My Family's Claim to "Fame"

In July of 1945, an Army plane crashed into the Empire State Building. My paternal grandfather, who worked for War Relief Services of the National Catholic Welfare Conference was one of the people killed in the crash. He helped guide several of his office mates to safety -- an interesting twist is that one of the women he helped save was the future mother of Philippe Petit -- who in 1974 walked a highwire between the Twin Towers.

My grandfather left 4 children under the age of 12 and a pregnant wife who miscarried days later.

My grandmother was the first private citizen to sue the United States Government and win. I'm not sure of the amount of the settlement, but know it was small and inadequate for her to raise four children. (Money, of course, can never replace a loved one but I can't help but imagine how much money she would have gotten had this happened today?)

Years later, one of my uncles met a man on a plane who, recognizing the last name, asked if he was related to one of the crash victims. He went on to say that he was a lawyer and if my uncle ever wanted to reopen the case, he should be in touch because he was there when the pilot took off and he was drunk! Damn, we should OWN the Empire State Building.

It helps me to understand why people are the way they are and why they behave the way that they do. Its interesting to wonder how my father's life would have been different had his father lived and what impact it would have had, in turn, on my childhood and that of my brothers. All I can come up with is that it would have been different, but I don't know that it would have necessarily been better. At one time, my grandfather was in the seminary studying to be a priest. He was asked to leave because he was "too rigid" for the Catholic Church. Hoo boy! Now, even today, the Catholic Church is not exactly known for its flexibility. I can't imagine how rigid "too rigid" was for the Catholic Church in the 1920s! Thus, "different", but not necessarily "better".