a lag in getting our tent re-stocked. Luckily, my colleague Kevin and I made friends with the other well-stocked supply stations and were able to secure approved, inspected materials in other tents. When we saw two crates of essential elements, we were able to grab them.
The fireman sat down, two at a time to be fitted for Timberlands. One look and you knew all of them had been there for an eternity. When they took off their socks, they had blisters the size of fists on their feet. They were cold, damp and exhausted but they never complained. They lit up at the sight of a pair of warm socks. They spoke in pleasantries and did their best to display the customary “detachment” but you could tell from the look in their eyes what they saw.
We worked fast and were insistent that they didn’t leave empty handed: if a pair of boots were too big, we had insoles. If they had blisters, we had wrap. If they had a sour stomach, we had Tums. They kept telling us what a great job we were doing but I knew deep inside that no matter what we did for these heroes, nothing could ever be enough.
The last fireman sat down. A young, handsome Irish guy built like Superman. He was shivering. The boots fit but we were out of sweaters. After going back and forth, I finally convinced him to sit there while I ran to the Salvation Army tent…the last hope even though I saw the big box of sweaters rummaged through a half an hour ago by a pack of cold workers. I got there and the box was empty. Another shipment would arrive in an hour. I don’t know what led me to a box of sweatpants but I dug through and at the bottom was a big, wool sweater. It was obviously handmade because of the different patterns embroidered on it. They were of little firemen.
I came back and he grabbed the sweater and threw it on. It fit. I can’t describe the expression on his face but it broke my mode of detachment. I casually tossed out a “don’t mention it” but as he walked away, I almost cried. As he walked back into the pile, I stared at the rubble again. I’ve seen it so many times, it almost doesn’t look real anymore. But, this time, I really looked at it. Without that layer of armor. And I could feel them. The thousands of innocent spirits. Normal, everyday citizens who were leading normal, everyday lives. The magnificent who silently put their love of humankind above their own lives. People who had no choice but to run into burning buildings so that maybe a single soul would be spared. People who had no choice but to jump out of a burning building so their horror would be spared. These were mothers, fathers, fiancés, best friends, aunts, uncles and somebody’s most important person in the whole wide world. They were all in there–the magnitude of their deaths still shockingly potent. So were the evil. Buried among all of those beautiful souls who wanted to be alive again.
I don’t know where the strength of detachment came from but it hit me square in the jaw and I was back to getting supplies and stuffing batteries into mining lights again. Life cruelly marched on. The essence of those spirits didn’t hit me again until I got home and was in bed. That little corner of the night after you shut out the lights. And although the feeling has never been as intense as that first encounter, my own spirit is now with them.
The deeper I go into this experience, the more I learn about how joy and misery often walk side by side–for every one of those 6,000 victims who perished, there were 25,000 who were rescued. For every suffering relative who walks into the Family Center, there are scores of loving, compassionate strangers to console them. For every loved one who stands and prays at a memorial service, there’s a city of unfamiliar persons kneeling alongside them.
How extraordinary these days have been. I am reminded that in the wake of witnessing the miraculous, resilient power of the human spirit (as well as the sacred who lay to rest at Ground Zero), I am also walking through the darkest corridors of my life.
Much love and…peace.
Angelo
Date: Fri, 26 Oct
Subject: rational information: Words of Wisdom From An Armor Master
Hello friends,
This valuable information comes from a retired military weapons, munitions and training expert, and provides a rational perspective about the present potential scares facing our world.
I hope you find this useful, I certainly did.
Love,
Val
Hi everyone, This came from my father who recieved it from the individual who wrote it. I found it very useful in light of the present concerns. I hope it helps you better your perspective. It did for me. Joli
All About CBN Warfare – Everyone should read this
Words of Wisdom From An Armor Master
Since the media has decided to scare everyone with predictions of chemical, biological, or nuclear warfare on our turf I decided to write a paper and keep things in their proper perspective. I am a retired military weapons, munitions, and training expert.
Lesson number one: In the mid 1990s there were a series of nerve gas attacks on crowded Japanese subway stations. Given perfect conditions for an attack less than 10% of the people there were injured (the injured were better in a few hours) and only one percent of the injured died. 60 Minutes once had a fellow telling us that one drop of nerve gas could kill a thousand people, well he didn’t tell you the thousand dead people per drop was theoretical.
Drill Sergeants exaggerate how terrible this stuff was to keep the recruits awake in class (I know this because I was a Drill Sergeant too). Forget everything you’ve ever seen on TV, in the movies, or read in a novel about this stuff, it was all a lie (read this sentence again out loud!). These weapons are about terror, if you remain calm, you will probably not die. This is far less scary than the media and their “Experts,” make it sound.
Chemical weapons are categorized as Nerve, Blood, Blister, and Incapacitating agents Contrary to the hype of reporters and politicians they are not weapons of mass destruction they are “Area denial,” and terror weapons that don’t destroy anything. When you leave the area you almost always leave the risk. That’s the difference; you can leave the area and the risk; soldiers may have to stay put and sit through it and that’s why they need all that spiffy gear. These are not gasses, they are vapors and/or air borne particles. The agent must be delivered in sufficient quantity to injure, and that defines when/how it’s used.
Every day we have a morning and evening inversion where “stuff,” suspended in the air gets pushed down. This inversion is why allergies (pollen) and air pollution are worst at these times of the day. So, a chemical attack will have it’s best effect an hour of so either side of sunrise/sunset. Also, being vapors and airborne particles they are heavier than air so they will seek low places like ditches, basements and underground garages. This stuff won’t work when it’s freezing, it doesn’t last when it’s hot, and wind spreads it too thin too fast. They’ve got to get this stuff on you, or, get you to inhale it for it to work. They also have to get the concentration of chemicals high enough to kill or wound you. Too little and it’s nothing, too much and it’s wasted. What I hope you’ve gathered by this point is that a chemical weapons attack that kills a lot of people is incredibly hard to do with military grade agents and equipment so you can imagine how hard it will be for terrorists.
The more you know about this stuff the more you realize how hard it is to use. We’ll start by talking about nerve agents. You have these in your house, plain old bug killer (like Raid) is nerve agent. All nerve agents work the same way; they are cholinesterase inhibitors that mess up the signals your nervous system uses to make your body function. It can harm you if you get it on your skin but it works best if they can get you to inhale it. If you don’t die in the first minute and you can leave the area you’re probably gonna live.
