Ordinary Heroes: A Memoir of 9/11
By: Joseph Pfeifer / Narrated By: Fred Sanders
Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
Heartfelt and sobering. From the first Chief There, a man who lost his brother(s)
Back when I was working the graveyard shift, caring for Teenagers, I’d start my shift on the evening of Sept. 10th feeling thoughtful, feeling somewhat blue. By the time morning came, I’d be in a state of flat out despair, remembering, with such vivid, vivid, images, that day Tuesday Sept. 11th, 2001.
And then the girls would wake up, jaunty and refreshed, ready to meet their friends and go to classes.
I’d be dumbfounded. And then I’d remember: They were toddlers, if even THAT old, when That Day happened to us all.
Sept. 11th doesn’t mean that much anymore as the country goes forward, as children grow up, children are born, as we begin to veer into either Civil War… or… “9-11 Sales!!!” at the local furniture outlet. Me?
Oh, lord. I’m still in the doldrums, haunted forever. So when Ordinary Heroes by Joseph Pfeifer came out, and knowing from THE Documentary by filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet that he was the first Fire Chief at the Towers, I HAD to get it. Here, 2023? I HAD to listen to it. That film damned near killed me with confusion and chaos, fear and courage, falling bodies and survivors streaming out and away. What better way to honor the fallen, those who ran into the buildings, those who never made it out, and those who made it out but would never be the same again?
It starts with Pfeifer describing Life riiiiiight before the camera caught that first plane hitting the North Tower, with business quieter than usual as Jules and Gedeon sought to show what a newly-minted fireman went through. Beware the calm before the storm; the next one will be BIG is how the saying went. So from possible gas leak to an American Airlines passenger plane slamming into the Tower, well? Yes, that’s the way we all saw it later.
There are LENGTHY descriptions of just HOW things went down for Pfeifer, of him seeing his brother for the last time, another firefighter, this one heading up the North Tower. And it goes all the way to Pfeifer shouting for all Firefighters to evacuate the building.
Then life on The Pile, the sorrow, the respect when a body or body parts were discovered.
And then Life as people tried to go on. After the funerals, the over 300 of them, there were the plans and promotions. The oaths that never would communication between Departments be so poor again, that always would the technology used… work. The plans set in place and put to the test during, say, The Miracle on the Hudson where Captain Sully made a spectacular landing, and professionals and civilians alike came together to rescue victims.
Fred Sanders does his usual Nonfiction Somber Matter-Of-Fact Tone of Speech, deviating here and there to attempt accents for Jules and Gedeon, or for others from different countries as the world sought to come together to bring about Change. Sanders falters a bit on those attempts, but at least they weren’t so ridiculous that a snicker/chuckle/grin took me out of the experience. And let’s face it, Ordinary Heroes requires his staid somberness. This is an ultimately uplifting audiobook, but dang! Let’s remember the day and the aftermath, shall we? Add to all of this is Pfeifer’s chronicle of those attempts made to get benefits for ill first-responders, for ill workers who spent weeks on The Pile, for those whose work post-9/11 caused them to sicken, to die. Sanders manages it all. And while he’s not the world’s most enthusiastic narrator, he’s certainly one of the most capable. I know I’ll never be Wowed by his delivery; but I’m always well-aware that I will, in all likelihood, be shedding a tear or two. My hat is off to him.
Tomorrow is the 22nd Anniversary. So today? I’ve finished listening; I’m feeling subdued. And tomorrow?
I’ll be wondering why the kids are so happy… because I won’t be. I’ll be remembering one very, very bad stretch of days, weeks, months…
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