Hey just wanted to say hi.
I'm a NJ firefighter who lost his older brother in the WTC on 9/11/01. I just want to say that a friend of mine turned me on to Shinedown. Some of the lyrics realy hit home for me.
Heroes and 45 give me the chills after what I have been through.

Anyway thanx and keep rockin'!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JasterBull,

hey JasterBull, welcome to the boards, and sorry to hear about your brother may he Rest In Peace with all the other heroes. SD's song I Dare You was actually about Brad (SD's former bassisst) about his brother who is actually a fire fighter to...

hey JasterBull, welcome to the boards, sorry to hear about your brother man, may he Rest In Peace with all the other heroes. SD's song I Dare You was actually inspired by Brad (the former bassisst of SD), his brother who is actually a fire fighter to.....

Man how did I miss that one!!?!

Like I said I'm new and just learning.

That one goes in my top 5!

So these guys understand the pain I have been and still go through!?!

I am now a HUGE Sinedown fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These guys are absolutely amazing! They are all such down to earth sweet guys. You will have to meet them sometime and you'll understand.
I am sorry for the loss of your brother.

Welcome to the boards. We are all a little crazy here. But the entire Shinedown family is awesome. I recently met some of the people from the board and they immediately treated me like family. The guys in Shinedown are the same way.

Ever see a big 250 pound powerlifting Firefighter cry?!

This time of year is tough and I am glad I found music that touches my soul a soul that went dark 6 years ago and is just now starting to re-light.

Thank you!!!

For totally different reasons, Shinedown has helped me in my life. They are totally a gift for all of us. Please know that my thoughts are with you. I know that this time of year has got to be especially difficult for you. People do care, though. You'd love seeing them live. Brent has so many inspiring things that he says to the crowd. I'm sure that you've seen through his lyrics, what an awesome, caring guy he is.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JasterBull:

So these guys understand the pain I have been and still go through!?!

[QUOTE]

Let go of the mystery
And retrace all the steps where you've been
And forget all the history
And start over again

For as you can see
Its up to me
For as you can see
Its all on me

I can't erase it
Because it's with me everyday
The strangest feeling
That never goes away
And I have to face it
Because I can't walk away
And every time I'll
Go until I Break


Let go all confusion
And forget the hate in their eyes
And convince yourself it's illusion
Find a reason to survive

For as you can see
Its up to me
For as you can see
It's all on me

I can't erase it
Because it's with me everyday
The strangest feeling
That never goes away
I have to face it
Because I can't walk away
And every time I'll
Go until I Break

So maybe I can't be you
But i choose not to be
And maybe I don't need you
To show me how to see
What if the sky fell
And time slipped away
If these are my last words
Then here's what i say

I can't erase it
Because it's with me everyday
The strangest feeling
That never goes away


I can't erase it
Because it's with me everyday
The strangest feeling
That never goes away
I have to face it
Because I can't walk away
And every time I'll
Go until I Break

Lauren^^^ I love that song..I wish it would have made the official album and not just a bonus track..that song is amazing. Cause I'm always determined to go until I BREAK!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by JasterBull:
Ever see a big 250 pound powerlifting Firefighter cry?!

This time of year is tough and I am glad I found music that touches my soul a soul that went dark 6 years ago and is just now starting to re-light.

Thank you!!!

WOW..you just made me cry cause I could feel your pain as I was reading all your posts. I'm very sorry for you lose. Welcome to one of the best families I have ever known. A little over 5 months ago, I moved 1500miles from my real family but every time I come here I feel like I have never left. I hope that you can come to feel that way cause this truly is a great place to find friends and family!!!!! And the guys of Shinedown have been my saviors for along time. I hope you get to meet them someday.

Thank you, Thank you all,
I do feel welcome here.
I didn't mean to make you cry

Here is a bit of a story so you can realy know me....

______________________________________________

Man keeps brother's spirit alive by becoming firefighter


By EILEEN MARKEY

It's been two years, but when Jeff Taormina sees something funny on TV he still thinks of calling his older brother to share the joke.

"I know he's there, but he's not," the 36-year-old firefighter said Tuesday. "You know how amputees say after they lose their arm or whatever they can still feel it? It's like that. I feel him."

