Thanksgiving Day Dick Meighan 5K Run, November 26, 2009

As every year, what better way to kick- off Thanksgiving but with a brisk, challenging 3.1 mile race.

It's always a very festive event and a great way to start the day. Even better, as it's a particularly challenging course, featuring several hills (especially that big one at the end), I nailed a new PR (Personal Record) for this course, finishing at 25:48.

Monthly Group Walk, Trinity Tree Root, Trinity Church, October 30, 2009

Our monthly group walk for October 2009 was to the 'Trinity Tree Root', located at Trinity Church in Downtown Manhattan.

Sculptor Steve Tobin and his team of artists, sculptors, and restoration specialists in Quakertown, PA, created the Root carefully memorializing and preserving forever the natural remnants of the Trinity Tree Root, which was once located in front of St. Paul’s Chapel near the World Trade Center in New York City.

As debris rained down around the Chapel on Sept. 11, 2001, an enormous sycamore tree shielded the building from catastrophic damage. In the weeks that followed. St. Paul’s became a place of worship and a place of rest for those who worked tirelessly at the epicenter of the tragedy. Volunteers, counselors, and healthcare professionals transformed the Chapel into the central meeting place where workers ate, slept, wept, and were renewed as they poured time and effort into search and cleanup operations.



Eventually, St. Paul’s sycamore tree succumbed to the extensive damage from falling debris and was cut down. Its roots and stump remained at St. Paul’s until Tobin’s crew was commissioned to excavate and reproduce the root in bronze.

To create the bronze casting through the lost wax process, Steve and his crew needed to make numerous flexible rubber molds to capture the intricate shapes and detail of the stump and all the root structure.

USS New York

November 7, 2009
USS New York Commissioning

This Memorial Miler had the honor and privilege to attend the November 7, 2009 commissioning ceremony for the USS New York in New York City at the Intrepid Museum on Pier 86! It was a very emotional ceremony and I was glad I was on hand with my wife Susan and the many other families who lost loved ones in the World Trade Center attacks to see the commissioning of the Navy and Marines newest amphibious assault ship.

Built with 7½ tons of World Trade Center steel salvaged from the fallen Twin Towers, she officially went into active duty, becoming the Navy's newest warship - and a proud symbol of fortitude.

As the command rang out: "Bring the ship to life!", I got a lump in my throat as the crew members ran into position and in their dress blues stood at attention along the rails, the radar antennas began to revolve, black smoke poured from three stacks, sirens blared and the whistle blew, she became an official US Navy Warship!

Our thoughts and prayers are with the brave young crew members of the USS New York, and we wish her “Fair Winds and Following Seas”.









The Ship's Crest

• Seven rays of sunlight signify the crown atop the Statue of Liberty and the seven seas.
  
• Central focus placed on the Twin Towers and the bow of the ship, forged from Twin Towers steel.
  
• Breastplate of the phoenix bears the colors of first responders from the New York Police Department, New York Fire Department, and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
  
• Blood drops represent the fallen.
  
• Three stars for those earned by the battleship USS NEW YORK (BB34) in World War II at Iwo Jima, Okinawa and North Africa.
  

From the NY Daily News (11-08-09):

"The New York will be a visible testament to our resilience," said Navy Secretary Ray Mabus as the first watch was set and hundreds of sailors and Marines ran onto the decks of the ship, a tradition signaling the official commissioning of the vessel.

Cmdr. Curt Jones, a native New Yorker, took command during an emotional ceremony at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum attended by more than 6,000 people, including Secretary of State Clinton, Gov. Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg.

"There is a lot of emotion that is associated with this ship for all of us," Jones said. "The steel that is in the bow of the ship, that motivates us literally every day in what we do."

The ship, which has a crew of about 360 sailors, will be docked at Pier 88 until Thursday, when it heads to its home port at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia.

"This ship has been the product of a lot of hard work," Paterson said. "It is not just named the New York - it IS New York."

Clinton said the New York will help the nation heal, more than eight years after the World Trade Center attack. "In that steel, burned but unbroken, lives the spirit we saw on 9-11," she said. "Sometimes our pain can lead us to purpose."

Mike Petters is the president of Northrop Grumman, which built the ship in Avondale, La. "We needed this ship," Petters said. "New York needed this ship. And America needed this ship."

For Carl Scheetz, a firefighter with Rescue 1 in Hell's Kitchen, the ship is a reminder of the city's strength. "To me it's a show of resiliency to the whole tragedy that happened," he said. "The crew members are great. I met a Marine and went to say 'Thank you' to him. He said, 'No, sir, thank you very much.' "We have a lot in common," Scheetz said.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/11/07/2009-11-07_uss_new_york_comes_to_life.html#ixzz0WJVuaFOn


Commission Web site: worth a visit!
http://www.ussny.org/commissioning.php

The bow stern of the USS New York - Built with 7½ tons of World Trade Center steel salvaged from the fallen Twin Towers!

San Francisco, CA

October 29 - November 2, 2009

I had chance to get out to San Francisco for a long weekend! Great town to do a lot of tourist stuff! Great place to do a lot of walking or running, so I took advantage of the opportunity! It just so happened that the US Half Marathon was taking place on November 1st, so I joined in on the start! To be honest I did not run the full course, I had a full day of site-seeing ahead of me, but I did put in a good run! It was a lot of fun!


Memorial Miler Paul in San Francisco!


Start of the US Half Marathon (No - I did not run the whole thing!)


Hopping a ride on a cable car!

Taking a break at the bottom of Lombard Street!