The military’s antidote for all nerve agents is atropine and pralidoxime chloride. Neither one of these does anything to cure the nerve agent, they send your body into overdrive to keep you alive for five minutes, after that the agent is used up. Your best protection is fresh air and staying calm.
Listed below are the symptoms for nerve agent poisoning. Sudden headache, Dimness of vision (someone you’re looking at will have pinpointed pupils), Runny nose, Excessive saliva or drooling, Difficulty breathing, Tightness in chest, Nausea, Stomach cramps, Twitching of exposed skin where a liquid just got on you. If you are in public and you start experiencing these symptoms, first ask yourself, did anything out of the ordinary just happen, a loud pop, did someone spray something on the crowd? Are other people getting sick too? Is there an odor of new mown hay, green corn, something fruity, or camphor where it shouldn’t be? If the answer is yes, then calmly (if you panic you breathe faster and inhale more air/poison) leave the area and head up wind, or, outside. Fresh air is the best “right now antidote.” If you have a blob of liquid that looks like molasses or Karo syrup on you; blot it or scrape it off and away from yourself with anything disposable. This stuff works based on your body weight, what a crop duster uses to kill bugs won’t hurt you unless you stand there and breathe it in real deep, then lick the residue off the ground for while. Remember they have to do all the work, they have to get the concentration up and keep it up for several minutes while all you have to do is quit getting it on you/quit breathing it by putting space between you and the attack.
Blood agents are cyanide or arsine which effect your blood’s ability to provide oxygen to your tissue. The scenario for attack would be the same as nerve agent. Look for a pop or someone splashing/spraying something and folks around there getting woozy/falling down. The telltale smells are bitter almonds or garlic where it shouldn’t be. The symptoms are blue lips, blue under the fingernails rapid breathing. The military’s antidote is amyl nitride and just like nerve agent antidote it just keeps your body working for five minutes till the toxins are used up. Fresh air is the your best individual chance.
Blister agents (distilled mustard) are so nasty that nobody wants to even handle it let alone use it. It’s almost impossible to handle safely and may have delayed effect of up to 12 hours. The attack scenario is also limited to the things you’d see >from other chemicals. If you do get large, painful blisters for no apparent reason, don’t pop them, if you must, don’t let the liquid from the blister get on any other area, the stuff just keeps on spreading. It’s just as likely to harm the user as the target. Soap, water, sunshine, and fresh air are this stuff’s enemy.
Bottom line on chemical weapons (it’s the same if they use industrial chemical spills); they are intended to make you panic, to terrorize you, to herd you like sheep to the wolves. If there is an attack, leave the are and go upwind, or to the sides of the wind stream. They have to get the stuff to you, and on you. You’re more likely to be hurt by a drunk driver on any given day than be hurt by one of these attacks. Your odds get better if you leave the area. Soap, water, time, and fresh air really deal this stuff a knock-out-punch. Don’t let fear of an isolated attack rule your life. The odds are really on your side.
Nuclear bombs. These are the only weapons of mass destruction on earth. The effects of a nuclear bomb are heat, blast, EMP, and radiation. If you see a bright flash of light like the sun, where the sun isn’t, fall to the ground! The heat will be over in a second. Then there will be two blast waves, one out going, and one on it’s way back. Don’t stand up to see what happened after the first wave; anything that’s going to happen will have happened in two full minutes. These will be low yield devices and will not level whole cities. If you live through the heat, blast, and initial burst of radiation, you’ll probably live for a very very long time. Radiation will not create fifty foot tall women, or giant ants and grass hoppers the size of tanks. These will be at the most 1 kiloton bombs; that’s the equivalent of 1,000 tons of TNT. Here’s the real deal, flying debris and radiation will kill a lot of exposed (not all)! people within a half mile of the blast. Under perfect conditions this is about a half mile circle of death and destruction, but, when it’s done it’s done. EMP stands for Electro Magnetic Pulse and it will fry every electronic device for a good distance, it’s impossible to say what and how far but probably not over a couple of miles from ground zero is a good guess. Cars, cell phones, computers, ATMs, you name it, all will be out of order.
There are lots of kinds of radiation, you only need to worry about three, the others you have lived with for years. You need to worry about “Ionizing radiation,” these are little sub atomic particles that go whizzing along at the speed of light. They hit individual cells in your body, kill the nucleus and keep on going. That’s how you get radiation poisoning, you have so many dead cells in your body that the decaying cells poison you. It’s the same as people getting radiation treatments for cancer, only a bigger area gets radiated. The good news is you don’t have to just sit there and take it, and there’s lots you can do rather than panic. First; your skin will stop alpha particles, a page of a news paper or your clothing will stop beta particles, you just gotta try and avoid inhaling dust that’s contaminated with atoms that are emitting these things and you’ll be generally safe from them. Gamma rays are particles that travel like rays (quantum physics makes my brain hurt) and they create the same damage as alpha and beta particles only they keep going and kill lots of cells as they go all the way through your body. It takes a lot to stop these things, lots of dense material, on the other hand it takes a lot of this to kill you.
Your defense is as always to not panic. Basic hygiene and normal preparation are your friends. All canned or frozen food is safe to eat. The radiation poisoning will not effect plants so fruits and vegetables are OK if there’s no dust on them (rinse them off if there is). If you don’t have running water and you need to collect rain water or use water from wherever,just let it sit for thirty minutes and skim off the water gently from the top. The dust with the bad stuff in it will settle and the remaining water can be used for the toilet which will still work if you have a bucket of water to pour in the tank.
Finally there’s biological warfare. There’s not much to cover here. Basic personal hygiene and sanitation will take you further than a million doctors. Wash your hands often, don’t share drinks, food, sloppy kisses, etc., … with strangers. Keep your garbage can with a tight lid on it, don’t have standing water (like old buckets, ditches, or kiddy pools) laying around to allow mosquitoes breeding room. This stuff is carried by vectors, that is bugs, rodents, and contaminated material. If biological warfare is as easy as the TV makes it sound, why has Saddam Hussein spent twenty years, millions, and millions of dollars trying to get it right? If you’re clean of person and home you eat well and are active you’re gonna live.
Overall preparation for any terrorist attack is the same as you’d take for a big storm. If you want a gas mask, fine, go get one. I know this stuff and I’m not getting one and I told my Mom not to bother with one either (how’s that for confidence). We have a week’s worth of cash, several days worth of canned goods and plenty of soap and water. We don’t leave stuff out to attract bugs or rodents so we don’t have them. These people can’t conceive a nation this big with this much resources.
