"Great moments are born from great opportunities." Coach
Herb Brooks. Sometimes you find yourself in the right place at the
right time. Sometimes wonderful things happen serendipitously.
Sometimes people open their hearts and they reach out in ways that
make you feel like you are ten feet tall. When this happens, it
creates memories that last a lifetime.
I can't say it has happened frequently in my lifetime, but I can
say it has happened a number of times thanks to our friends. It
happened again this week in all the right ways for all the right
reasons from people who appreciate the kindness of an understanding
heart.
As months go, April gets a bad rap thanks to T.S. Eliot who characterized
it as “the cruelest month.” If you live in Pennsylvania,
it often feels more like winter than like spring. In recent years,
we have experienced but two seasons: cold and hot. Gone are the
days of the four seasons that our ancestors knew.
Sunday, April 19, 2009, was a beautiful day in Windsor Park. It
was a day filled with the glorious sights and sounds of spring,
a season that has delayed its arrival and plagued us with a climate
more like late February and March than April.
On this day, Kitch and I would begin a journey that had five stops:
The Nittany Lion Inn in State College, PA, for dinner; Chambers
Hall at Penn State University for our annual guest lecture about
Herb Brooks and the Miracle at Lake Placid Project; the Office of
the Dean of the Penn State University Libraries and Scholarly Communications
for a presentation; the Office of the Flight 93 Memorial in Somerset,
PA for an interview; dinner in Shanksville with our friends Janie
Kiehl, Jayne Wagner and Chuck Wagner.
We were filled with anticipation. It had been a very long winter
in our
hometown, and we needed to get away. We needed a rest from the
drumbeat of crime stories that cause us to wonder about our safety,
and the sobering economic news of hard times created by the unknown
faces of those whose indiscretion and lack of discipline created
a recession that is challenging everyone we know.
By late afternoon, we found ourselves in front of the Nittany Lion
Inn on the campus of Penn State University. Lush beds of daffodils
greeted us and a very warm smile from a teacher named Rick who worked
the night shift at the hotel.
At 5 p.m. we were joined in the lobby by two of our very favorite
people: John Lucas and Bill Coleman.Dr. Lucas is one of the premier
Olympic historians in the world, and Bill Coleman is an internationally
know and respected still photographer.Dr. Lucas spent his life studying
the Olympic movement. For 48 years he has been a respected member
of the Penn State University faculty. He is second only to Joe Paterno
in years of service. Like his friend Paterno,
Lucas came to Penn State to coach. For years he was the "pater
familias" of the men's track team.
Bill Coleman has spent his lifetime recording the heart and soul
of the people who live in and around the university. At first it
was portraiture. Then about 38 years ago, he discovered an Amish
community in the shadow of the university, and his life changed
forever.
On this evening, Bill gave Kitch with one of his photographs, Sentinel
II. The expression on her face when she saw the photograph says
everything that need be said about her reaction. It set the stage
for an evening of friendship, story telling and confraternity that
brought joy and a feeling of family to both Kitch and me.
The dining experience at Penn State is always first class. This
evening was no exception. The service was genuine. The food was
delicious, and the ambiance was relaxing and enjoyable. There was
one unexpected moment. It happened at about 7:30 p.m. when Robert
Oeler, Dining Room Manager, gave Kitch a commemorative plate. It
was one of those special moments that reaffirm one's belief in the
goodness of the human spirit. It was spontaneous and oh, so beautiful.
Early Monday morning, we were back in the dining room for a delicious
breakfast. We finished the scrambled eggs and the fresh brewed coffee;
and then, we made our way to Chambers Hall and Dr. Lucas’s
Olympic
History class. We were there to tell the story of our last class
and the
assignment that launched our friendship with the Dr. Lucas.
We met on a bitter cold February evening in 2005 during the celebration
of the 25th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice. Dr. Lucas was there
to share his wisdom about the Olympics. We were there with a number
of our seniors to record the events for a documentary we were producing
about the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team and Coach Herb Brooks.
On this morning, as we have done on four previous April mornings,
we were in Dr. Lucas's class to share the results of our study with
his students.For Kitch and me, it is one of the best days of the
year. It brings us to a campus we love, where the memory of my brother
speaks to me with every step I take, and it puts me back in the
classroom, a place I called home for more than four decades.
After the class, Dr. Lucas took us to the fourth floor of the Pattee
Paterno Library where we met Nancy L. Eaton. dean of University
Libraries. Dean Eaton is a very friendly person. She made us feel
right at home in what some would call the best office on the campus.
After a brief tour and an exchange of pleasantries, I explained
to the dean that my brother, Ken, died of a heart attack at the
Blockbuster Bowl in 1990. He was an enthusiastic Penn State University
fan and a great admirer of Coach Paterno. When the coach found out
about Ken's death, he wrote a beautiful letter to Ken's family.
That letter is treasured to this day, and it gives the family great
comfort.
