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Soon it will be 12 years since that bright sunny day in September 2001 in which David and so many others were taken from us. We remember and we celebrate their memory and yet there are still moments of reflection in which the pain of their loss is still very real. Today in one such moments I searched the web and found the beautiful tenth anniversary tribute that is posted on this site. I was moved and comforted by what was said and by the songs. It was as if those speaking and singing were affirming loved ones lost but not forgotten. I remember the morning when the memorial was dedicated. As the ceremony unfolded the calm was broken for a short while by a sudden burst of wind in that sheltered garden and many remarked it was as if the energy of those loved ones being honored was again present. Let us rededicate ourselves to keeping their joy for living, their memory, and their energy alive so that those around us now and those who come after us will continue to be inspired by their lives. Ted Suarez Father of David S. Suarez February 16, 2013

Dave was one of the most kind hearted people I've ever known. His smile was contagious, his actions were second nature and heart overflowed with love. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been a classmate and friend of Dave's.

With the 10 year anniversary just a day away, I can't help but think of David. David was one of the first guys I got to know in my fraternity at Penn State. He had pledged a year before me but became a very good friend. In the last few days, I've seen quite a few lists of those lives lost on that day, and as I read David's name, I am brought to tears - remembering what a great man he was. We miss you Dave.

I can't believe its been exactly 9 years since Dave was tragically taken from this world. God must have a special purpose for you in his house now. But, I wanted to show my respects to you Dave on this day to show that even though it's been 9 years that we have not forgotten about you. I remember hanging with you at lunch in WWP. Can't believe that things like this still happen in htis world. But, death is merely stage in life, you have acsended to the calling of God and if Iknow you well enough, I know you are serving God the best you can, with honor and integrity. You were always one of the few friends I made in WWP that I respected. Your physical might be gone but, your memory still lives on strong. We shall see you again, when God calls for us so take care and keep up the hard work you still represent til this day.

I only met Dave a couple of times, through my friendship with his sister, Kristen. What I experienced in those few meetings was a man with an infectious smile, a wonderful personality, and an amazing love for his family. David was a fine young man, and one who left an everlasting mark on those with whom he shared his time on Earth. God bless David, as well as his wonderful, welcoming family as they continue his legacy.

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I think I wrote an article about David a few years ago for my local paper (unless there was more than one David Suarez killed that horrible day). I met someone who knew him and he told me some stories about him. Inspiring. Hope I served his memory well. God bless.

Sept. 11 about humanity, not political agendas

I never met David Suarez, but I miss him.

He had aspirations of going to Harvard. He worked in a soup kitchen and for the group New York Cares. And he never turned away someone in need.

One time, he walked out of a bar and met a man begging in a wheelchair.

“What can I do to make you happy?” David asked.

“Give me $20,” the man replied.

David did. The man stood up, folded up his wheelchair and walked away.

David didn’t yell or go after the man.

“I’d rather lose $20 here or there to an impostor than burn someone in need,” David said.

David also worked as a consultant. He had a job he was supposed to finish Sept. 14, 2001, at the World Trade Center. That job was never completed.

Now David is among those in a book called Portraits: 9/11/01, a set of biographies of people who died September 11, 2001, compiled by the New York Times.

His story and the thousands of others in the book were read out loud by volunteers Sept. 11, 2004, near the site where the Twin Towers stood.

When I visited New York City Sept. 9 through 12, I didnt know what to expect. The words September 11 were barely uttered my first two days in the city. I worried when I went to Ground Zero Saturday that it would be a battleground of war propaganda and presidential election fodder.

Sadly, that worry was realized. A truck laden with hateful remarks toward terrorists with a fake bomb strapped to the top saying it was for Osama sat parked about 20 feet from the site. And while a fire truck called the freedom truck drove around projecting speeches about hope and caring for all people, a group stood nearby chanting “Four more years! Four more years!”

I found, though, as I walked around the site that these agendas were not the predominate sentiment of the day. Most people realized this was not a day that could be labeled as pro-Bush or pro-Kerry or even anti- or pro-war. It was a day to remember and honor — a day of humanity, not political agendas. A day where people lit candles to honor loved ones and a man played “Amazing Grace” on his flute, while leaning on a fence full of names of those lost.

A day to honor Brian Warner, whom his friends and family called Inspector Gadget because of his willingness to go and fix just about anything for others.

And Vanessa Wen, who grew up in Taiwan and had to be into work early the day of the attacks because she had to make up extra work because of layoffs in the company.

And, of course, David.

I was given the privilege to meet a man who knew David. Father John Fanning approached the readers and asked that they go back and read David’s story while he was there. I sat and watched him smile as he held the arm of a woman he met that day. She cried as the two stood in front of the empty space in the city landscape.

One could say the attack on the Twin Towers was one against great Americans like David and the values of this country. But whatever the motives, the bottom line is the world lost a great human being.

Those who died were humans first, Americans second. These were crimes against humanity, not just America. The world was hurt the day it lost David and the countless others like him.

As a man on the freedom truck said into a megaphone over the crowd, “When you decide to love the world in your heart, you become a hero, too.”

I’m sure David would agree.

I often wonder why?

I often wonder why the events of 9/11 ever took place. Why David? Why any of the others? Why the pain? Why the suffering? For these questions I have no answers and perhaps never will in this life.

One thing I do know. David lived. In so doing he touched all of us and we in turn touched him. In those moments as it were, an energy was exchanged, a memory formed and idea conceived, a spark flashed and for one instant the darkness was dispelled.

Is that not what life is about? We the living who capture what was and is, and pass it on to others also in the process of becoming. Many have commented on David’s smile, his warmth his sincerity his ability to help others feel good, his bias for action. These qualities were real but they are also reflections of those same qualities and abilities that are present in us.

Let us learn what we can from what we saw in him so that we too can touch others with that spark of light that dispels the darkness. Perhaps then we will not need to know the answers as to why 9/11? Why the pain? Why the suffering? We who are free to choose will have overcome, and in so doing, David and all those who came before us continue to live on in us.

Ted Suarez

Father of David S Suarez

WTC1 floor 99

A Life Well Lived

One day a life was formed

Formed from love

Formed to live

The life was lived

The warmth of love felt and given

The love of life experienced

Doing, being, touching

Excellence, strength of body and soul

A life of fun

Tears, laughter

Rain, Sun

Motion, stillness

A life that ran with the wind

That climbed the mountains

One that focused both on today and eternity

To have tried and surrendered having no regrets

To become one with God

A Life Well Lived

© Ted Suarez

Father of David Suarez, WTC 1 floor 99

I know it been a few years now. I hope not one person ever forgets. However, I served our country in the U.S. Navy for four years, and it still bothers me to this day that something like this could of happened. When doing research on the many individuals who lost their life, I found you. When reading many biography's about your life, I just hope people realize how fortunately they were of to known you. Continue your rest in enternal peace.

David W. Suarez

Ohio

I never knew you, or any of you. But I've shed many tears. I always wondered what kind of people died in this tragic incident. I started working for Marsh about 2 months ago. I did not know they had lost so many collegues. Now, I know almost all of you because of what I have read these past 3 days. I felt compelled to leave you a note today this year 2006 and pay you a tribute, eventhough I never met you. I feel saddened because of all the suffering. I'm sure someone remembers you today and always.........

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God bless you brother.

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