Passing of Country Music Icon Toby Keith (1961-2024)

It is with profound sadness that I woke up this morning to the news that country music legend, Toby Keith, passed away after his battle with stomach cancer.

Toby was an amazing songwriter and musician, but as an NYPD 9/11 First Responder, he held a very dear place in my heart. While he is known for such hits as: Should’ve Been a Cowboy, Whiskey Girl, Beer For My Horses, and How Do You Like Me Know? the song that resonated deepest for me was: Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 Terror Attacks, there were three defining songs: Alan Jackson’s Where Were You? Darryl Worley’s Have You Forgotten, and the aforementioned Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue. These songs seemed to encapsulate the many emotions we faced as a nation: Pain and Resolve.

Toby put into words what we were all feeling in those dark days of September:

“Now this nation that I love has fallen under attack
A mighty sucker punch came flyin' in from somewhere in the back
Soon as we could see clearly
Through our big black eye
Man, we lit up your world
Like the fourth of July”

I remember once reading that it was a controversial song, and a knee-jerk reaction, and I felt dismayed. America is not perfect, but no country ever is, but there is a reason why everyone looks to us; wants to come here. For all our faults, we stand as a beacon for freedom and liberty. Our politicians might suck, but the average American has a heart of gold and will give you the shirt off their back if you are in need. We look upon the American flag with reverence, because we know the awful price that has been paid for the freedoms we enjoy. To paraphrase USMC General James Mattis, America is "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy."

It is a sad day for me, but, like so many of country music’s great singers, Toby’s music will live on. Outspoken, fearless, and unapologetically patriotic, he was undeniably country and he famously put into words what we were all feeling so many years ago. As a cancer survivor, and someone who lost his partner to this cruel disease, let me say this from the bottom of my heart: Fuck Cancer.

God Bless and Rest in Peace, Toby.

REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2001

“Where were you on September 11th, 2001?”

It’s a question I have heard asked countless times over the last two plus decades. Everyone recalls where they were on that fateful day when they heard the news about the terrorist attacks in NYC, Shanksville, PA and the Pentagon. I’m no different, and I wrote about my story in my book: Where Was God? An NYPD first responder’s search for answers following the terror attack of September 11th 2001.

But for many of us, the memories of 9/11 don’t begin on that day. There is an emotional lead up that culminates in 9/10; the last day before our world was forever and irrevocably changed. I’m sure if I had the chance to speak with a veteran who was at Pearl Harbor on December 6th, 1941, they would share the same story. Remembering the last time that things were ever ‘normal.’

I remember September 10th.

I spent the evening watching Monday Night Football, sitting in bed feeling frustrated, because I had to get up early the next morning to cover the NYC primary election. I was glued to the game, watching my beloved NY Giants eventually lose to the Denver Broncos.  

That’s my last memory of normal.

At that time I had been a cop for over 15 years. I thought I had seen just about everything, but a few hours after waking up, I would learn just how wrong I was.

For the 23 members of the service we lost on 9/11, they never enjoyed another normal day. Twenty-Two years later, many of us have been forced to embrace a new normal, as we struggle with health issues due to exposure of toxins at Ground Zero. The scourge of cancer almost loses its sting when you realize that it is most likely not a question of if, but when.

You reflect a lot on the fact that 9/11 wasn’t a singular terrorist attack, but a generational one that continues to claim lives two decades later. It’s difficult to embrace normal when you get constant notifications alerting you that we’ve lost another first responder to a 9/11 illness.   

Tomorrow politicians and pundits will dust off the tired old mantra: Never Forget, but the reality is we are forgotten; only remembered one day a year and then put back into the closest until the next anniversary. The majority of them have never had to struggle with having a normal day. The constant political fight to fund the 9/11 Health Program proves just how quickly they forget and move on.

Today I reflect on what life was like before that day and tomorrow I will mourn those we lost; killed in the initial attack or its lingering aftermath. Tomorrow will be about ‘remembering the heroes,’ but knowing that the door will close again on September 12th for another year.

