Chris Edwards, Quite a GuyMost of you know Chris, our first baseman. He has played for AFTRA since the beginning of our team, and been one of our dependable and great players. He is an AFTRA member doing work on film and TV mostly as a cop or fireman, which is what he was until 9/11 ruined his health and the NYC Fire Dept forced him to retire. But Chris is not the retiring kind. On 9/11 he was on vacation, but when he saw on TV what was going on he went to his Bronx firehouse to be with his “gang.” At Midnight, they were all called to the site, which was burning uncontrollably, seven stories of rubble. Rescuing duty was called for, it was thought. They worked all night, that Bronx crew, and in the early morning they were dismissed. As Chris was walking to their truck, he thought, “Hey, what am I leaving for? I’m not on duty; I can stick around and help.” So he did…for the next four days and without sleep.For those of you who have heard about the recent film, The World Trade Center, where two Port Authority cops were rescued by some fellow policeman. Well Chris told me that the rescue was not by P.A. policeman, but by three firemen. The surviving P.A. cops influenced the filmmakers to portray the rescuers as fellow cops, out of loyalty to the force. Of the three real fireman rescuers, two of them crawled into the hole and one remained on top of the pile, handing them tools and material as they needed it and eventually helped carryout these two men who were to be the only survivors rescued after that horrible event. Chris was the guy on the top of the pile. He was deeply moved by the event. He told me that he and the other fireman were elated and had high hopes that there would be other rescues. But it was not to be.Chris was down at the site, without a mask for those four days, and without his knee braces, (he has two artificial knees from a lifetime of fighting fires… and playing softball, too.) When he eventually was examined by NYC Fire Dept doctors he was found to have seriously destroyed his heart and his lungs, as well as his body to a degree that the Department required him, against his will, to retire from his beloved force. He was crushed but soldiered on and maintained his close relationship to his guys. For months after 9/11 Chris went to funerals for fellow firefighters. Not just the ones he knew, but to as many as he could fit into a day, going from one to another, proudly wearing the uniform they were soon to take away from him.Recently Chris ran into the man whom he helped rescue, to whom he felt a bond even though he had never really known him. It was a modest restaurant in the Bronx, where Chris was dining with his family. After being urged to talk to the man by his family, he went over and introduced himself. The man stood and hugged Chris and thanked him profusely and they both cried like babies. Grown-up babies who know the dearness of life and how to live it while serving their fellow men.You must have heard about the two recent deaths of firemen in the Bronx, one young man who was new to the force and an older Lieutenant named Howard J. Carpluk Jr. Lt. Carpluk was one of Chris’ friends and fellow fireman at the same station Chris worked in when he was an active fireman. Chris spent the night at the hospital with Howard and his family and was there when Lt. Carpluk passed away. I spoke with him the next day, and he was devastated, but his thoughts were on Carpluk’s family, of course. I have no doubt that right now, as I write this, he is with them, helping the children understand how to live in the future without their dad.Chris is not an ordinary man; that is clear. He acts on his pure impulse to help others; on his sense of decency. He is informed too, by his religion to do the right thing at all times. He is, in a certain way, a tortured soul because of these beliefs. He holds a very high standard for himself and for the life he sees around him. He told me he once saw a man shoplifting in a large store and he grabbed the guy and brought him to the security department there. How many of us would risk that? But we ordinary souls are so in debt to him and his ilk. How would life be without him and people like him, many of whom are in similar occupations; fireman, policeman, social workers, ministers, teachers, and others, for whom life is an opportunity to serve? Chris has not had an easy life; he has had marital problems, trouble with his children, one of whom is a gang member. But he is a man who is as close to being a real-life hero as any of us flawed human beings can be. So the next time you pass Chris going to first base, maybe give him a holler. Tell him you feel his pain. Tell him you appreciate his life, his cause and his triumphs. Give him a hug.
