DNL’s Speech during the Dinner for Gear Up Foundation on
September 12, 2005.
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| ``A Life of Second Chances`` |
I had the good fortune of being invited to last night’s commemoration of the
fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade
Center in Lapu-Lapu City. To many of us who were thousands of miles away from
New York City when the terrorists struck, it was an emotional event that left
a lump in the throat despite the fact that we were completely detached from
it.
That being so, one can only imagine what was going on in the minds of Chief
Tom Harrigan and all those who were right in the thick of things when the 343
names of the New York Fire Department people who perished in that attack were
being read.
Which brings us to the matter of tragedies in this world. In the aftermath of
the worst flood to ever hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, people cannot help
but ask why tribulations happen. Certainly, no one can reply with certainty.
Rather, we can only respond to them so that – as Gear Up Foundation puts it –
"something good come out of something bad". When tribulations happen, the
right response would be to view them not as obstacles but as opportunities. To
me, this is what Gear Up Foundation is all about and what it intends to do.
Tonight, it is to the good fortune of the people of Tagbilaran to host the
Gear Up Foundation. I am particularly pleased that Tom Harrigan is back to
Tagbilaran, the home that he has never been to before.
It might interest our guests to know that among tonight’s host is Mr. Hans
Schoof who has been unanimously confirmed as special consultant for historical
affairs by the City Council. Unlike most of us here who are citizens of
Tagbilaran by accident, Mr. Schoof is a citizen by choice.
Without intending to trivialize the 9/11 tragedy, there is little doubt that
this event has given us optimism that something good will come out of
something bad. Gear Up has provided the opportunity for all members of the
foundation to rise above the tragedy that struck New York four years ago. In
the process, Tagbilaran stands to benefit from the programs that gear up has
designed particularly for the Bureau of Fire Protection.
While we can no longer bring back the lives of all those who perished in that
dastardly attack, Gear Up is making sure that their deaths were not in vain.
When I met Tom Harrigan, I didn’t expect anything close to this. And yet, in
just about five minutes, I realized that I was a few inches away from one who
is a living hero who was proposing the transformation of Tagbilaran into a
quick-response city after it has undergone training by the world’s best fire
department.
I was naturally devastated when I learned that he underwent a life-threatening
stroke. It was not so much because I feared that his proposal would go up in
smoke but because I knew he can do so much for the cause of saving lives not
just in Tagbilaran but in many places not only in the Philippines but in other
Third World countries.
When he recovered and got into form earlier than expected, I knew God has
other plans for him. For him to be able to join us here tonight is a miracle
in itself. Truly, he deserves the medal of valor presented to him last night
by the Gear Up Foundation. Indeed, he is one of a kind.
In a way, Tom Harrigan is telling us that life is all about second chances. In
the context of the 9/11 tragedy, it shows that people can choose between being
bitter or becoming better. That is the challenge for those who are emerging
from the New Orleans flood. It is the same challenge for the Philippines who
is going through a crippling political and economic crisis and for every
individual confronted with the brevity of life.
For Tom Harrigan and Gear Up, it is about training people to be ready to deal
with emergencies. It is preparing people not just with the equipment and the
tools but more importantly the readiness and the skills to save as many lives
as possible.
The tragedy in learning from experience is not learning from it. Gear Up and
Tom Harrigan are making sure they have learned from the 9/11 tragedy. They are
making sure that people in Third World countries are better able to deal with
emergencies and save as many lives as possible.
No one can really tell what happens next and in a flash we can join the ranks
of those whose names will be remembered on November 1 and move to a new
address six feet below the ground. The challenge we need to confront is not so
much how to delay that appointment – because we cannot not – but to ensure
that we will leave something to remember us by.
At the end of the day, we just have to deal with the fact that we all have to
go one day. Whether in a high-profile tragedy like 9/11 and New Orleans or
quietly in our sleep, we will have to leave this world when our time is up.
While we can prepare for tragedies as what Gear Up hopes to achieve with the
trainings that it is undertaking, there is another preparation that we need to
make individually. Unlike in life, there are no more second chances from which
we can improve on our mistakes.
Optimism and positive thinking can go a long way in allowing people to move on
with their lives after tragedies and calamities. There is no doubt however
that we need more than just optimism and positive thinking if we are to
confront the ultimate challenge in life – passing on from this life to the
next.
I do not wish to wander into the province of theology and be engrossed in
something that is outside my province. I just want to make sure that all the
bases are covered. In closing, allow me to share this true story with you.
The popular preacher Dwight L. Moody made a mistake on October 8, 1871. He
preached to his largest audience in the city of Chicago. The text had been,
"What Will You Do Then With Jesus who is called the Christ?" He said something
he had never said before and, frankly, never said again.
He was very fatigued and because of that he said to the audience after he
presented the gospel, "Now i give you a week to think that over. And when we
come together, you will have opportunity to respond."
Then Ira Sankey came and began to sing. Even before he finished the song, you
could hear the blare of the siren in the streets of Chicago as the great fire
broke out and left 100,000 homeless. Hundreds of people died in that fire. And
Dwight L. Moody rose to the occasion a few months later and he said, "I would
give my right arm before I would give an audience another week to think over
the message of the gospel. Some who heard that night died in the fire."
For Tom Harrigan and the rest of the guys who made it past 9/11, all those who
made it in New Orleans and all of us who have survived brushes with death, we
have our second chances. Let us not waste this chance because we might not
have another one coming – ever.
Thank you. |
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