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Good afternoon. I wish to thank everyone for being here today to help in the Celebration of Michael Lynch's life and to offer support to the Lynch family. It has been nearly a year since I first met Mike. About this time last year a Fire Department order was issued that among other things stated that Mike, Bobby and I were to be rotated to Engine 40. Bobby and I already knew each other but I had yet to meet the other person from the 27 Battalion that was going with me to Manhattan. While at a fire in the Bronx, Mike working in Ladder 32 and myself working in Engine 79, we sought each other out. We had no way of knowing that the other was working this particular day, since at this point in time we never met. But amidst the confusion that can occur even after a fire is under control, Mike and I found each other. Something had brought us together that day. We introduced ourselves and I knew immediately I would have another friend going with me to Engine 40. When we arrived at the firehouse on the Upper West Side of Manhattan Mike, Bobby and I worked together a lot. In a good-hearted way we were quickly referred to as "those Bronx guys." If anyone here hasn't noticed from my accent, I wasn't born nor raised in the Bronx. The three of us, especially myself, took this as a compliment. Mike, Bobby, and myself were banded together. As I have been most of my life I was naïve and I believed that nothing would ever tear this bond apart. Working with Mike meant that fun was the first order of business. Everything else was just a formality. Mike watched movies with this incredible ability to remember the lines from the movies verbatim. The silliest things seemed to be the funniest. After watching the movie "Castaway" screaming "WILSON" at the Federal Express trucks as they drove by the firehouse on Amsterdam Avenue became a standard procedure. Or simply reciting the lines from movies was the way Mike always kept things entertaining. Of all the movies Mike knew quotes from I believe Mike knew the lines from Jaws the best. Out of the middle of no where the quote, "I think we need a bigger boat" or "what do you think of that, Chiefey?", and so many others would come from Mike. No rhyme or reason, just to lighten things up. However there is one particular line that Mike recited that caused a tag to be pinned on me that I will always associate with Mike. One afternoon I walked into the quarters of 40 and 35 and over the loud speaker I heard this awful noise of someone screaming "OWEN!!!!"Mike had just watched the movie "Throw Mama from the Train." For anyone who has not seen this movie find time to rent and watch the movie. For those of you who have seen it you'll fully understand. The movie stars Danny Devito. His character is named Owen and his Momma had a harsh way of summoning him. From that day forward this is how Mike, and soon everyone else, would summon me. While responding to an alarm at 3:00 AM Mike would yell to me in the back of Engine 40, OWEN!! When Mike was a little bored in house watch he would grasp the loud speaker and yell “OWEN!! I was looking forward to hearing that call for many years while on an alarm back in the Bronx. There comes a moment everyday when I am sad because of the great losses we all have experienced. When I think of Mike I am sad in a selfish way. I am sad because I have lost someone who I knew was going to be a life long friend. I knew that our careers were going to grow together at our “brother” companies in the Bronx. We would work together while each of us was visiting the other’s firehouse for a tour, we would have worked together while at a fire, or we would have met at one of the many social occasions that our houses share. There is no way to explain or comprehend what occurred on that fateful morning in September. Mike went to work that day with a love for his profession and a call to duty. He along with so many others did not return from Manhattan Box 55 - 8087. A box number we all know too well. But, I believe Mike is home, somewhere, and someday I'll once again hear him calling me the same way Momma called Owen. A quote that I feel is appropriate to help me understand what happened to Mike is one stated by Albert Einstein at a time when he was frustrated and confused. He stated, "Great Spirits have always met violent opposition from people with mediocre minds." People with mediocre minds opposed Mike. Sadly, these people with their mediocre minds took our Great Spirit Mike from us much too soon. We must always remember. I believe that is that a person lives as long as he is remembered. So instead of ending, I'll turn this over to Bobby to help keep Mike's Spirit alive through remembrance. |