It’s hard to say when our crusade began, but it was probably the day that most of our lives were changed, September 11, 2001. So many events that we look back upon are truly miracles and it appears we were guided every step of the way.
In July we met Wesley Stout, a truly brilliant artist that does airbrush on RVs and now motorcycles. My husband Frank was admiring his work at Wing Ding in Greenville, South Carolina, and made arrangements to meet him at Wings Over The Smokies (WOTS), the North Carolina District Rally, on September 20. WOTS is a District Rally we attend annually where we help with the Emergency Services provided by Chapter NC-T. When Frank first met Wesley, he was considering having his pickup painted with scenes of the foothills of the Smokies including Brasstown Bald (the highest point in Georgia) that can be seen from our home, and also some wildlife. Since the tragedy of 9-11, he had changed his mind and wanted to have the truck painted with scenes referring to that day’s tragedies, “so that people would never forget what happened to our country.”
When we got to the rally site, we talked with Wesley about what we wanted on the truck. Frank stated his desires: a tattered flag, the skyline of New York City, the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. I wanted an eagle crying, the Statue of Liberty crying and a picture from the internet of the three firemen raising the flag at Ground Zero. With all of these wishes in mind, Wesley made some sketches and started to work. He worked on the driver’s side panels and completed them in three hours. Those are of the eagle looking back at the New York skyline with the twin towers on fire, as well as a weeping Statue of Liberty with the twin towers in the foreground.
On the passenger side he painted the Pentagon on a tattered flag and the three firemen raising the flag at Ground Zero. We didn’t know what we wanted on the tailgate, and Wesley suggested a mural of Jesus mending the flag with the Statue of Liberty standing over him providing light. I asked him to add doves to that picture. Wesley finished painting the truck in time to place three coats of clear coat all the way around, and finishing up just before Closing Ceremonies on Saturday evening. He had done a wonderful job of transforming our wishes into a masterpiece I call, “the Rolling Memorial.”
During Wesley’s painting of the truck, I believe most of the 5,500 attendees at WOTS saw his work and kept returning to see his progress. They all wanted it to be at the Closing Ceremonies, and they allowed us to park it outside of the arena entrance.
Many pictures have been made and many tears have been shed in admiration of Wesley’s talent. Wesley encouraged us to copyright four of the five paintings (all except the one I took from the Internet), and we have.
Before we left Sunday morning, TJ of TJ & the Boss (pinstripers) added the lettering, “In God We Still Trust” and “United We Stand” on the driver and passenger sides.
We were given the idea to collect donations to take to New York City, and although we wanted to make a contribution, we wanted it to go directly to the families who had a loss. Through a friend in North Carolina, we learned of a small firehouse in Bedford-Stuyvesant (Brooklyn) that lost five firefighters in the collapse of the South Tower. The station is Engine 214/Ladder 111, also known as the “Nut House.” They lost John Florio, Kenneth Watson, Edward Roberts, Carl Bedigian, and Lt. Christopher Sullivan. To date searchers have recovered the bodies of all except Lt. Sullivan.
When we left the Rally, Wesley and his wife Mary gave us 200 posters of his work, “If My People.” We sell them wherever we go; proceeds go to the five families of the firefighters that the “Nut House” lost.
Due to the response we had on the truck with Wesley’s paintings and keeping the truck visible to achieve Frank’s objective, we planned a trip to New York. The night before we left, we went to show the truck at a music concert being held in Hiawassee in conjunction with the Festival on the Square and collected $110.
We left Hiawassee on the morning of September 30. During our travels we talked with many folks who had stories to tell about family or friends who had been in the Twin Towers or worked at the Pentagon and had escaped. It was a miracle they were not at the office that day.
When we found Engine 214/Ladder 111 in Brooklyn (a trip in itself), Frank told them we had adopted them. They were amazed at the truck and that we had chosen them. They had no idea why we were there. They literally greeted us with open arms and we have never felt so welcomed. We made two visits to the firehouse during our stay in New York, and left them a check for $176, the contributions we had collected on our trip north. They in turn gave us tee shirts with their “Nut House” logo, and caps too.
We told them we would be returning again before Christmas and they said “Make sure you let us know, so that we can treat you like family.” What a spirit from a bunch of guys that had just lost five of their brothers! We have received the most wonderful letter of gratitude and acknowledgement from the firehouse, which makes it all worthwhile.
