In honor and memory of the crew of United Flight 93: Captain Jason Dahl; First Officer LeRoy Homer Jr.; Flight Attendant Lorraine Bay; Flight Attendant Sandra Bradshaw; Flight Attendant Wanda Green; Flight Attendant CeeCee Lyles; and Flight Attendant Deborah Welsh.
In honor and memory of the crew of United Flight 93: Captain Jason Dahl; First Officer LeRoy Homer Jr.; Flight Attendant Lorraine Bay; Flight Attendant Sandra Bradshaw; Flight Attendant Wanda Green; Flight Attendant CeeCee Lyles; and Flight Attendant Deborah Welsh.
30 days. 300 miles. The longest push is underway now...
In August 2023 Paulie began the farthest Push yet: Newark Liberty International Airport to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown, Pennsylvania. It is to be a journey of 30 days and 30 nights, and of 300 miles. Follow Paulie’s journey below, or on our social media accounts, as he honors the heroics of the flight crew of 9/11, and those aboard United Flight 93. To watch his progress in real time, visit our live link.
New Jersey
Our journey began a visit to the Essex County Eagle Rock Reservation 9/11 Memorial, where we were greeted by Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. and Paulie’s friend and fellow flight attendant Deborah Calimano; together the three toured the grounds of the 9/11 memorial and the flight crew memorial, added following a collaboration between Mr. DiVincenzo and Ms. Calminao.
On Monday the Push officially began with an amazing sendoff at Newark-Liberty International Airport.
To see photos and video from both, click here.
From EWR we headed west, straight into Elizabeth, NJ - and straight into followers of the Push, right from the beginning!
RIGHT: Daniela Bautista from Garfield, New Jersey. Coming to support you after my Day 1 Orientation with United Airlines. It's been an honor and pleasure to meet you Paulie. God Bless You
LEFT: Two of my most ardent followers - Danielle and Rich Rolandelli - these amazing folks found me with the live map (http://resport.io/push3) and came out to meet me during yesterday’s Push. They actually did the same thing in 2021, catching up with me in Arthur St. in New York City! So nice to see you again - and again - and hopefully again!
Heading into New Jersey, we were still getting our stride when folks from the Mendham Township Fire Department tracked us down and invited us to join them at their station. Paula Oswald, from the Mendham First Aid Squad, had set out a spread for us that morning, including fresh fruit, bagels, snacks, and drinks. They also gave us bottles of water to go. Paulie really enjoyed talking to everyone, and it gave him a chance to rest on a fairly warm day.
A special thank you to Bruce Schmeal and the Chester Volunteer Fire Company in Chester, NJ for waiting for us at the station house and giving Paulie a tour, we really appreciated it. At some point Paulie noticed a decal on the front of the truck - THIS IS HOW WE ROLL. Paulie’s Push 3 had adopted the ‘Let’s Roll’ mantra made famous by Todd Beamer, uttered just before the crew and passengers stormed the cockpit, and this sign seemed to be - well, a sign.
It’s always nice to see how excited the kids get when they find out they’re allowed to push the cart. The family of the chief at Chester came out to meet Paulie, as well - and took a moment to give the cart a spin!
You could see huge trucks struggling mightily to get to the top of Schooley’s Mountain. But the mountain was no match for Paulie and his cart. This was probably the first real challenging hill for Paulie, but he handled it like a champ. The chorus of supportive horn honks probably helped, as did a well-wisher who parked halfway up the hill to cheer him on - and provide him with a bottled water and a snack for the road!
We were taking a video with a little bald-headed inflatable wavy tube man, and the police officer escorting Paulie told us that the proprietor of the business the tube man was in front of wanted to feed Paulie and the crew!
Anwar turned out to be who the wavy tube man was modeled after - a gift from his daughter, he told us - and he was quite the character. He told us that we were in Jersey so we needed to eat like New Jersey-ans, and he fixed us each a “pork roll with egg and cheese.” Delicious! We spent over an hour there, meeting a bunch of folks from the area and explaining the Push to them. Some had already seen it on the news!
Stops like these are Paulie’s favorite - “meeting people along the way is the best part,” he always says. Thanks, Anwar and everyone at Cafe57!
We received many, many invites for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all along the route. Trust me when I say that the crew was heartbroken to have to turn some of them down. Our mealtimes are fairly precise, based around the Push schedule for the day itself, and often the timing just doesn’t line up. If you run a business and invited us to stop by but we weren’t able to, thank you for the offer, and your understanding!
Spontaneous escort through town…
We don’t know who he was, or where he came from, but at some point this young man pulled up behind Paulie on his bike, American flag draped over his shoulder, and just rode. He followed Paulie for miles.
It’s things like this that make the Push even more special for Paulie, and for all of us…
Thank you, sir, whoever you are.
Our caption for this photo was as follows:
If you’ve met Paulie out on the route, you know he really enjoys sharing his story. Here he’s found another audience that’s all ears…
Sorry if that was a bit corny. See you tomorrow for another day of the Push!
Paulie had decided that he wanted people to know that we’d left the Jersey suburbs and had officially reached the country. He’d been on the side of the street we had a b-roll video camera set up on, but walked over to the cornfield on the other side to pose for a quick ‘Paulie of the Corn’ photo. Then, suddenly, a parade of vehicles came out of nowhere. We’re talking cars, trucks, school buses, and what must have been the slowest tractor in New Jersey - just one after another after another. We’re not exaggerating when we say that minutes ticked by - so long that the RV team texted to make sure Paulie was alright. “He' hasn’t moved for a while.”
Mental note: from now on, keep photoshoots restricted to the side of the road Paulie is pushing on…
One is 9/11, the other 9-1-1, but common numerics brought us together with Gary A. Hill, creator of 911Bowler. Gary is a 9-1-1 coordinator who is advocating for re-classifying emergency dispatchers as first responders, and better addressing the needs of their mental health. Mr. Hill heard about a 9/11 push through his town, and came out to see if 9-1-1 could offer any support along the way. He also posed with his bowling ball - his “Wilson”, that helps him deal with PTSD. Like Pauile’s cart, Mr. Hill’s ball has become a symbol of the movement he’s so passionate about. We’re here for it!
Absolutely mesmerized by Paulie.
Thanks to Grandpa for driving the firetruck escort, and then coming back to walk with Paulie.
By a twist of fate, we discovered that Paulie would be walking through Phillipsburg, NJ at the same time as the Police Recovery Walk. The area chapter of the Bikers Against Cop Killers participates every year, and when they heard that Paulie was coming through, they saw an opportunity for a little bit of a partnership. Both groups crossed from New Jersey into Pennsylvania together via the Mechanicsburg Bridge.
The event is a fundraiser for the Safe Harbor House in Easton, which serves both communities. We thank organizer Amanda Lance for putting it on, and B.A.C.K. for inviting us to join in!
A perfect message for what lies ahead…