These weapons are made to cause panic, terror, and to demoralize. If we don’t run around like sheep they won’t use this stuff after they find out it’s no fun. The government is going nuts over this stuff because they have to protect every inch of America. You’ve only gotta protect yourself, and by doing that, you help the country.
Finally, there are millions of caveats to everything I wrote here and you can think up specific scenarios where my advice isn’t the best. This letter is supposed to help the greatest number of people under the greatest number of situations. If you don’t like my work, don’t nit pick, just sit down and explain chemical, nuclear, and biological warfare in a document around three pages long yourself. This is how we the people of the United States can rob these people of their most desired goal, your terror.
SFC Red Thomas (Ret) Armor Master Gunner Mesa, AZ
Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2001
Subject: Lots of news
Hello friends,
Lots of news tonight!
First of all, please visit http://wtcgroundzerorelief.org – there have been many updates! You can see the plaque Rhonda receieved from the First Precint for her (and all our volunteers’) efforts, and the thank you letter from the Pacific Northwest National Interagency Management Team, men and women who were pulled into the FEMA teams here in NYC. There are also links to several other letters, some of which delineate some of the bureaucratic events we have had to deal with, as well an outline for our future plans. There is also a link illustrating our supply route, in case you are interested to see where your donations are going! These are the places we have been bringing supplies to for nearly 2 months now.
We are swiftly approaching 11/11, and the 2 month anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11. There will be a candlelight vigil and concert at 6:30 pm Sunday in front of Nino’s Restaurant, at 431 Canal Street between Varick and Hudson. I have been invited to sing “We’ll Carry On” at this event. If you haven’t been there yet or even heard of Nino’s, they have been serving free food to all people involved with the rescue/cleanup effort since 9/12/01. They are always looking for volunteers, in case any of you are still looking for volunteering options. You can go there and apply for a volunteer position in person.
There will also be a benefit later that same night (Sunday) at Pier 17, at Sequoia Restaurant, $25/head. I have been asked to perform at this event as well, will see tomorrow if that is really going to happen when I go there to meet the people involved.
Also on Sunday night on 60 Minutes there will be a segment about the volunteers and police at Pier 40, most of whom we have worked with consistently throughout this process. This segment aired on the West Coast last Sunday and will air on the East Coast this Sunday evening. Honorable mention to people interviewed who have been nominated to be asked to be torch bearers in the next winter Olympics!! (see today’s Daily News).
Today at the warehouse we were honored to recieve a full 18 wheeler (22 pallets!) of gift boxes made by children in San Anselmo, Texas. The charity Feed The Children brought these by this afternoon. We are also expecting an 18 wheeler on Sunday, another load of all kinds of supply from the generous people of Tucson, Arizona. The most amazing thing is being part of a human conveyor belt unloading an 18 wheeler. Countless people, volunteers, police, people passing by, form a line, passing each box, person to person, one after another, until the truck is empty. Laughing, dropping boxes by accident, throwing boxes to one another, ‘hey this one is heavy watch out’…..A trucker passing by who saw us lifting pallets by hand (well, hands of 6 strong men) off the truck, stopped and backed up his truck and we used the back end of his truck, which had a lifting/loading dock to unload the pallets….the kindness of strangers…. ok, I ruined another set on clothes tonight (anyone out there know how to get grease off jeans? or a white sweater?), but hey you never know what you’re going to do in this job!
For those of you concerned about our security, rest assured we have sniffer dogs come by, we are extremely particular about safety measures. Thank you for asking.
Yesterday we received a 27’ truck filled with stuff from Illinois. Hand decorated sweatshirts, gloves. Amazing. The generosity, the thoughtfulness, is simply overwhelming sometimes. !!
We are now coordinating efforts to getting supply to the lesser recognized firehouses in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx who also lost people but have not been receiving the same kind of support from the media and community.
Thanks especially to The Children’s Music Network who have so generously donated hundreds of CD’s and cassettes to be distributed both to children who have lost parents and to schools with the displaced/merged children from Battery Park City.
http://cmnonline.org/
There is a direct line to contact us at the warehouse if you have questions about what we need, deliveries, volunteers etc: please call 646.230.1664 and check in.
Once again, here is where we are located:
The Art Science Research Lab
304-306 Spring Street
NYC NY 10012
The list:
NEW ITEM NEEDED: TREASURE 3 in 1 BLUE DIGGING KNIVES
ALWAYS NEEDED:
Boots sizes 4-16 – both steel toed construction & heavy rubber overboots (large size)
Hard hats and liners
6 volt latern batteries
Cold weather gear: Women’s and men’s sizes L-XXL
Thermal tops and bottoms
Fleece headband earwarmers
Fleece and/or wool caps
Hooded sweatshirts
Sweatpants – L-XXXL
Vests – quilted/fleece
Jackets – lined/insulated/gortex
Winter coats
Carhardt coveralls – winter insulated
Turtlenecks
hand and foot warmers
Personal/medical:
Individual sized tissues
Individual sized handcream
eyewash
cough/cold remedies
waterless hand sanitizer (sm/lg)
Vicks vaporub
Tums/Rolaids – indiv packs
Safety items:
Protective glasses (tinted if possible)
Reflective safety vests
Heavy duty rubber gloves
Waterproofing spray for boots
flashlights (heavy duty) all sizes
batteries size D
headlamps for hardhats
kneepads (heavy duty only please)
Other clothing:
long sleeve T shirts
cargo pants (navy and black only please)
thermal socks (smartwool)
Food:
soda – esp Coke, Pepsi, Diet Coke etc, Arizona teas, Snapple
energy drinks – red bull etc
Sin items:
chocolate
cigarettes (menthol and reg)/cigars
you can also, always, check WTC Ground Zero Relief for the latest items, but this is current as of tonight, November 10, 2001
Celebrate life!
Love,
Val
PS thanks Helene for sending the ‘guardian angel’.
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001
Subject: Far Rockaway
Hello friends,
Yesterday, Monday November 12th, 2001, I woke up at 7:11am and said to myself “well, all that worrying about the trip to LA (had a gig booked at the LA Forum 11/11/01 with Ashford and Simpson) was for naught, the gig was cancelled, we didn’t go afterall, and planes flew all over the place without a problem.
