Loading summary
Transcript7 lines
- [00:00]
Sponsor Representative
As we approach the end of the year, I'm thinking about the next. Next year is the year I finally make my Spanish better than my 9 year old's. Rosetta Stone is the most trusted language learning program available on desktop or as an app and it truly immerses you in the language that you want to learn. I can't wait to use Rosetta Stone and finally speak better than my 9 year old who's been learning Spanish in his own way. Rosetta Stone is the trusted expert for 30 years. With millions of users and 25 languages offered. Spanish, French, Ital, Korean. I could go on fast language acquisition. Rosetta Stone immerses you in many ways. There are no English translations so you can really learn to speak, listen and think in that language. Start the new year off with a resolution you can reach today. The Moth listeners can take advantage of this Rosetta Stones lifetime membership for 50% off visit rosettastone.com moth that's 50% off. Unlimited access to 25 language courses for the rest of your Life. Redeem your 50% off at rosettastone.com moth today. This is a message from sponsor Intuit TurboTax Taxes was waiting and wondering and worrying if you were going to get any money back and then waiting, wondering and worrying some more. Now Taxes is matching with a TurboTax expert who can do your taxes as soon as today. An expert who gives your taxes their undivided attention as they work on your return while you get real time updates on their progress so you can focus on your day. An expert who will find you every deduction possible and file every form, every investment, Every everything with 100% accuracy. All so you can get the most money back. Guaranteed. No waiting, no wondering, no worries. Now this is Taxes. Get an Expert now on TurboTax.com only available with TurboTax Live full service real time updates only in iOS mobile app. See guarantee details@turbotax.com guarantees.
- [02:10]
Dan Kennedy
Welcome to the Moth Podcast. I'm Dan Kennedy and this year marks the 16 year anniversary of September 11th. To remember the families and friends that were forever impacted by that day, we're going to listen to their stories today on the podcast. We met Jim Giacconi through the 911 Tribute Museum back in 2013, and back then he held his story closely. Wasn't sure if he wanted to share it or if he'd ever really be ready to share it. But we're glad and we're honored that he decided to. And he did so in front of a live Moth audience right here in New York City. Here's Jim Giacconi.
- [02:54]
Jim Giacconi
I frequently find myself in the company of other family members like myself, family members who lost a loved one on September 11, 2001. You see, that morning, my big brother Joe went to work early. He worked on the 103rd floor of the North Tower for Cantor Fitzgerald. And at 8:46 in the morning, Joe disappeared into thin air. It's within conversations with these other family members that they'll sometimes mention the fact that they had a sign, a butterfly, a rainbow, even a series of events that they pieced together themselves to convince themselves that they were in the presence of their loved one or working the work, watching the workings of their loved one. And I would always smile, politely, nod my head in acknowledgement that they were speaking to me. But in my mind, honestly, I was rolling my eyes. I'm a very pragmatic, logical, methodical thinker. I need proof. Even within my plumbing profession, we think of a problem in a ladder pattern and we don't reach for the next rung until we have the answer to the first. I'm also somebody that was haunted by a horrible reoccurring nightmare that began shortly after September 11th. It would always begin with me standing at the base of a mountain looking up. In front of me was a wide swath of a path. The path was all stone, rocks, outcroppings. On the right side was a definitive line of trees. On the left side, the same on these outcroppings were these creatures. They were dog like vicious, horrible, dark creatures, and they scared the hell out of me. Even when I looked at them, everything would turn dark. They were vicious. They would, snarling, snap at the air. I would see the mist from their breath. And at the top of the mountain was my brother Joe. And he never said a word. And without fail, somewhere along my climb, I would slip and helplessly slide into the grasp of one of these creatures. And for some reason, I gave a green light to all the other creatures to set upon me. And I would awaken as they were tearing at me. I would sometimes awaken hearing a voice or a scream. And as I became more awake, I would realize it was my own. I'd usually be sitting up, covered in sweat, scared, where I couldn't even formulate a word. Then I'd be confused, then I'd get angry, and then I'd become depressed. In 2006, I was approached by a group called Tuesday's Children. It's a group that was formed in the days after September 11th. And I'm very active with them. And they wanted to know if I was interested in going on a Colorado Outward bound adventure with other family members. And I jumped at the chance. I was always an outdoors