IN MEMORIAM JONATHAN C. RANDALL

Between 1986-1989, during the latter part of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, which contrary to the American occupation of Iraq did cause millions of refugees, the US supplied the mujahideen with ample stocks of weaponry and ammo to fight the invaders. In 1991 that same US built and led a giant global coalition to oust Saddam Husseins army from Kuwait, where it had caused death and destruction on an unprecedented scale. And during the late nineties it was again the US which intervened in Europes own backyard on behalf of Bosnian muslims. Thousands of mujahideen must have watched from hilltops how "Christian" US warplanes pounded "Christian" Serb military positions and infrastructure. All that means that in just one decade, America came up for muslims thrice.

Let us never forget how, on September 11th 2001, America was rewarded.




A while ago I came across this web initiative aiming to honor the 9/11 victims by getting as many blogs as possible to shed some light on the lives and personalities of all the near 3,000 victims who perished in the attacks. I signed up, and the name DowneastBlog was allocated was Jonathan C. Randall. Jonathan was a 42-year old resident of Brooklyn, NY. He was a manager at Marsh & McLennan in One WTC. Jonathan seems to have been a nice and kind personality who did not seek the spotlights, which is why I found it hard to collect some hard info on him. Luckily I stumbled on this fitting fragment from an acquaintance which I think comes from the New York Times:

It is late Saturday morning at Kensington Stables, on the edge of Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Jonathan C. Randall sits patiently, smoking a cigar, waiting for his 11-year-old daughter, Katharine, to finish her weekly riding lesson. It is a calming routine for both father and daughter, a treasured escape from times made hectic by divorce and a thousand other pressures. It is what Mr. Randall, 42, lived for.

"Jonathan had been bouncing around for a while until Katie was born, but then he got his life together," said Gindy Bladen, his former wife. "He was completely committed to her."

He also got more involved with a local church, the Zion German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brooklyn Heights. He was assistant treasurer at the church council, and sometimes moderated discussions after prayer services.

"He was very definitely a peacemaker," said the Rev. Dr. George R. Muenich, its pastor. "He had that gift."

Mr. Randall also led a Bible study group at Marsh & McLennan, where he was a manager. But he always reserved time for Katie. "Whenever he was with her you could tell that he was totally enjoying the moment," said Matthew Steffanie, a neighbor. "He seemed to have an inner peace."

If you knew John, you might want to add something for an epitaph here.

If you are of Christian faith, please join us in the following prayer for John and his relatives. If you adhere to another religion and are a decent peaceloving human being, you might want to pray in the manner you like:

Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Amen.


MFBB