With that as context, we presented Dean Eaton with two signed copies
of Step Into My Heart: Heart Disease and Open Heart Surgery, My
New Best Friends. Kitch and I presented these books to the library
in honor of Dr. Lucas and Coach Paterno.
For me, this moment brought the writing experience full circle.
My brother is my lifetime inspiration and friend. This account of
his untimely death and my second chance at life belongs in this
place he loved so much.Shortly after 11 a.m., Kitch and I were back
in our car making our way along Route 220 south toward the Pennsylvania
Turnpike and Somerset, Pennsylvania. Our destination was the office
of the National Park Service and the Flight 93 National Memorial.
Our purpose was a matter of honor. We were invited to do an oral
history interview with Kathie Shaffer who is conducting and archiving
stories of people who are a part of the Shanksville story.
At 1:33 p.m., I parked the car in front of the old Newberry building
at
109 Main Street in Somerset. When we entered the office of the Flight
93 National Memorial, Kathie Shaffer was waiting for us. It was
a special moment, one that was several years in the making.
In minutes, we were standing in a huge room packed with boxes that
were filled with many of the 30,000 tributes left at the site of
the Temporary Memorial to the Heroes of Flight 93. Kathie opened
a few of the boxes, and she explained how each item is classified,
numbered and stored.Then we made our way to a table hidden deep
inside this vault of precious memories. For the next three hours
we talked about everything from the day of the tragedy to the concept
of each of the 20 documentaries in our What Is America? series that
relate to Flight 93.
It is the first time that Kitch and I have been interviewed, on
the record, together. It was a wonderful experience that forced
us to relive in great detail much of what we recorded in the years
since September 11, 2001.
At the end of the interview, Kathie asked the "kitchen sink"
question:
"Is there anything else you would like to add to what has been
recorded here today? Kitch responded first. Her answer is best characterized
by the word gratitude. I followed in complete agreement.
Being asked to do this oral history interview for the Flight 93
National
Memorial is something we never expected, and something we will always
remember.It is the ultimate act of affirmation for the stories we
told, the people we interviewed, and the members of our Shanksville
family who have a special place in our heart. It is but another
reminder that the stories of ordinary people are compelling, interesting,
informative,and important.
The way we see it, the heartfelt outpouring of human emotion that
came from the people who built, maintained and welcomed others to
the temporary memorial is one of the best illustrations of the greatness
and goodness of America. We intend to continue telling this story
as long as we have life, breath and the energy to do it. For Kitch
and me, it will never get any better than this.
There was a chill in the air and a light rain covered everything
as we made our way to Janie Kiehl's home just outside of Shanksville.
Janie is the first person we met at the temporary memorial all those
years ago. She is best described by the words spoken in The Wonder
Years:"Over the course of the average lifetime you meet a lot
of people. Some of them stick with you through thick and thin. Some
weave their way through your life and disappear forever. But once
in a while someone comes along who earns a permanent place in your
heart."Janie Kiehl and her friends Jayne and Chuck Wagner have
many things in common, not the least is their years of service as
Flight 93 Ambassadors. These are the people who meet and greet every
visitor who comes to the site no matter what the weather or time
of the year.
On this evening we gathered for a wonderful conversation about our
shared experiences during an oral history interview and moments
we shared at the temporary memorial in Shanksville, at the Angel
Garden in Windsor Park, and during one of our senior weekends before
our retirement from college teaching. For more than three hours,
we reminisced like teenagers at a sleepover. It was a night of friendship
and beautiful thoughts. It was a quintessential small town American
night complete with great conversation, delicious home made apple
pie, and lots of laughter and good will.
Nothing fancy, but everything substantial, joyful, and peaceful.
It ended with hugs and promises to get together in the near future.
It was another sturdy link in the chain of our friendship.
A good night's sleep, a breakfast of hot coffee and bread with cream
cheese, a discussion about the Lincoln Highway, and Kitch and I
were on our way home.
Little did we know when we left Janie's house what awaited us along
the Lincoln Highway. The sights and sounds of this highway would
anesthetize us for about three hours and three hundred digital pictures.The
Lincoln Highway is one of America's great treasures. It's a repository
of beautiful and thought-provoking scenes that are vintage Americana.
It is covered bridges, majestic farms,
magnificent murals, and antique shops that feature old fashioned
Richfield gas pumps with artistic designs and symbolic artwork.
As I play back the memories of our grand tour from Penn State University
to the Lincoln Highway a quotation from Coach Herb Brooks comes
to mind:
"Maybe...there's still a lot of little boy in me."
Thank you John Lucas
Thank you Bill Coleman
Thank you Robert Oeler
Thank you Nancy Eaton
Thank you Kathie Shaffer
Thank you Janie Kiehl
Thank you Jayne & Chuck Wagner
Thank you Kitch
Herb Brooks was right: "great moments are born from great opportunities."
Find more at Windsor Park Theater
www.windsorparktheater.com
tmussari@gmail.com
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