News

The Account

by Bryan Strawser · Sep 13, 2003

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

by Bryan Strawser · Sep 12, 2003

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

by Bryan Strawser · Sep 12, 2003

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]

Governor Still Listed as Critical

by Bryan Strawser · Sep 12, 2003

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

by Bryan Strawser · Sep 11, 2003

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

by Bryan Strawser · Sep 8, 2003

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]

Indiana Governor in Critical Condition

by Bryan Strawser · Sep 8, 2003

CHICAGO ó Indiana Gov. Frank OíBannon is under sedation and the next 24-48 hours “will be critical,” Dr. Wesley Yapor said late this afternoon after the governor underwent several hours of surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for a cerebral hemorrhage.

Yapor, the attending neurosurgeon, told reporters that doctors removed blood from both sides of the governor’s brain. “The surgery went very well,” he said.

Yapor said the most likely cause of the governor’s condition was a stroke, and that there was also evidence of trauma to the governor’s brain, suggesting he had suffered additional injuries in a fall.

Yapor said O’Bannon is in critical condition, in a drug-induced coma. He said the governor is on a ventilator.

“We’re hoping he is going to recover function. How much, we don’t know,” he said. “He cannot be governor, or at least function as governor, for right now.” [Indianapolis Star]

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