By 9am that last sentiment obviously changed.
London, Mike, and I were at Pier 40 when we heard about the plane crash. We looked at one another and all thought the same thing – we have medical supplies, emergency supplies, respirators, warm clothes, all a few blocks away at the Spring Street warehouse. We have a truck, right here. Let’s load the truck, get a police escort and go. We ran to the warehouse. I lost my cell phone along the way.
We grabbed tools, respirators, blankets, emergency medical supplies, hand sanitizers, towels, flashlights, clothing, hard hats. We’ve been here before, know what is needed, what sizes. Ralph jumped in with us. Four in the front seat. By 9:40am we were on our way. Police escort through the Battery Tunnel. Sirens and horns blaring we were at Far Rockaway in record time. We held hands, or arms, all thinking the last time all the rescue workers ran to the scene another plane crashed, what else might happen out here? What would we find, how to stay together in the chaos? Then we heard the airports were closed, bridges and tunnels, too.
Went to the police meeting area in the Rockaways. They took down our names before we ‘went in’. Was this in case something else happened? keep another record?? Another police escort, and we drove into Far Rockaway. Hundreds of rescue vehicles, firetrucks everywhere, hoses. Chaos. Every street blocked, no way to get a supply truck in through the narrow streets. Beautiful houses, yards and lawns – this is still New York City I kept reminding myself! Being a born and raised New Yorker who has always lived in downtown Manhattan I forget sometimes how massive and varied the city is, how differently people live here.
We parked the truck 4 blocks from the main crash site and walked in, scouting a path for the truck. An engine had landed a few blocks away, fallen mercifully in between a gas station and its gas pumps, fell right in the middle hitting neither. The main crash was on Newport and 131st. After many negotiations on Mike’s part, with police and firemen we get clearance to bring in the truck, driving over hoses – but not over the couplings! – and pulled in on the corner of Newport and 130th Street. Mike can drive that truck anywhere. Even though everyone said no can’t do it, truck won’t fit, can’t move this truck out of the way, never get it in here, well, we did. Polite and calm persistence. Ignore the negativity. Press on. Parked it. Then came the first question: “have any body bags in there?” and then the second, “can you move the truck across the street and up on the curb?”
We pulled into a parking lot behind a bar/restaurant that had been set up as an emergency triage area. We brought them blankets and medical supplies. This triage area was quickly moved closer in. But we were all so thankful for the bathrooms in this bar, we had just received men’s and women’s bath/shower kits from the 18 wheeler that arrived Sunday from Tucson, and they were perfect. Soap. Moisturizer. Toothbrushes. The women police I gave them too were exclaiming “this is incredible, it took days to get this stuff at Ground Zero at the beginning.” And I replied, “well, fortunately now we know what to bring…unfortunately we’ve all been here before”. We all have learned. Placed kits in each of the bathrooms.
We unloaded the truck. Started fitting respirators together with their filters, handed them out. Brought the bio hazard bags over to the recovery team. Saw the firemen put out the remaining fires. A field of blue and black with yellow filled the streets as hundreds of police and firemen worked, emergency lights flashing from each vehicle in the bright sun. Houses gone, yet right next door to one gutted house was a car, untouched and spotless, in a garage. A burned out car on the sidewalk across the street.
After gazing at the World Trade Center so many nights and long afternoons and early mornings, this seemed incredibly contained, unfathomable that such a huge plane could crash and not wreak even more destruction. But we were told the plane nose dived, if it had tried to land whole blocks would be destroyed. Many of the rescue workers recognized us, we found out that many of them live in that area.
We were the first ones out there with these much needed items and the only ones there with respirators or protective tyvex suits all day. Another truck and a van arrived from Spring Street with more of our supplies, boxes of tyvex, more respirators, plastic medical bags, flashlights, socks, gloves gloves gloves, all of which were used and given to police (as they searched for ID), to firemen as well. And all we had were taken, we gave them out and brought countless ones to ESU (Emergency Services Unit) who handed them out. Brought all our tyvex to them too. The truck and van then returned to the city for another load. More boxes of tyvex. Duct tape. Gloves. “As much tyvex as you have we will use today.”
Salvation Army rec’d permission to go to the nearest Walmart and take whatever we needed, so off we went to Walmart, who generously gave us water, soda, cup o noodles, granola bars, anything we could think of. I grabbed bunches of bananas – they were eaten within the hour. Boxes of oranges. As much as everyone usually goes for the candy and junk food, I did what I could to ensure some better nutrition!
By later that afternoon a truck arrived from a Salvation Army warehouse (at JFK) with more hats and sweatshirts, hot chocolate, food. Knowing from Ground Zero that firemen won’t go even half a block out of their way to get supply – and why should they – everyone took boxes of hats and went back out into the crowd, handing out hat after hat, the thin knit kind that fit under police caps (these were dark blue, police can wear as it’s in uniform), hardhats and firemen hats. We even had some red white and blue knit caps, they went in a heart beat. Still needed more hats. As many as we brought, people needed, put them on right away. One fireman all suited up in Tyvex asked me to put the hat in his suit as he couldn’t take off his gloves (they tape up the wrists with duct tape to secure the Tyvex to the gloves). Later than night while sitting on the steps of the house where Fire Command had set up their post Ralph and I looked at all the people wearing the hats and smiled. A bunch of Hasidic children around ages 12 or so asked if they could hand out hats and gloves and candy bars. We gave them boxes to distribute. As it got colder some hot food started to arrive. Salvation Army had their canteens, little trucks with a side window to serve hot food. We brought them 12oz cups and lids that fit (inside joke here, as often the wrong size lids arrive from wherever they get them for the hot cups….). Red Cross started setting up stations. Some politics as usual as the jockeying for ‘prime access’ spots ensued.
By nightfall someone had set up a BBQ grill and hamburgers and hotdogs were flying. From somewhere arrived a plate of sliced tomatoes and onions! Ate 2 cups of soup from Sal Army. A bit salty for my taste but warm and good, so who cares? Was thankful. We huddled around the grill for warmth, much to the chagrin of the women cooking who needed space to cook…. A local restaurant had sent hot food over a block away. We handed out more gloves. Heard the station where they were hosing down firemen needed dry socks. And blankets. Carried over some boxes. Brought Advil to the ESU captain. Helped new volunteers set up their stations in ways that made access easier.
