Bryan Strawser

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Bryan Strawser

The Account

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It’s almost impossible to describe that sound. When you think of a crash, you think of a cacophony of shattering and twisting noises. A noise that hearts your ears with it’s pitch. But when you’re in side one of the objects in the crash, the experience is much different, almost inverted in a way. There was a resounding crunch almost too deep to be heard. It reminded me very much of the sound of a car crash from within one of the cars. A much more rounded sound.

It was a deep feeling as well. Most of that was likely due to the fact that I was on the 51st floor of the building. [Universal Churck of Cosmic Uncertainty]

RIP: John Ritter

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LOS ANGELES — John Ritter, whose portrayal of the bumbling but lovable Jack Tripper helped make the madcap comedy series “Three’s Company” a smash hit in the 1970s, has died of a heart problem, his publicist said Friday. He was 54. [Boston Globe]

RIP: Johnny Cash

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Johnny Cash, “The Man in Black” who became a towering figure in American music with such hits as “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line” and “A Boy Named Sue,” died Friday. He was 71. [Boston Globe]

National Guardsman Remembered

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A police officer who was killed while serving in Iraq with the Rhode Island National Guard was buried Friday with full police and military honors.

Staff Sgt. Joseph Camara, 40, died Sept. 1 when his Humvee struck a mine near Baghdad.

Police and military honor guards stood at attention and bagpipes skirled as the flag-draped casket, accompanied by a riderless horse, was brought to Mount Carmel Church.

Govs. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Donald Carcieri of Rhode Island attended the funeral, along with U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.

”He and the others who died in this conflict, as in all other conflicts, are innocent and, like Christs themselves, allow themselves to be in the words of Jesus … persecuted for righteousness’ sake,” the Rev. Jack Oliveira said at the funeral.

”He was an exceptional partner,” said Police Officer Luis Sud-Martinez.

”He had no qualms about going back and serving his duty in the military. He had put his time in and was ready to retire but he went back and he had a job to do,” he said. [Boston Globe]

Governor Still Listed as Critical

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Gov. Frank O’Bannon remained in critical condition this afternoon at the Chicago hospital where he has shown some signs of improvement.

O’Bannon, 73, has been in the intensive care unit of Northwestern Memorial Hospital since suffering a massive stroke Monday.

Northwestern spokeswoman Kelly Sullivan said this afternoon there was no change in the governor’s condition and his vital signs are stable.

A CT scan of O’Bannon’s brain showed Thursday that for the first time the swelling in his brain is diminishing, said hospital spokeswoman Kelly Sullivan. [Indianapolis Star]

I Will Never Forget

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It is my hope that in the months and years ahead life will return almost to normal. We’ll go back to our lives and routines, and that is good.

Even grief recedes with time and grace.

But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened that day and to whom it happened. We will remember the moment the news came, where we were and what we were doing.

Some will remember an image of a fire or story of rescue. Some will carry memories of a face and a voice gone forever.

And I will carry this. It is the police shield of a man named George Howard, who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others.

It was given to me by his mom, Arlene, as a proud memorial to her son. It is my reminder of lives that ended and a task that does not end.

I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people.

The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.

Fellow citizens, we’ll meet violence with patient justice, assured of the rightness of our cause and confident of the victories to come. [President George W. Bush]

Mouring a Firefighter at Last

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NEW YORK (AP) — A vial holding the blood of a firefighter was placed in a coffin alongside his uniform Monday, marking the final memorial service for the 343 firefighters killed at the World Trade Center.

The family of Michael Paul Ragusa, 29, had put off any funeral for two years in the hope that his remains might be identified. But they never were.

However, the family had blood that Ragusa had donated to a bone marrow center in the months before Sept. 11.

Ragusa’s family said the donation represented his lifelong dedication to helping others. [New York Times]