Remembering Sept 11 2001 and Capt. Thomas Moody

It was actually the morning of September 12th in New Zealand when the world seemed to change. Dean and I woke up and on the radio they were talking about the deaths of JFK and Princess Diana and various other sad moments in history. We immediately wondered what on earth had happened and turned on the television to see the most shocking thing we have ever seen - planes crashing in to the World Trade Center towers. Erin was less than a year old at the time and I was glad she was not old enough to understand or ask me questions - how could you explain that?

This year 2996 bloggers are each remembering one victim from this awful day in history.

I wish to remember Capt. Thomas Moody. A man I never met or knew of until a few weeks ago but whose face will now never leave my mind. Capt. Moody lived in Stony Brook, NY and was 45 years old. He was a fire fighter and died in the World Trade Center doing his job. Here is a tribute someone gave about him:

Captain Thomas Moody loved to give people "the elbow." He would be telling a joke, kidding someone, and if they didn't get it right away, "he would give you the elbow in the ribs," said his wife, Maureen. "He loved to tease."Captain Moody also had a certain way with names. His daughter Deirdre's first-grade teacher, Mrs. Fear, became Mrs. Afraid. Mr. McDonald became Mr. Arby's. And when he was growing up in Brentwood, on Long Island, his younger sister, Lorraine, became "the secret helper.'' "Whenever he wanted to get my sister to do something, he'd call her his secret helper, and he would con her into doing these little favors for him," recalled Frank Moody, an older brother.But for all his teasing, and (literal) ribbing, Captain Moody, 45, was quiet at heart. An 18-year veteran of the Fire Department, he was working to be transferred to the hazardous materials team, so he could make full use of his degree in chemical engineering; he started his career as a chemical engineer. He still got consulting work as an engineer, but his adventurous side was most fulfilled working in the Fire Department. "He was in probie school when we met," said Mrs. Moody. "He was so excited about it, so content."