𝟵/𝟭𝟭 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗼𝗿, 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁

𝗥𝗫’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗶𝗺𝗶’𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝟭. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀. 𝟮. 𝗛𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁. 𝟯. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. RX: First can you tell us when and where you took your Dear World portrait? MB: That picture has always meant so much to me. Every time I see it, the black background, my resolve, it just feels like it was my message to the world. I think how much I love the photograph, I think about 9/11 - but I also think back to how impactful the Dear World event was for me and all of my colleagues. I shared my story of being in the World Trade Center, but as you remember it was a client event. And what Dear World did for me was it allowed me to hear deeply personal and authentic stories about my clients’ lives. One of my clients lost a child – that’s what they put on their arm. I had no idea. One of my clients told me with their ink that they beat cancer. I learned so much that day about others, and I have Dear World to thank. You know it’s funny, for years I’d go to see them and they’d have their Dear World photos on their desks or in their conference rooms – some I know had them on the mantle at home. So just thanks to you. It was an honor and a pleasure to be a part of Dear World. RX: You shared a lot about what it meant to safely escape on 9/11, I’m curious what the passage of time feels like now? I mean, it’s been 20 years. MB: I certainly wouldn’t wish this experience on anyone, but what it did create for me was it created an entirely new level of gratitude. Truly, there are times when I get completely out of sorts and I’m able to say this to myself: “Woah, girl, you just got to live the last 10 years or 15 years or 20 years of your life – get it together!” I always come back to that. I mean, someone tried to kill me – kill all of us - that day and I survived. So that does give me a profound sense of gratitude. Secondly, I think over the years I’ve tried to be more empathetic to other people’s pain. The idea that every person on the planet has experienced pain or loss or trauma. It is the human condition. And I’ve stopped comparing traumas and have developed a large sense of just not comparing mine to others and vice versas.  I lived that day, right?  I wasn't physically hurt. It took me a long time to recover and not dive under the dining room table when planes flew over my house, but I lived. I still have my dear husband, my son and parents. When I hear people who have lost a family member, a child or have an illness, I just say to myself that everybody has pain. And sadly, there I still have my dear husband, my son and parents. When I hear people who have lost a family member, a child or have an illness, I just say to myself that everybody has pain. And sadly, there are countless victims of mass tragedy – beyond those of us who were downtown that day. 9/11 has given me a more profound sense of empathy and compassion for those in any kind of pain. RX: I love the idea of fairy godmother characters in our lives, and when I say that, I mean people who came into your life at unexpected moments and gave you a gift. Is there anyone like that in your life? A fairy godmother character? MB: Well, I talked about him a little earlier but I’d say Steve Wheeler was my 9/11 fair godmother for sure! Steve means the world to me to this day and was a colleague of mine on September 11.  On that day, when we were all looking out the windows after we heard the first plane crash. We were all on our blackberries and looking out the window--remember this was 20 years ago--we all thought it was a helicopter or a tourist plane. Most of us weren’t concerned yet, more perplexed and Steve slammed his hands down on the table and said with some colorful language, “WHAT are you all doing? Let’s get the heck out of here!” He snapped into leadership mode and got all of our attention that this was serious. Because of that we went straight to the stairwells and headed down 63 flights of stairs. To this day I keep Steve in my prayers because he got us out of there early. He saved us at minimum from a far worse experience. Other fairy godmothers. The first responders – the police and firefighters. And the security teams within my then company. And of course, those who suited up and fought for the freedoms we get to enjoy – the men and women of the United States military. And definitely, my priest, Father Todd Dill. He helped me find my faith again when I thought I never could after all of that death and fear. RX: So what was it like in the aftermath? MB: The best part. I got to go home. I got to be with my family – unlike so many that day. I was unable to contact them for at least a couple of hours – after the towers fell. My husband was home from work that day caring for our 2 ½ year old son. I remain incredibly thankful for that. My parents rushed to be with him after calling my voicemail and hearing, “Hi. It’s Mimi, I’m at the World Trade Center today. Please leave your name and number and I’ll get right back to you.”  I still can’t imagine what that felt like for my family and friends to hear that message. My family, friends and colleagues helped me heal. They all helped me come back to myself. I always had a profound sense, and still do, that my experience – while not something that anyone should have to experience – was far easier and manageable than so many others were there that day. Not least of which are those who lost their lives. Part of the healing for so many I’ve talked to is helping others. I’ve had the honor of working with the COMMIT Foundation for just over 10 years. Their mission is to help post-9/11 veterans, many of whom tell me they were called to enlist because of 9/11, move from military to civilian life. RX: Do you have any rituals or do anything to mark the anniversary? What will you be doing on Saturday? MB: I’ve always wanted it to be a normal day.  I love to cook, so I make dinner for my family, which I do. I started doing this about five years after 9/11 when I felt mentally healthy enough, so probably about five years in. But I do one thing that’s brought me joy and I hope they do too-- I typically will drop off some food to a local fire station. I generally make food that will go right in the freezer and they can take it out whenever they want. I just take a little tiny lift off their shoulders #DearWorld #September11 #NeverForget #911Survivor #911Remembrance #Storytelling