During our travels around NYC, a freelance photographer who works for Newsweek and People magazines photographed the truck, as did a photographer from Easy Rider magazine who stopped the truck and traffic.
Since then we have had articles written in several newspapers as well as two 30-second news spots on an ABC station in Harrisonburg, Virginia. We are pleased with the recognition of the truck because it only means we can collect more money for our firehouse.
On our way back, we visited Washington, D.C., the Pentagon and our Senator, Zell Miller. We had an appointment with our Senator, Max Cleland, but that was the day the Senate offices were closed due to the anthrax scare. Senator Miller said, “I want my picture taken with that truck.”
When we returned home we learned that NC-T decided to contribute the proceeds Peggy & Richard Wheeler had collected from selling red, white and blue bows at WOTS. They added money to their collections and are donating $500 to the firehouse.
How generous and wonderful of these friends to help “our” firehouse. Chapter T has a small membership, but real big hearts!
We also learned from a phone call to the “Nut House” that they have a contributor that is matching dollar for dollar every donation they get, so every dollar we send them is doubled.
Late in October, we attended the Sweet Potato Rally put on by the South Georgia Touring Club, in Ocilla, Georgia. We didn’t take the Gold Wing (I was still recuperating from an ankle fractured in July), so we took the truck. There is an hour-long parade in the town of Ocilla as part of the annual event. We decided to drive the truck in it and we played “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood the whole way. Many of the onlookers were taken aback by the truck, and we received lots of applause and thumbs-up.
We asked if we could place the truck in an area at the rally site, where attendees could see it and we might collect some donations. To our surprise the rally organizers announced Friday evening that they were going to be giving a donation to the “Nut House,” and they would have a box for any anyone additional wanting to contribute. They gave us a check for $1,037 when we left Saturday night. We never expected such generosity, especially from a rally with 1,500 attendees.
Remember I said, “so many events that we look back upon are miracles and it appears we were guided every step of the way?” I was fortunate to have won a door prize, and when I went to claim it, someone asked, “Did you look at your number?" It hadn’t registered that the last three numbers were 911. Amazingly, the prize I won was an afghan throw of the American flag.
After we returned home, we met a man in Blairsville whose 40-year-old daughter was in the South Tower on the 104th floor. She had called him at 9:02 a.m. on September 11, and said they were told they had to get out. Her body was found two weeks later. Our hearts just broke for him. I have his address and plan to do something for him.
At the Sorghum Festival held in Blairsville, the organizers had us display our “Rolling Memorial” and we again collected donations as well as sold Wesley’s posters.
In a related effort, sixteen Social Studies teachers at Eagle’s Landing High School in McDonough, Georgia are sponsoring the eight “Nut House”children left fatherless. My neighbor, Louise Carreker, a history teacher at the school, initiated the project. She said that her students were very pleased to take on a project of helping these eight children.
We returned to New York after Thanksgiving, taking what we could from Eagle’s Landing High School to these children. A Christmas party was held at the firehouse on December 8, and we were there to give the children their gifts. With the funds collected we were able to provide gifts and savings bonds to the eight children and the wives of the firefighters in the amount of $3,200. We also delivered gifts to the family of an electrician’s technician lost in the Towers who we learned about through an I.B.E.W. local union. He earned only $12 per hour, and did not have any insurance. His family, a wife and four children live in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Another class at Eagle’s Landing school is sponsoring these four children.
The stories keep coming and the generosity abounds. We came out of an Olive Garden restaurant in Syracuse, New York, and found money placed under the windshield wipers. A neighbor was so taken back by the truck and our efforts that they gave us a check for $1,000 for the “Nut House.”
We are continually amazed, but are also honored to be a “vehicle” for “our” firehouse.
In our travels we have been asked for tee shirts of two of the paintings: the one with the eagle and the one on the tailgate. We are working with Polly Renshaw and Ray Adkins of ARPS to see about the tee shirts.
We are currently looking for anyone or businesses that would be interested in being a sponsor for us. We want to keep the truck on the road and would like help with our expenses. We are making up a sandwich board to recognize all that will be providing sponsorship.
Our travels will continue as the folks in New York and Washington D.C. always should feel that they aren’t being forgotten and that America is remembering their loss.
To contact Lynn & Frank Neri, write them at 1569 Victoria Woods Drive, Hiawassee, Georgia 30546-3630. Phone (706) 896-4136. E-mail: Lynnmk@whitelion.net.
