William Rodriguez meets with supporters outside the Lakewood Theater in Dallas last Thursday evening.
Additional Reporting By Nathan Diebenow
Associate Editor Of The Lone Star Iconoclast
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
DALLAS — For some, Sept. 11, 2001 feels like a lifetime ago; distant pain and mental distress, pushed into the background by an influx of nonsense aimed at keeping the un-inclined, reclined.
But to others, the images of Americans jumping from burning buildings, holding hands three at a time, are permanently soldered into the collective cortex. Not to mention the worldwide insanity that has spiraled outward ever since.
And to those present that day, 9/11 has become a permanent facet of their lives. Every day is Sept. 11. Every hour, the horror of 8:46 a.m. plays out over and over again.
One such individual is William Rodriguez, former custodian of some 20 years in the North Tower. He held the Master Key to the stairwell, and is credited with saving between 14 and 20 lives.
That day, he was the last living person to be pulled from the rubble. Surviving almost by miracle alone, and enduring a brief stint of homelessness in the tragedy’s wake, Rodriguez’s new job is touring the world, telling his tale.
Unfortunately for some, his tale varies quite a bit from what the President and his supporters would have the public believe. However, fortunately for those same individuals, his veneer is that of us all: a fallible man, subject to whim, ego, time and profile. Figurehead, one might say.
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