Though the fourth anniversary of the World Trade Center terrorist attack is rapidly approaching, Pamela Washburn tries to make the significance of the event part of her life every day. Washburn, a chaplain clinician at Methodist Hospital, was among the volunteers who worked at the site counseling families in October 2001. She also counseled police, EMS and firefighters involved in recovery efforts. “I get jerked back there unexpectedly, like when I smell something burning in the air,” she said. “When I was at the site, ground zero was still burning.”

Having lived in New Jersey, she recalls that a trip to the top of the World Trade Center was always on the schedule when friends and relatives visited. “I have a ticket stub and photos from one of my visits,” she said. “They are mementos that help me remember.” Also, Washburn’s mother gave her a replica of the Twin Towers, which she displays at home.

“It’s important to keep the memories of 9-11 alive,” she said. “The remembrance gives value to the lives of the people who died and to those whose lives were changed forever.” As you develop your stories on the fourth anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center, Washburn would make a good interview on the importance of remembering it.

If you are interested in doing a story, please phone Shirley Wills at 822-2378 or 365-4488(cell) or JoAnn King, 575-0171 or 917-7916 (pager). For media assistance during the weekend, please phone Methodist Hospital, 575-4000, and ask for the public relations representative on call.