At 9:30pm we heard we had to pack up as we we told we had ‘too many supplies’ out there, Sal Army wanted us to move, pack the truck and park it in a lot 6 blocks away. That made so much of sense to all of us that as you can imagine we really hurried to pack the truck. By 10:00, 13 hours since we’d first heard the news of the crash, I was nearing my limits of functioning, frustration and irritation with the system was kicking in, and knowing well my own limits I asked if I could ride back into the city with the next van going in. Moving stacks of organized boxes to suit the ideas of the powers that be of where supply should be when we were the people efficiently getting supply out all day was just a little too much for me.
Rather than go into any more politics here, I’d rather close by letting you know that your donations, your help, your volunteer efforts have been put to use, everything you have given us or helped us organize and label in the warehouse we have rapidly turned around and given to those in need. Unfortunately, this recent horrible crisis happened, yet this time we were prepared, and so much of that preparation is due to the help you have so generously given us.
We were cleaned out of respirators yesterday. Flashlights, sweatshirts, knit hats, medical supplies, all of those things we again need to restock. Any corporate suggestions you have for contacts please try or let us try! Any donation is welcome, if you can only give one thing make it a knit hat!!
The latest news is at http://wtcgroundzerorelief.org
There is a direct phone line to contact us at the warehouse 646.230.1664
if you have any questions about what we need, deliveries, volunteers etc please call!!!
Once again, here is where we are located:
WTC Ground Zero Relief The Art Science Research Lab 304-306 Spring Street (between Hudson and Greenwich Streets) NYC NY 10012
In closing, a woman called who had found my cell phone yesterday, she saw me drop it on West Street in the morning as we ran to the warehouse. She called a few numbers till she got my friend Claudia on the phone, and then she reached the warehouse itself. I called her late last night and when she returned my call this morning I found out she lives in my building. Can you believe that?????
Celebrate life! It really is too short.
Love,
Val
Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2001
Subject: Volunteers with cars needed
Hello friends,
I know I haven’t written since the day after the plane crash. But life at Ground Zero continues, and we are still in the trenches. Last Friday was the Christmas tree lighting at Ground Zero. They are now down about 5 stories into the ground, and yes, the fire still burns underground. The firemen hope to have it out within another month or so.
We need volunteers! If you are looking for something to do over/during this holiday season, yes, we need you!!! Specifically – if you have a car, we need you this very weekend, on Friday afternoon starting at 3pm, Saturday and Sunday starting at 9am. We will be bringing thousands of angel decorations to the firehouses, as well as some supplies and children’s music CD’s – and we need people to vounteer to drive to specific areas in the city with the decorations! If you are available please call the Spring Street warehouse directly at 646.230.1664 ASAP!!!
For this weekend, you will be bringing the decorations, a note or card explaining you are bringing these from WTC Ground Zero Relief, and will have a map of which firehouses to go to. Many firehouses in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, especially the ones in poorer neighborhoods, have been for the most part overlooked by the media, and are very much in need of support.
We are still at the warehouse, sorting and organizing runs to Ground Zero and Fresh Kills with supplies, as the weather is finally turning the need for real winter clothing is very real. We also need volunteers in the warehouse, call 646.230.1664 to find out what days!! We were open on Thanksgiving Day, will be open every day during the holidays except Christmas Day itself.
The website grows and changes, we are updating constantly. For the most up to date info on needed supplies please visit http://wtcgroundzerorelief.org
but we always, always need:
Boots (Black flexible Ankle-High Steel-Toe Boots – All sizes 4 – 16 especially W/XW (black req’d. for uniforms) hooded sweatshirts thermal underwear hand and foot warmers Carhardtt coveralls.
On the website are now a map of our supply route, the real audio interview on NPR, a list of special projects we are getting underway, as well as the hot list as always and other information.
I hope this finds you all in good health and spirits.
Happy holidays to one and all,
Love,
Val
Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2001
Subject: Tribute concert 3/11/02 & Universal Love 4 Kids CD/mp3’s/
Hello friends,
Some music related news for this ongoing WTC Ground Zero Relief email newsletter: I now have booked March 11, 2002, at the Cornelia Street Cafe, to bring together a tribute night for songwriters to our ongoing, monthly, The Songwriter’s Beat. This will be the sixth month anniversary of 9/11 and we are calling on all songwriters who have written songs in response to, since, about, concerning or reflecting upon 9/11. All proceeds will be donated to WTC relief. Anyone interested please email valghent@earthlink.net ASAP, I am booking this now as already people have begun to respond with incredible positivity.
And, within the next month, we will have 1,000 CD single copies of “We’ll Carry On” to give away and/or sell/auction for WTC charity, thanks to Adam Cott of In Record Time, Inc, here in NYC, who are generously donating the CD pressing charges for the CD single of this song, which was written (or rather came in and landed on my piano) on 9/15/01 in a direct reaction to 9/11. As many of you already know, this song is dedicated to those who left us on 11 September and has been performed at various benefits around the city.
Also, a friend named Art has organized a CD compilation to raise money for the families in need after 9/11/01, called Universal Love 4 Kids. In this amazing project he included a song – “I’m Sleepy” – from our West Street Records release, “Songs For Children”, written by my father, Emmanuel Ghent. You can visit the website: http://ww.universallovesong.com and listen for free or purchase the compilation album.
All the money raised in CD sales will go directly to the Police & Fire Widow’s and Children’s Benefit Fund. You can listen to the songs for free as many times as you like, MP3.com will pay them everytime the song is played, and in turn that money will also go to the fund.
Also on the CD are songs from Art’s daughter, Meeka, Bill Harley, Katherine Dines, John McCutcheon, Red Grammar, Sooz, Monty Harper, Kids For Peace, Dana, and Lisa Atkinson.
Please, please feel free to forward this announcement to anyone interested in children’s music or anyone else you think would be interested in any of the above…we are merely hoping to reach people, to provide more ways of connecting.
As for my last ‘volunteers with cars needed’ email for bringing the thousands of angel ornaments to the firehouses this weekend, thank you all so much for your overwhelming response. This more than anything shows us how much people want to give when and what they can, to this relief effort and to people in need.
Yes, we still need people, please bring maps of NYC (5 boroughs) if you have them and call the WTC Ground Zero Relief warehouse at 646.230.1664. We will have a lot of shipments coming in over the next week or so, so any and all hands appreciated.
And please, boots!! boots!! boots!!! always needed. Always. please visit http://wtcgroundzerorelief.org for the latest in specific needs.
