Thursday, September 14, 2006

2,996 My Tribute In Honor and Memory of Daniel Lugo


September 11, 2001 is a day that will never be forgotten in the minds of many Americans...or the world. "2,996" is a project that was started to bring bloggers together to honor each one of the victims of that awful day. I am proud to be a participant, and to share what little I know of Daniel Lugo, who perished in the World Trade Center at age 45. Parts of this tribute are my own words, and parts are from information I was able to find about Daniel online. My words will be in purple. I've never done something like this before, so please forgive me if I'm not particularly eloquent!


I Remember
Daniel Lugo,45
World Trade Center


DANIEL LUGO
World Trade Center


TOO PROUD NOT TO WORK

Daniel Lugo's asthma was acting up, and his physician had detected the advent of prostate cancer and was debating the most effective course of treatment. Everybody gave him the same advice: leave his job as a Summit security guard at the World Trade Center, and concentrate on getting healthy. But Mr. Lugo, 45, didn't listen.

Instead, he switched from the night to the day shift on Sept. 10 and asked his supervisors to give him lobby duty rather than the usual spot shifts throughout the towers. That was his only concession to his iffy health. He told his sister Eneida Lugo that he had no intention of dozing on the living room sofa collecting disability: "I'm a man," he said, "I need to work."

She cannot remember a time when he was not industrious on all fronts: back in Puerto Rico, their mother had taught him to cook, clean, and fend for himself. A bachelor until a few years ago, when he met his wife, Olga, at a Pentecostal church in Upper Manhattan where he served as a pastor, Mr. Lugo kept up with his mother's lessons. "He even did his own laundry," Mrs. Lugo said. "He was taught that you don't depend on anybody else."

But anybody could depend on him, his sister said.

Profile published in the NEW YORK TIMES on October 12, 2001.

Unfortunately, this was the best as far as information about Daniel that I could come up with...Most sites with his name were lists of all of the victim's names. I did see one place where a couple of people who had known Daniel commented. One gentlemen commented that he had worked with him years before, and remembered him as a kind and gentle soul, who always had a smile on his face.

*edit* I thought there MUST be more I can find out about Daniel, so I did a little digging. I was able to determine that Daniel had a twin brother, David, who misses him terribly. I cannot imagine the pain he must have felt, losing his mirror image. Twins have an extra special bond, and I know that Daniel is probably up in heaven watching over his brother and all his family.

Dear Daniel,
From what little I know about you, I'm sure that I would have been proud to know you, had we ever met. I hope that you are happy wherever you are now, and that you are at peace. Thinking of you during this time...you are not forgotten!
Love,
MamaKBear

*The site for Project 2,996 has unfortunately been shut down due to traffic. Please click here for the complete list of links for all the tributes.*

*please note* This is a sticky post...it will remain at the top for about a week, so it will be easy for other participants in 2,996 to find. Other current posts are below. Thank you for stopping by!

24 comments:

David M said...

Rest in Peace Daniel, we will never forget you for you and the other 2995 mean everything to us all.

I am honoring George Lopez: http://thunderrun.blogspot.com/2006/09/george-lopez-one-of-2996.html

Monica said...

Very good post, MK. I have Lt. Michael Russo and will put his up on Sunday because of Jeremy's birthday.

Hope the family is doing better and still saying prayers for hubby's mom.

Mistress Regina said...

This is an outstanding tribute. You should be proud of the work you have done in recognition of Daniel. May his soul rest in peace.

Thank you for your comments written in relation to my 2996 tribute for Elizabeth Claire Logler

Miss Chris said...

What a wonderful tribute. Very heart-felt. Please visit and read about Debra Paris.

SignGurl said...

Have I told you how awesome you are lately? Well, you are!

Thanks for taking the time out in your hectic life to help us to not forget one of the many lost on that tragic day.

Anonymous said...

You wrote a truly beautiful tribute to Mr. Lugo, I enjoyed reading it so much. My commitment for this week is to read as many tributes as I possibly can.
My tribute is to Charles Peter Lucania at http://gwenevere-69.livejournal.com/
May they all rest in peace.
May we all never forget.

web_loafer said...

MamaKBear,
You paint a great picture of one of the victims of that horrific day.
Am trying to visit as many blogs of the 2,996 as I can and thank everyone for the hard work.
Now I know where to find a list of blogs worth the effort to read.....the great bloggers who took part in this noble event. A list of the victims is just a list, you have taken a name from the list and put a personage around the name.
When Monday comes, I'll have read about hundreds of the victims. And will be grateful for all of those like you that took a little time out of our busy days, to honor those that were murdered on that horrific day.
Blessings, and I'll swing by again.

Louie said...

MamaKBear, You did a wonderful job in showing who this man was. It was a difficult thing to write about a complete stranger but in reading so many tributes, it is with great sadness that I realize just how little we all really know about another. In reading all these tributes, it will not just be about 2996 lives anymore but about human beings who lived, loved, and felt.

I posted on Michael William Lomax, but you have been there already I think. Thanks.

Louie

Happy Mama to Three said...

Beautiful MamaBear. The tributes are amazing and heartrending. Thank you so much for writing this and for paying honor to such a great person. Every one of the 2996 is a hero.

Cindi
My tributes to Jay Robert Magazine and Mark Bingham are up at my blog.

Ohjeeze said...

Wonderful tribute to Mr. Lugo. Thankyou for visiting my site honoring Salvatore Lopes.

Amie said...

What a touching tribute. We will always remember you, Daniel.

Tish said...

MamaK, you have honored Daniel beautifully. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. Thanks so much for sharing his story.

Thanks also for stopping by and checking out my tribute to Judson Cavalier.

Mark Leslie said...

A touching tribute.

Like you, I had trouble finding many details about the person I was remembering today (Raymond Meisenheimer), but I was honored to be a part of the effort to remember the lives of those victims of 9/11.

Ryan said...

awesome post never forget never!

Just Me said...

A wonderful tribute. You did a good job. I also have to thank you because you are the one who enlightened me to this project. I am so proud to have been able to be a part of it.

Grandma Lola said...

Wonderful tribute Peggy honey. You did Daniel proud. *hugs*

Chaos Mommy said...

Beautiful tribute and I applaud all the legwork you did.

I remember John Napolitano.

Diane Viere said...

Great tribute to an amazing man. This has been such a great project...I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each of the lives honored in addition to researching the life of Sgt. Michael Curtin; posted today.

Diane

Angela said...

Great tribute:-).

Anonymous said...

Beautiful tribute. It's important that we remember the people who lost their lives on 9/11.

gordaboo said...

Thank you for taking the time to dig and find out a bit more about Daniel. It was a very nice tribute.
We will never forget.
I did a tribute for Lisa Egan
http://ramblingsofamadpiggie.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

A dedicated and hard worker
never forgotten

thanks for visiting my blog where I am honouring Joseph Maffeo

Raggedy said...

Wonderful Tribute!
Thank you.
These are heartbreaking stories and difficult to read....
I am honored to be a part of this project.
Mine is posted also...

Bless you...

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Anonymous said...

What freaks me out the most, besides whating them go down with my own eyes across the hudson river, is that my name is also Daniel Lugo