person, loved the nature. And that August, we all made our way to Leadsville, Colorado, the highest incorporated city in the nation, over two miles up into the air. And we spent the first two days getting acclimated to camp life, to each other, and especially the altitude. And on the third day, we packed up and we began our trek into the deep woods. And almost immediately, we came upon a river. And there was an older gentleman fly fishing. And even though I told him I had no fishing gear, he still insisted on giving me a fishing fly. And he said, this will work in these waters. And I shrugged my shoulders and thanked him for his gift. And we continued our hike. And that hike was what I consider one of my life's beautiful moments. Beautiful moment, to me, is defined by when your brain is consciously aware of what you're doing or what you're seeing is inside, inexplicable way, extra special. And you will remember that. It's as if your brain makes a wrinkle for that memory, and it'll never go away. And we continued hiking. It was after lunch, and we were hiking along a stream, and we came upon a huge log jam that made a natural bridge over the stream. And we used that to get ourselves and our gear over. And we climbed up a small embankment through a small clearing into the woods a short distance, and we set up another base camp that was going to be our home for the next few days. And little Jimmy got a long, flexible stick, got my 12 yards of dental floss and my new gift of the fishing fly. And I was going to go back to that stream, and I was going to catch some fresh dinner. And when I came out of the woods into the clearing now, I was facing that log jam again. But from this vantage point, I could see what was beyond that log jam. It was a huge, steep mountain. It had a huge, wide swath of a path cut from the bottom to the top. There was a definitive line of trees on the right, a definitive line of trees on the left. I immediately became frozen because I knew this was the mountain in my nightmare. This was Joe's mountain. I wanted to call out to the others, but I had never told anybody but my wife about this nightmare, so I didn't say a word. In fact, a short time after September 11, when I would speak of my brother Joe to even my closest friends, I would see them become physically uncomfortable. And so to save their discomfort, I stopped talking about my brother. That night, after dinner, we built a campfire. And you could probably imagine there was a. With all those brokenhearted people. There was a lot of emotional Kumbaya moments around that campfire. There was a lot of crying, there was a lot of anger. When it was my turn to speak, I told the others about my nightmare. And that's when we learned from the guide that that was one of the mountains we were scheduled to climb that very next morning. We put on our day packs and we set out at dawn. And it was a crisp, clear, beautiful morning. And we hiked for hours. And we got about halfway up when I have what I consider to be a complete breakdown. For some reason, I went from crying to wailing to dropping on my knees, making guttural sounds I had never made before. The others with me were great. They hugged me, they cried with me, and together we got to the top of that mountain. And let me tell you, the top of the mountain was absolutely glorious. It was spectacular. On the top of that mountain, we found a pickle jar that somebody had left up there with folded up notes inside of it. I found a pen and paper and I wrote down my thoughts and prayers to my brother Joe. One thing I will tell you is that I wrote that I would never let him be forgotten. You know, reliving this nightmare for you, the nightmare that I was asleep for, and especially the one I was awake for, is uncomfortable. But something more I hope happens if you all remember my story, even if you remember my nightmare, you will learn a small way. Remember my brother Joe, and maybe, maybe I'll create a little wrinkle in your brains tonight for Joseph M. Giacconi. And he will not have vanished into thin air, as you might have guessed. After that, I never had that nightmare again. On that mountain that day, I found my proof. Thank you very much.
- [12:41]
Dan Kennedy
That was Jim Giaconi. Jim lives in Bayville, New York, and owns a small plumbing contracting business. But for the past 10 years, he's been a mentor with Tuesday's children to two young brothers who lost their father on 9 11. Jim also spends his time volunteering and leading tours at the 911 Tribute Museum. His brother, Joe Giacone, worked on the 103rd floor of the North Tower. He was 43 years old and left behind a wife and two children. We want to thank Jim for sharing his story with us at the Moth. We also want to thank all of you for listening. Be kind to each other and have a Good week.
- [13:21]
Sponsor Representative
Dan Kennedy is the author of the books Loser Goes First, Rock on An American Spirit. He's also a regular host and performer.
- [13:29]
Dan Kennedy
With the Moth Podcast, production by Timothy Lou Lee. The Moth Podcast is presented by prx, the Public Radio Exchange, helping make public radio more public at prx.
- [13:41]
Jim Giacconi
Org.