We at WTC Ground Zero Relief will be having a fundraiser next Thursday, information to be sent as soon as plans are made definite.
Below is the email announcement that Art sent me just yesterday.
Thank you all for everything you are doing, staying well and healthy is the best thing during this holiday season. Reach out, reach out – we are all here together. May your holidays be filled with grace and warmth and love.
Love,
Val
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2001
Subject: Holiday Events – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!! – We’ll Carry On
Hello friends,
Wow! What a response for the 3/11/02 tribute concert for original songs written since, about, concerning or reflecting upon 9/11 – we may have to make this an all day event at the Cornelia Street Cafe. Thank you all for responding with such enthusiasm. It will take me a few days to get back to you all individually about performing your songs on that day, so please be patient….thanks. And yes, we do request specifically that the song be written after 9/11.
Some upcoming holiday events:
THURSDAY DECEMBER 20 – WTC GROUND ZERO RELIEF FUNDRAISER!! This fundraiser is for the group I have been working with for months now, many of you have already been to the warehouse, volunteered there and/or donated needed supplies. So you know, with your own eyes, that we have boots to buy, winter thermals to provide, and major plans in the works – we are the official suppliers for the 1010 firehouse supply station on Liberty St across the street from the GZ site among other things… – for the most recent info please visit
http://wtcgroundzerorelief.org
WTC GROUND ZERO RELIEF FUNDRAISER will be at Baktun 418 West 14th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues) OPEN BAR! between 8pm – 10pm $25 donation please after 10pm $10 donation and cash bar
4 DJ’s – Swing Sett – future funk/DJ Seoul jungle drum n bass/Kazooo – deep house and acid jazz/Skull Break Set – new school
WE STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS!!!! to drive to firehouses with the angel ornaments!! If you have a car and the time to do so, please call the warehouse directly at 646.230.1664 thank you!!SATURDAY DECEMBER 22 – SANTA CAUSE PROJECT
http://www.santacauseproject.com/
Some fellow volunteers with whom I have been working since the beginning have started an amazing project, a toy drive for children who lost a parent or guardian on 9/11. This will culminate in a private (closed to press/media) holiday party for the children on Satuturday Dec 22nd at Madison Square Garden. Volunteers are needed Friday morning from 8am till whenever we’re done and also on Saturday morning from 8am until noon, to help sort toys and decorate the EXPO Center at Madison Square Garden be a festive place for the children.
Please email Diane Buhler if you are available: diane@horizong.com , you must contact her and have your name on the volunteer list to be admitted. People who are not on the list will not be admitted.
UNIVERSAL LOVE 4 KIDS CD NEWS:
The Universal Love 4 Kids CD is now the featured CD in the children’s music section of MP3.com!!! See for yourself: !!
You can buy the CD, or listen to the songs for free as many times as you like, MP3.com will pay everytime the song is played, and that money will go to the Police & Fire Widow’s and Children’s Benefit Fund. You can also visit the website: http://ww.universallovesong.com All the money raised in CD sales at either site will go directly to the fund.
Once again, (I know I’m repeating myself since the last email, but there are new people on the email list every day!) Art Halperin has put together this compilation of many wonderful artists including his daughter Meeka, and he included “I’m Sleepy” from my father Emmanuel Ghent’s “Songs For Children” which we released on my local West Village label, West Street Records, last year. Please help support this wonderful cause and treat yourself and the kids in your life to some great music!
And finally, as we near the holidays, I am enclosing the words to We’ll Carry On, which I have not sent out via email since 9/15/01. I have been giving the lyrics away for free at benefits and events, and will be giving out the CD’s once they are pressed up in January. Please feel free to forward these words if you so desire.
This song is dedicated to those whose presence we all still feel among us, to the weight of their souls which we all carry now.
We’ll Carry On
Valerie Ghent – 9/15/01 NYC, N.Y.
can you hear us
cause we hear you
can you feel us
cause we feel you
can you see us
cause oh we see you
everywhere and in everything we do
we’ll carry on
we’ll carry on
we’ll carry on – as long as we can
we’ll carry on
and though we survivors
we walk the streets
stare into
each others eyes
as we search for connection
to feel that weâre alive
though part of us has died
yes deep down part of us has died
every morning
every night
we look downtown
there is no light
but we feel your presence
we feel your weight
we feel your souls as they alight
if itâs any comfort
as you watch from there
I hope you see how much we care
and know we carry you with every breath of air
we’ll carry on – as long as we can
we’ll carry on – doing what we can
we’ll carry on – even if we donât know how
we’ll carry on
for those who are left
to face the truth
no one knows
all we fear
no one knows
where weâre gonna go from here
but we’ll carry on
we’ll carry on – even if weâre scared
we’ll carry on – we carry you in our prayers
we’ll carry on
we’ll carry on
© 2001 West Street Records/Cavos Music
PO Box 20086 West Village Station NYC NY 10014
Happy and healthy holidays to all – if you have any questions about any of the above please feel free to email me. I can’t promise I’ll email you back immediately but I will get back to you!
All the best, stay well, stay safe, stay warm.
Val
Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002
Subject: Volunteers needed
Hello friends,
Happy New Year! Russian New Year is next Monday so we can still say it!!
After a managerial meeting at the WTC Ground Zero Relief warehouse last night it was determined that we need more volunteers, motivated volunteers, especially those who are interested and available to schedule a regular weekly timeslot of even 2 hours. Monday mornings for example, are very busy. Mornings in general are busy. Countless uniformed NYPD and PAPD Emergency Services Unit (ESU) people come in for supply. We have found having one assistant manager on duty at those times is too much to ask for one person, and we are stretched thin with personnel these days. A few people are holding down shifts for WTC and trying to keep real jobs too, and some of us are freelance and are juggling time commitments to be available when needed.
We are also receiving donations that need to be sorted and organized, and we need people who are interested in fund raising (we are a not-for-profit) or perhaps have funding to provide for a receptionist as we desperately need someone reliable to answer phones.
So, if you are perhaps looking for a way to spend some of that free time we all have so much of (ha ha), or are simply interested in what we are doing for the Ground Zero Relief effort and want to check it out, please email me or call the warehouse directly at 646.230.1664. I’d be happy to set up a time to meet any of you there (we’d have to find one or two convenient times only, perhaps this weekend) and show you around so you wouldn’t be ‘going in alone’…..sounds silly to say but I know it can be weird to just show up when you don’t know anyone.
