Time!

It's been a while since I've added to this blog, but I was distracted by some personal developments. One was my wedding to Stephanie on April 4th and the other was being laid off from my job the week after we returned from honeymoon!

Well, at least I now have more time to devote to the book! On May 5, 2009, I had the opportunity to interview Cathleen McCormack, who was a young nurse, fresh out of school, at the hospital in Perth Amboy, NJ where they took the injured from the wreck. She had many interesting stories of her experiences that day. I have also been in regular contact with Kelly Cooper from Virginia, whose grandfather had perished in the wreck. She has been getting the details from her mother. I still have another gentleman to follow up with who knew Joe Fitzsimmons as well.

Trying to view the loss of my job as a positive, I now have the time to pursue these leads!

Slipping From Our Grasp

Ms. Helen Pike (http://helenpike.com/index.htm) was kind enough to send me a copy of an obituary of Doris J. Wright from The Asbury Park Press. She passed away February 3rd just two weeks shy of her 90th birthday. Ms. Pike sent this because of this passage...

For over 30 years, Doris commuted to work on Wall Street, New York for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. It was during one of her commutes home in 1951 that Doris survived one of the worst train wrecks in American history in Woodbridge, where 82 people died. She sustained severe injuries, including a broken back, but was able to make a full recovery.

The main characters of this story - Joe Fitzsimmons, John Bishop, Alexander Eber, Paul Triplett - are all gone. Each year, another group of survivors and rescuers pass away. The wreck of The Broker is one of those events on the cusp of slipping into history.

This is a book that needs to be written soon, before the firsthand experiences of survivors and rescuers slip from our grasp.