‘People say, “So many have forgotten about 9/11, but you remember.”’

Joseph O’Connor, Freeport

“When 9/11 happened, I was devastated, like everyone was. I found myself running more and more — because I’d always been a runner. But my feelings of anxiety, apprehension and self-pity weren’t going away — the running wasn’t helping.

“I was reading obituaries in ‘The New York Times’ every day. That probably wasn’t helping either. I said, ‘I’ve got to do something.’ Rockville Centre was sending truckloads of products, like toilet paper and paper towels to Ground Zero, and they needed people to load trucks. So I was doing that for two or three days — that was active. But after two or three days, they didn’t need people.

It’s an important part of being a human being, helping people out.

“I got the pennysaver, where they listed photos, names, and addresses of people in the village who had died. In my family, traditionally, I make the apple pies for people. And New York is the Big Apple, so I thought, I should make apple pies for those who lost loved ones.

“The first lady I delivered to was sitting on her front porch with her friends and neighbors. I felt uncomfortable, because I didn’t want to interfere, but I felt right doing this. I gave her the pie and said, ‘I’m so sorry about your husband.’ It was about a week and a half after Sept. 11, and she said, ‘My husband isn’t dead; he’s a very strong man.’ Her saying that made me more apprehensive — I wondered, ‘Am I doing the right thing here?’ Because no matter how strong he was, I knew he had probably died.

“I figured out I’ve delivered about 800 pies. One family I deliver to every year, they lost a son and a son-in-law. I used to deliver to the husband and wife, now I deliver just to the wife. She said to me last year, ‘Joe, I look forward every year to that one night in the fall when I’m tasting one of your pies.’

“During COVID, I made phone calls to people before delivering the pies, just to make sure it was OK. They said, ‘Bring it!’ I deliver about 22 pies a year now. I didn’t know whether these people would accept me, whether they’d tell me to ‘get out of here,’ but the apple pies have helped me make a connection.

“People say, ‘So many have forgotten about 9/11, but you remember.’ People don’t forget about community … It’s an important part of being a human being, helping people out.”

Interviewed by Rosemary Olander Beach