Yes we are still supplying Ground Zero, yes we still make runs down there, yes there is still need. You can check the website at http://wtcgroundzerorelief.org for more information.
Thanks! And stay warm!
Love,
Val
Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002
Subject: Volunteers needed
Hello friends,
Volunteer opportunity!!!!
WHERE: WTC Ground Zero Relief warehouse
WHEN: starting Friday 18 January into the following week. Every day from 9am to 9pm.
WHY: a major donor has come thru with boots, Carhartt overalls, helmet liners and lights heavy duty work gloves, thermals….. and more! all items need to be assembled in kits to outfit each Ground Zero worker.
This is a big job. We need all the help we can get!!! Please pass this request on to anyone and everyone.
WTC Ground Zero Relief is located at 304 Spring Street between Hudson and Greenwich Streets
Nearest trains are the E TO SPRING STREET or the #1 to CANAL STREET.
Our phone lines are overrun, if you have questions not answered by this email please email me rather than call in – thank you!
We are open from 9AM-9PM, 7 Days per week
our number is 646-230-1664 please do not call unless you are scheduling a time to volunteer, we are receiving so many calls we barely have time to talk!!! Love,
Val
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002
Subject: NY Times article & 3/11/2002 tribute concert
Hello friends,
Well my last email starting by saying Happy Russian New Year and now it’s time to say Happy Chinese New Year – Year of the Horse starts tomorrow, 2/12/2002.
The big news of the day is that on the cover of today’s NY Times Metro section (2/11/2002) you can read an article about Rhonda Roland Shearer, our recent donations and grant money we received (money that I mentioned in the last email installment but at that time could not say from whom), what we have been doing recently at Ground Zero and an indication of some of the politics we have been dealing with since last fall.
Here is the link to the article online, the title is “An Uphill Climb For A Downtown Volunteer” by Robert Worth:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/11/nyregion/11ARTI.html
Once the latest grant money came through from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (now we can say the name) we were able to buy winterized Carhartts, insulated boots and put together tool bags for each and every firefighter who was on the February WTC tour, as well as for ESU and PAPD personnel. As the new rotation of firefighters started last week, Rhonda, London, Rita, Joan, myself and others were down at the site at 6:30am and 6:30pm Monday through Thursday of last week, and some were there all day Saturday, to hand out first the tool bags – with specific tools we had identified in meetings with officers of all departments – and then the boots and Carhartts to the incoming men. We rotated, going there when we could, some going each time – it was a whirlwind!
Please visit http://wtcgroundzerorelief.org and learn more about our organization.
The 9/11 tribute concerts are in full preparation, thank you to all the songwriters and poets who have submitted works so far. We have over 45 songwriters and poets who will be performing works about, since, concerning 9/11/2001, on two dates: Monday March 11 2002 and Monday March 25 2002 at the Cornelia Street Cafe, doors at 8:30pm. There were so many positive responses that we added another date. Included with the local NYC songwriters will be works by PAPD, NYPD, FDNY and EMS as well as WTC volunteers and poets from all over the country. I am still looking for written works by volunteers and FDNY, PAPD, NYPD, ESU, EMS personnel, I can promise you they will be handled with respect and will be in safe hands, all copyrights respected and all our proceeds will be donated.
These two dates are to commemorate the 6 month anniversary of 9/11, as well as serving as fundraisers for WTC relief.
I have to stress that the songs and poems performed those nights will be songs written since 9/11 and are about the events and the aftermath, no matter how seemingly coincidental a song written before 9/11 might appear to be, it simply is not the same. Thank you for understanding this.
You can visit http://songwritersbeat.com for more info, the site is still being created, but we are rushing to get the basic info up and online.
Stay warm, it’s getting windy out there.
Love,
Val
Date: Fri, 08 Mar 2002
Subject: 3/11/2002 tribute concert/’challenge’ grant information
Hello friends,
Perhaps we all felt a touch of spring in the air this week. It is welcome to us all, especially at the site as the recovery efforts continue. The new ramp has been completed, as of the beginning of March, which makes access to the bottom of the pit easier and finally allows for the original ramp to be excavated. The new ramp runs North-South alongside West Street, or on what would be Washington Street; the original ramp ran East-West with some turns along the way, just North of Liberty Street off Church.
The 9/11 tribute concerts are…ready… to….go…..! We have over 40 songwriters and poets, including works by PAPD, NYPD, FDNY and a 911 paramedic as well as WTC volunteers and poets from all over the country.
I especially want to thank all the writers who submitted works and only wish we had more time to present you all! Thank you for understanding and for your contributions.
9.11 Tribute Concert Performers…
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002
Subject: NY Times article about 3/11 concert
Hello friends,
Great news, in today’s New York Times there is an article about the Monday night Songwriter’s Beat 9/11 tribute concert called, “In New American Blues, The Toll of 9/11 – Songwriters Express Complexity Of Losses Great and Small“ by Kirk Johnson. (The article is on the front page of the Metro section in the print version.)
You can read the article online at this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/13/arts/13SONG.html
and hear audio clips of four of the performers (link to audio from above site):
Port Authority Police Dep’t (PAPD) officer Mariella Coleman reading PAPD Norma Hardy’s poem, “The Men”
Steve Buscemi reading Lou Reed’s poem, “Laurie Sadly Listening”
David Heitler-Klevans singing a chorus of his song, “All Those People”
Tracy Stark singing the ending of her song, “A Million Hearts” (they have her listed as Tiffany which is a typo, her first same is Tracy)
For a listing of the performers, and the most current announcements please visit http://songwritersbeat.com
(there is a link to it and to the WTC Groud Zero Relief site from the NY Times’ audio page)
Note: There is also a new option at the Times webpage to ask to be notified on future articles about items related to the article, with an option to be notified about future articles on The Cornelia Street Cafe as well as articles on music, NYC and terrorism.
I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all who attended the concert on Monday night and invite you to part two of the tribute series which will be held on March 25th at The Cornelia Street Cafe. Monday night was, quite simply, magical – the room was filled with collective spirit, remarkable talent, and personal truth. The audience, with members of PAPD, FDNY, NYPD and 911 there as well as musicians, poets from all over the country, friends and family of the performers, as well as our WTC Ground Zero Relief members, was encouraging and supportive – exactly what I hope for in every Songwriter’s Beat performance, and for this I thank you all. Monday night’s concert was both a continuation of that warm spirit and at the same time a beginning – and what a beginning. We have the March 25th concert coming, as well as a larger benefit concert to be held later this spring at The Knitting Factory main stage (news on that as it develops).