WTC Cross Photo courtesy of Anne Bybee-Williams © 2001

E-Book SALE: Where Was God?: $.99 (1/19-1/22/2021)

With everything that is going on in the world now, God impressed on my heart that this would be the appropriate time to make my e-book available to you at the reduced price of .99 (an 81% saving) in order to bring a sense of peace to those searching for answers. This price will last from 1/19 (8am PST) and continue to 1/22 (8pm PST).

As a reminder, 100% of ALL the royalties derived from the sale of this book goes to charity.

This book began as my personal journey, in the aftermath of 9/11, but it quickly turned into a search for answers, namely does God even exist? I used my platform as an author to share with you the results of this search and I feel it will help many as they struggle.

As one reviewer said: "Early in my journey with God I read ‘The Case for Christ’ [Strobel] and I was disappointed. It was not persuasive and frankly left more food for the cynic in me. Your book felt like a real case for Christ, as if a seasoned trial lawyer was putting on a case.”

Please consider purchasing this book and please share this post with your friends and family.

Thank you and God bless.
Andrew

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G9M2315

Cold Case - Book #3 (Update)

I know a lot of you have been wondering when the next book would be coming out and I am happy to say: SOON !!

NYPD Detective Angelo Antonucci has become a favorite, and you won’t have to wait too much longer. The book is complete and is in the editing phase. During this time I will work on the cover artwork and it is my goal to have it available before the end of this month. For those of you who prefer printed books over the digital medium, I have good news for you as well. Coinciding with the release of this book will be a print issue featuring all three Cold Case books in one edition.

For those of you waiting for the next Alex Taylor novel, I am currently working on the final details of the plot progression. I hope to start the actual writing process beginning in February.

I want to apologize that there was only one new book in 2020: Awakening, but I think we can all admit that 2020 was a rough year for most of us. On top of that, I felt it was important to focus on the re-release of my updated book: Where Was God? which now includes two new chapters.  

I thank you all for your patience and continued support during these trying times.

As always, if you haven’t signed up for my newsletter, please do so on the CONTACT page.

Best wishes & stay safe,

September 11th – Never Forget

It’s funny to me that each September you begin hearing the words ‘Never Forget’ being repeated.

I don’t say this dismissively, and I am truly grateful to all those who remember the bravery and faithfulness of our fallen, but as I look around at what is going on in this country I cannot help but feel these words are becoming hollow platitudes.

Just recently, the 9/11 community was in an all-out political battle to fight for funding to treat many of us who are sick as a result of the toxins we ingested back then. September 12th, 2002, united this country and gave rise to the words ‘Never Forget.’ Yet the same politicians who draped themselves in the flag and chastised us to not forget were the very same ones who pushed back on the promise this country made to us.

I look around and I am deeply troubled, as I see this new generation, many whom were not even alive when the terror attack occurred, desecrating memorials to our fallen heroes and victims, because they go against their current world view. Those people who have never put themselves in harm’s way for another human being, mocking those that gave the last full measure.

 The words ‘Never Forget’ mean something different to a select few. While the world proclaims that we should Never Forget, some understand that for them it is ‘Can’t Forget.’

Can’t Forget means that you can never look at a clear blue sky and find comfort.

Can’t Forget means that the sound of a low flying plane sends a wave of panic through you.

Can’t Forget means that in the shadow of a global pandemic a mask brings no comfort, only bad memories.

Can’t Forget means that the sight of flames and the scent of acrid smoke forever rekindles a hell that no one should ever know.

Can’t Forget means that to those who wear this, you are bound to a brother & sisterhood that is sacred, not for what we did, but for what they gave:  Fidelis Ad Mortem

NYPD World Trade Center Medal

Can’t Forget means that, by the grace of God, you survived, but the names and faces of those we lost are forever etched into our hearts and minds.

“From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.” - William Shakespeare’s Henry V