A NATION CHALLENGED: PORTRAITS OF GRIEF: THE VICTIMS
A NATION CHALLENGED: PORTRAITS OF GRIEF: THE VICTIMS; A Firefighter With Credits, A Man With Wanderlust And a Barbie Doll Collector
Published: December 8, 2001
(Page 5 of 7)
He took his youngest brother with him on many of his adventures, sometimes for company, sometimes for competition. After Firefighter Sikorsky finished a year at auto-body school in Colorado, the two drove back to New York together in a Chevy Blazer.
They took their first skydiving trip together. And they recently rode in a Harley Davidson rally from New York to a drive-in diner in New Jersey.
THOMAS S. STRADA
'Sky Was the Limit'
What made Terry Strada fall fast in love with her husband, Thomas, when they met 20 years ago? ''Oh my God, he was the most fun person I ever knew,'' Mrs. Strada said. ''He would take me out, and the sky was the limit. Limos, dinners. I said I liked the Boston Celtics; he flew me to Boston to see them.''
Three months after Mr. Strada's death, his wife is still inundated with calls from people eager to reminisce about thrills they experienced, courtesy of Thomas Strada.
''If they went fishing with him, it was the best fishing trip they ever had,'' Mrs. Strada said. ''If they went to the track with him and he won money, he'd share it and make everyone a winner for the night.''
Mr. Strada, 41, a bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald, also ensured that his son, Thomas, 7, and daughter, Kaitlyn, 4, experienced as much exhilaration as they could handle. The family visited Disney World three times since Tommy was born. Just 10 days before his death, Mr. Strada helped the boy catch his first bass.
There is one family member, however, who has missed out on the joy of life with Mr. Strada. He is Justin Thomas, Mr. Strada's third child. He was just four days old on Sept. 11.
ALAN D. KLEINBERG
Planning a Park, and Legacy
On Sept. 10, Alan D. Kleinberg spent the evening at the East Brunswick Township Council, where he lobbied to move forward with a community skate park, a nod to his oldest son's affection for in-line skating. On the hot-button issue, known to provoke emotions, he was respected as a negotiator and mediator who helped gain acceptance for the idea.
''He did this for his child,'' said Jacque Eaker, special assistant to the East Brunswick Township mayor.
At 39, Mr. Kleinberg thrived on his job as a securities trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, but family was the focus of his time off, whether it was planning a special trip for his wife, Mindy, coaching the basketball team of his 10-year-old son, Jacob, taking his 7-year-old daughter, Lauren, to dance class or a Saturday afternoon ice skating with the children, including his 3-year-old son, Sam.
''Whatever was good in this world, he took and gave to them,'' said Gail Rubin, his mother-in-law.
On Oct. 15, the council endorsed the park plan. Work is to begin this spring.
JAMES R. COYLE
The Force Was With Him
James R. Coyle wanted to be Luke Skywalker. But because of certain difficulties in pursuing that career path, he decided to do what he thought was the next best thing, which was fighting fires.
Sure, there was no flying across galaxies or rescuing princesses, but joining the New York Fire Department had its own rewards.
Both of his grandfathers were New York firefighters. Firefighter Coyle joined the department's cadet program while studying at Brooklyn College. He was 22 when he graduated as valedictorian of that program on a wet June day about four years ago.
For the next three years, he worked as an emergency medical technician. He delivered a baby in the back of an ambulance. He ducked bullets in crime-ridden neighborhoods.
Last December, he completed training in the fire academy and joined Ladder Company 3 in the East Village. One grandfather gave the firefighter his old fire hat.
The last glimpse his mother, Regina Coyle, had of Firefighter Coyle was on her television set on Sept. 11, when a local television station was doing a morning show on cooking in the firehouse. He had just finished a night shift, she said, and he was there to eat meal before heading off to Chicago on vacation.
MARK L. ROSENBERG
Saving Gas, and the World
Mark L. Rosenberg met his future wife, Jennifer, in 1995 on a seven-hour bus ride to Richmond, Va., for a Jewish youth program. He was trying to shine a flashlight on a book and turn the pages at the same time. She sat behind him, and finally offered to hold the flashlight. He gratefully accepted.
''I thought he was really cute,'' said Mrs. Rosenberg, who recalled being smitten by his green-blue eyes and smile.
Mr. Rosenberg, 26, a software developer for Marsh & McLennan, was no stranger to buses, or subways, for that matter. His friends called him ''Mr. Public Transportation'' because he favored mass transit over driving because of concern for the environment. His wife recalls him hailing a cab only three times during their courtship and marriage.
An avid cyclist, Mr. Rosenberg also used to ride from his home in Teaneck, N.J., over the George Washington Bridge and down to Central Park on Sunday mornings.
''He loved the city,'' his wife said. ''He never wanted to go anywhere else.''
CHRISTOPHER R. ZARBA
A Curious Mind
Christopher R. Zarba Jr. was just a baby when the Boston Pops performed a piece composed by his father, ''Palm Sunday,'' in 1954. The younger Mr. Zarba inherited his family's musical genes, and grew up to be a talented pianist and French horn player who performed with local symphonies in his free time. He even married a fellow horn player, Sheila Kiernan.