Dennis Taormina Jr., an East Rutherford native, then 36, was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. The oldest of four sons, husband, father of two girls and a firefighter. He was in the North Tower. Two years after the attack, Jeff Taormina is one of thousands of people whose lives have forever been changed by both the death of a loved one and the way he reordered his life to reflect the loss.

Dennis Taormina was one more than 3,000 people killed two years ago today when terrorists slammed hijacked planes into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a field outside Pittsburgh, Pa. It was the first attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor.

At 9:59 a.m., as thousands of people attempted to flee the burning skyscrapers, and as millions watched on television, the 110-story symbols of American financial power began to crumble. First the South Tower collapsed floor by floor, folding in on itself. Half an hour later the North Tower came down the same way, in a plume of smoke and soot.

On the ground, tens of thousands fled Lower Manhattan, as debris fell around them and monstrous clouds of dust |obscured the sky. Crowds were evacuated by ferry to Liberty State Park and Hoboken. Bridges and tunnels into Manhattan were sealed. All civilian airplanes were grounded.

Cell phones stopped working. Landline circuits were overwhelmed, as frantic relatives tried to reach family.

People came out of their homes and offices to stand in the streets, seemingly hungry for human contact. Houses of worship around the world opened their doors for impromptu services.

In London, Paris, Tehran and Istanbul- and in villages across the planet- people kept vigil at American embassies or simply lit candles in their public squares to express sympathy and solidarity with Americans.

In the following hours and days, as families papered the city in missing persons' posters, armies of volunteers, many of them union members, descended on the disaster site.

Within days, they reluctantly admitted the work being done in the 16-acre wound in the financial district was recovery, not rescue, and hope for survivors waned.

In the aftermath of the attacks, many reordered their lives, pledging to make a contribution to the public good or to honor the dead.

On Nov. 1, 2001, Jeff Taormina submitted his application to East Rutherford's fire department. It's something his brother had been asking him to do for 16 years.

"The only regret I have is that I didn't do this when I was 18," Taormina said, explaining that he had always waved his brother off, saying he was too busy with his rock band.

In the dark weeks after his brother's death, Taormina, his father and two younger brothers found solace at the Herman Street firehouse where Dennis and the others worked. When his grief subsided enough that he could think, Jeff knew he had to sign up, too. He wanted to honor his brother and he wanted to repay the firefighters who extended their friendship to him.

"When you write your article, make sure you put it in that when this first happened, when they invited me in, they kept me sane for the first year," he said Tuesday night, as other firefighters teased him about posing for a photograph.

For the next six months, Jeff Taormina trained to be a firefighter. The busy schedule of classes kept his grief at bay.

Before he could jump into his fire gear, Jeff Taormina realized he had a problem. His long hair, which fell halfway down his back, was not regulation.

He went home that night and asked his wife Christine to cut it all off, even though he'd had it since high school. His close-cropped hair is another constant reminder of Dennis, he said.

"Every time I see myself in the mirror I think of him. I've got to think of him, he changed my life so much," he said.

Now Jeff Taormina jumps into fire gear and boards the fire truck Dennis rode. Dennis' picture is taped to the dashboard so he can still respond to every call.

Shortly after the writing of this story Jeff transferred to his home town to be closer to his home and wife (3 blocks away in fact) the photo of Dennis is still taped to the truck in East Rutherford but Jeff had a copy placed on his new engine.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JasterBull,

WOW..that is awesome!!!!! That's an amazing story...thank you for sharing that with us. Your brother definitely is a hero and so are you for doing what you do!!!!!

Thank you all I am off to Ground Zero to stand in the rain for 4 hours in uniform to pay respect to my brother.

Thank you!!!!!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JasterBull,

JasterBull,

Just wanted to let you know you have been in my thoughts today.
Hope you are doing okay. Just know that we all think you and your brother are heroes.

Love and Peace,


1 crazy mama

Gee thanks, now I'm crying again. I'm only razzing you. Touching people's lives is something you do every day now, and each time you honor your brother, tell your story, or hop onto that engine, you embody the American spirit. Thanks so much for putting your life on the line every day, you are truly appreciated.
Cindy

And as our Preacher would say..

"...And all my heroes are dead and gone but Mr. Dennis Taormina you WILL live on..."

as well as..

"All that I want from you son is to be satisfied and be a simple kind of man and be something you love and understand and be a simple kind of man"

once again sorry to hear about your brother, may his star live on brightly with all the others in peace...