On the annivrsary of 9-11 I like to remember ABE ZELMANOWITZ, a man who stayed by the side of his quadriplegic friend, Ed Beyea, when he could've vacated the building. Abe sacrificed his life in the name of friendship and compassion to comfort Ed, who had no way to exit the tower. People like Ed and Abe should never be forgotten.
Don. http://www.voicesofseptember11.org/dev/memorial_biography.php?idbio=820151250 One such friend was Ed Beyea with whom Abe worked for the twelve years that he was employed by Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Ed was a quadriplegic ever since sustaining a devastating injury in a diving incident when he was 21 years old. Even though they came from such different backgrounds - Ed was a Christian and Abe an Orthodox Jew - they had many common interests. They enjoyed the same music, from Andrea Bocelli and the 3 Tenors to the Beatles, exchanged books, videos and DVD’s, played computer golf and chess and went out to dinner frequently with other co-workers. If Abe made the reservations he’d make sure that the restaurant was wheelchair-accessible, and if Ed made the reservations he’d make sure that the place was kosher. On that fateful, dreadful day, after the first plane crashed into the North Tower, when others were fleeing the building, Abe chose to remain with Ed. Ed’s aide, Irma Fuller, had been on a higher floor and was coughing badly. Abe told Irma that he would stay with Ed and that she should leave and send a rescue team to help carry Ed down the stairs. We subsequently learned from Mike Burke, that his brother, Captain William Burke of the New York City Fire Department, was with them at the end. Tragically, they all perished.
