Hour 5: McMonigle Makes Week 1 NFL Picks After Emotional 9/11 Tribute

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

My cousin, who just died within the last two years from 9-11 cancer, he was a New York City cop, but was transferred, he was downtown. And when the event happened, he actually volunteered first, and then he was assigned there. And then 20 years later, he gets 9-11 cancer. I give the New York Mets credit. I actually sent them a letter to the community service explaining how he had been a sergeant, and could they do something. And what they did was, they brought us in, and they actually took us to batting practice. They gave him a tour of the stadium. And I will be forever grateful for what they did for him. So I'm sorry I'm getting emotional. Don't be sorry.

You know, this guy with the salt of the earth, it seems so unfair.

I apologize.

Hoff (0:54)

Nothing to apologize for.

Craig Carton (0:57)

You're welcome. I'm sorry for your loss, and you have nothing to apologize for. That's why I wanted this show to be like this. I want people to feel comfortable expressing, you know, the loss that they suffered, because it's cathartic to do it.

SPEAKER_2 (1:10)

I want to talk about my dad. Sure, sure.

My dad was a fantastic person. He was a police officer in New York City for 29 years. And I lost, we just recently lost him about four weeks ago from 9-11 cancer.

And thank you. It was extremely tough. He was a first responder towards a trade center.

SPEAKER_5 (1:40)

First day back to work, a week and a half or so later, I make that turn where usually what do you see? These two cowering buildings. Make that turn, don't see the buildings there. And first time back and just went, wow.

And I mean, we had a therapy meeting in the conference room. And I remember yelling this out.

SPEAKER_2 (2:07)

I had two sick parents at the time.

SPEAKER_5 (2:09)

I said, you know, I'm dealing with so much stuff at work, you know, at home. Work was my fortress of solitude. I don't even have that now.

I was just, I was just so angry.

SPEAKER_6 (2:20)

I got caught coming down running into the Carton River.

And I was able to stay there and help without any mask and anything else to find out later, 11 years later that I was infected with 9-11 diseases. But thank God that I was never had to got the cancer like my friends from the Fort Worth fish market. We were all there. We lost a whole bunch of them. And a lot of them got the causes. And if it wasn't for Beekman Hospital right there and helping a lot of these people, I can't say thank you enough for what they did.

SPEAKER_1 (3:03)

You mentioned before the Giants versus Denver.

SPEAKER_5 (3:06)

That night is a line of demarcation in my life. I went to bed feeling very upset at the Giants' performance. And then the next morning, I had just started law school in downtown New York. And as soon as we got into the World Trade Center, it was just after nine o'clock. There was already police down there evacuating everybody, thinking I got to get to school, whatever's going on here, someone will take care of it. I get up to the concourse.

I look outside the windows and I just see hundreds of people staring up.

And I get outside and I look up too. And all I can think is what are the chances that both powers could catch on fire at the same time? Right. And, you know, it was at that moment, you know, debris is falling. So I'm zigzagging, trying to dodge debris. And then, you know, the most traumatizing part of the whole day, you know, it wasn't just debris falling out of the sky, it was human beings. And, you know, people were, you know, I saw things I wish on nobody. I was in therapy for months and still, you know, to this day, you know, Craig, you mentioned how cathartic it is to talk about this. That's the only way I survived this. You know, it's a day that I send an email out to everybody I know, reminding everybody, do not forget, this is the one time where we as a country, as a people, as a human race, need to remember that empathy and that connection we all felt right afterwards, because you should never pass up a chance to tell people you love that you love them.

Rhino (4:32)

Give your people a hug.

SPEAKER_5 (4:33)

I was down there September 11th, September 12th, and for the next three months, and what our assignment was, was we would stay at the temporary morgue, and any first responders that they found, we would give them an escort across the Bellevue Hospital. The next morning, which was the 12th, we got there on our motorcycles at 5 a.m., and I was just standing there, just looking at the pile of rubble. And guys, when I tell you there wasn't a desk, a chair, a computer, it was all just dust. It was dust. So while I was standing there, a piece of paper blew up on my boot, and I was so tired. I didn't even want to bend down. I just tried to shake it off my boot, and I couldn't do it. So finally, I bent down and I grabbed it, and instead of just letting it blow away in the wind, I looked at it, and it was a memorandum. And the date on the memorandum was March 19th, 1991 That was the day my father passed away.