Many of you know me by my pen name Mystery Inside. Today I am just Cara. An American struggling, along with many others, with the remembrances of the tragedies of 9/11. A while back I donated my time to do a tribute blog for the 2996 project constructed by DC Roe. He came up with the idea that if enough people could come together and donate their time to write a blog, poem, or story about the many victims that perished on September 11, 2001 that every victim would have a tribute in their name. Each person that signed up was assigned a victim and was only provided with a name and the place of their death.
I do have to say that this has been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I really wanted to be able to show you who the person that I was assigned was, so that she could be remembered, not just by those that knew her personally, but others as well. After a great deal of research, I have come up with, what I hope, is a glimpse into this victims life. I hope I do her justice in writing this and I will say that even though I didn't know her.....she now has a permanent place in my heart.
I was given the opportunity to share with you the life of Cira Marie Patti.
Cira was born on October 19, 1961 in Eltingville, New Jersey to Frances and Michael Patti Sr. She attended Tottenville High School and graduated in 1979 and later earned a degree from the Drake Business School in New York. She had a sister, Juliann, and two brothers, Michael Jr. and Richard and her nieces and nephews that she utterly adored, Michael James, Carissa Ann, Sabrina and Jessica.
Three years before Cira's tragic passing she had moved to New Springville in Staten Island, just a short distance from the Holy Child Church where she had been a choir girl and baton twirler for the Marching 100 and later a parishioner.
Cira's character was described as being that of a carefree and outgoing individual. She loved living life to the fullest and she loved the New York lifestyle. She spent a great deal of time traveling, shopping, and spending time at rental home in Bradley Beach on the Jersey Shore. She loved her summer weekends at the "shore" and spending that time with her friends Maura, Kathy, and Pete, just to name a few. She could often be found at the Column down on Ocean Avenue enjoying a "White Russian" and either dancing or conversing over the merits of her favorite sports team, the Giants and the Yankees, and Eric Clapton.
Family was obviously very important to Cira and she was at her brothers house in Annadale at least twice a week playing the role of Aunt C.C. and devoting her time to her nieces. She also cooked dinner for her family every Sunday and it was said that she was a "superb cook" by her family members. Her Italian sauce, consisting of more than just the average garlic and tomatoes, was said to be "the best". Cira also did all the cooking for the holidays and often took breaks in between preparations to try to convince her father and brother to switch over to Giants fans and leave their Jets behind.
She spent the last 20 years of her life working in Manhattan, in the Financial District, otherwise known as Wall Street. From 1991 to 1996 she worked for Dillon Read & Co. and from 1996 to 1998 she worked for Dow Jones & Co. After that she began work as an executive secretary at Keefe, Bruyette and Woods and was transferred to the trading floor as an assistant trader just months before her passing. Her father said that "She loved working in the financial district" On the day of 9/11 Cira went about her normal day, not knowing how things were about to unfold, and was at work. After the first World Trade center building was struck Cira was instructed by Port Authority to stay in her office. She did as she was told and then the second building was struck. It was at that time that Cira made her last phone call to her mother. Then the walls started to collapse around her and the phone went dead.
Although Cira is not amongst us in the living world, her memory still lives on. She touched the lives of many people and was loved dearly by her family. As a part of the rebuilding of New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg Signed a Bill Naming 81 Streets After Heroes Of 9/11. Cira was one of the individuals included in this event and has a street named after entitled Cira Marie Patti Way in Staten Island.
I do regret not being able to correspond with any of her family members directly. The email address' that I had were no longer working, but I did receive a message from one man and although he did not know her personally he was lucky enough to be able to share a connection with Cira. The following is the message that was sent to me.....
Cira Marie and I didnt know each other by name. Every now and then, we'd see each other on the concourse of the WTC and nod to one another. During the subway baseball series of 2000 between the Yankees and the Mets, we first spoke because one Friday she was wearing a Yankee jersey and I was wearing a Mets jersey and we would "rib" one another about who was the better team. From then on, she was known as the Yankee fan and me the Mets fan. We never knew each others name. When I saw her picture in the newspapers after everything, I immediately recognized her. I prayed for her family and loved ones and vowed to appreciate life everyday. I really didn't know Cira Marie but I truly wish we had exchanged names. I only hope that the baseball banter we shared brightened up her days to some extent.
Dave Nickelsen
May Cira rest in peace and my heart and strength goes to her family as they continuously endure this horrible loss.
(The information in this blog is based solely on internet research. If any information is found to be false….please contact me immediately.)
Mystery Inside
Copyright Side Trak Productions 2006
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