Also, the first edition printing of
‘word’, the collection of all the poems and lyrics presented at the tribute concerts,
is now available for $10 donation purchase on site at:
WTC Ground Zero Relief
304 Spring Street (between Hudson and Greenwich Sts)
NYC NY 10013
and by mail order ($12 includes S/H) from:
West Street Records
P.O.Box 20086
West Village Station
NYC NY 10014
(**Please note** for ordering and payment process please visit the orders page for info, please DO NOT SEND CHECKS MADE OUT TO WEST STREET RECORDS thank you!)
there is an order form at http://songwritersbeat.com – click on ‘word’ in the right hand column of the home page for the pop up window on the book.
You can also download a .pdf file of the entire book (link updated in 2013, click on tab titled “word” to download) – we are making it available to all – and if you would like to donate to WTC Ground Zero Relief after doing so that would be greatly appreciated.
Copies will also be available at the upcoming benefit concerts… and all proceeds benefit WTC Ground Zero Relief.
Thank you again for all your suppport,
Love,
Val
Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002
Subject: PAPD travelling Memorial
Hello friends,
We are in the middle of preparing for the second Songwriter’s Beat 9/11 tribute benefit concert on March 25 – the roster of performers is, as at the first concert, phenomenal. (The list of performers and other news is at http://songwritersbeat.com).
The response to the New York Times article about the 3/11 concert has similarily encouraging and supportive, and I thank you all for your emails and phone calls. The link to the article, and the sound clips, will be active for 2 weeks from 3/13, so if you haven’t already gone and read it, you still can! Please feel free to download the article, read it, pass it along, listen to the sound clips…. here is the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/13/arts/13SONG.html “New American Blues, The Toll of 9/11” by Kirk Johnson.
One of the sound clips is of PAPD officer Mariella Coleman reading “The Men”, written by her partner, PAPD officer Norma Hardy.
In other WTC – and especially PAPD – related news, on Friday morning I was invited to the ceremony to both bless and to send off the new Port Authority Police Department travelling memorial, which will be going around the country with an exhibit of WTC related artifacts, information, and amazing spirit. The ceremony included words from PAPD Lt. Keegan, the National Anthem sung by PAPD Jimmy Wheeler, blessings at Ground Zero from a priest and a rabbi, and music by the PAPD bagpipe and drum band. Three retired lieutenants from the PAPD will be onboard, setting up the installation for the public in different locations. The memorial was escorted to the George Washington Bridge by a calvacade of highway patrol on motorcyles. To raise funds for the Port Authority victims of the World Trade Center attack and help with expenses, they will be selling Police and World Trade Center memorabilia.
Knowing that many of you on this list are located all around the country, please let me know if this exhibit is something you think your city or town may be interested in hosting and I will pass along the information to the PAPD here. They are also looking for people to sponser mileage, at $10/mile and/or to promote and advertise the exhibit.
All proceeds will go to:
The Port Authority NY&NJ Police World Trade Center Disaster Survivors Fund and The World Trade Center Port Authority Memorial Fund You can visit http://wtcpapdmemorial.com for more information and a schedule. Here is some information about the exhibit:
“At each stop we will set up a World Trade Center exhibit, which will include a pictorial display and artifacts from the World Trade Center. Also, we will have a presentation, “Attack on America” that will include the following:
– World Trade Center Construction facts
– History of the World Trade Center
– World Trade Center prior to the attack
– September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania United Airlines flight 93
– World Trade Center disaster site, ” the aftermath” (Ground Zero)
– History of Port Authority Police and our lost heroes
– And a tribute to all September 11th victims.”
Please check out the above link, the PAPD travelling memorial is more than important. It is crucial that we not forget, that we continue to be vigilant, that we continue to care.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
On a slightly lighter note, I hope to see you all at the March 25th 9/11 tribute concert, if not this Wednesday, March 20th, at our regular Songwriter’s Beat, which features K.P.Devlin, Frank Tedesso (who was extensively quoted in the Times article!), Joe Bowie with Kim Clarke and Adam Klipple, and myself (someone emailed to say they can’t perform, and as it’s last minute I’ll jump in) – I think after months of hoarseness (WTC related?) I’m ready to sing again….! So I get to put myself out on that songwriter’s beat limb and try some new material in front of you!
Stay warm. It’s freezing out there today.
Love,
Val
Date: Wed, 15 May 2002
Subject: WTC Ground Zero Relief benefit 5/20
Hello friends,
We are getting ready for the Monday benefit concert at The Knitting Factory, and in this week’s NY Press is an article by Kate Walter about the benefit and the CD titled “WTC Angel”.
You can pick up a free copy of NY Press in many locations around NYC, and/or read the article at the following link:
You can also find the article at http://nypress.com, search “WTC Angel” by Kate Walter.
I had an advance shipment of the CD’s sent to PAPD officer Norma Hardy, who has taken them to Washington DC for the Police Memorial going on there this week. The rest of the CD’s will arrive just in time for the benefit on Monday. We will have them available for a donation purchase of $15. This is a limited, first edition! We also now have WTC Ground Zero Relief patches and stickers for donation purchase as well.
We have many bachelor firemen and police who have agreed to be ‘auctioned’ on Monday, as well as some amazing musical talent, so you don’t want to miss this fundraiser! Tickets will be $30, but we are having beer donated, so the beer will only cost $2…..bargain! All the funds are going to WTC Ground Zero Relief, who have supplied Ground Zero since September. For more information please visit http://wtcgroundzerorelief.org
5/20 Musical performers:
August Moon – with Tom Ferranola from Engine 58
Kathleen Pemble – with her group
Greg Parr – Engine 5
Valerie Ghent – WTC Ground Zero Relief (with Booker King (bass) and Paul
Shapiro (sax))
Hughie Lynch – Squad 1
then the bachelor firefighter/police auction…..
and then the incomparable
DEFUNKT – featuring:
Joseph Bowie, trombone, vocals
Kim Clarke, Bass
Adam Klipple, Keyboards
Tobias Ralph, Drums
Alex Harding, Baritone Sax
Kahil El Zabar, Percussion
See you on Monday!
Enjoy the spring –
Val