The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
BOUND FOR GROUND ZERO
Ex-flight attendant on trek to honor those killed in 9/11 attacks
“The only thing that can fail is my body, but I’ve trained for this.”
Paul Veneto
PORTLAND — Come hell or high water, Paul Veneto says he will have his airline beverage cart at ground zero in New York City by Sept. 11.
“There’s no obstacle that will stop me from getting to ground zero,” Veneto said while crossing the Arrigoni Bridge on Tuesday as part of his 200-mile journey. “I’ll carry (the cart). I’ll swim across the Hudson (River) with it. I’ll do whatever I have to do.”
As part of Paulie’s Push, Veneto, a former airline attendant, is traveling from Boston Logan Airport to New York City to commemorate flight attendants and crew members who died during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He is raising money for a nonprofit that helps people battle addiction, as well as other organizations that aid the families of crew members who died that day.
Local reaction
Dozens of people met him as he pushed his cart to Main Street in Portland by way of East Hampton.
Crowds cheers and passersby
honked their horns, as Veneto stopped under an American flag hung on a Portland Fire Department ladder truck. He briefly stopped to take photos and talk with people, and then continued on to the Arrigoni Bridge as he crossed into Middletown.
It’s been quite a challenge, he said. “Connecticut gave it to me. Those hills — I couldn’t believe it.”
Deputy Fire Chief Rob Puida said he and his wife, Kimberly, have been following Veneto’s journey for a few days because they thought it was important for the department to be involved.
“When someone takes time out of their busy life to come out and support such a good cause for people that passed away on 9/11, it’s something that should be recognized,” he said.
Puida said they have been tracking his progress. A lot of Veneto’s march to New York City so far has been in the woods along the Airline Trail, he said. East Hampton put together a big welcome for him Monday, with approximately 100 people showing up to the intersection of routes 16 and 66, the deputy said.
Mary Pont said 9/11 is a day seared into the memories of all Americans alive at the time.
“Still, on that date, I can remember where I was, what I saw,” she said. “I was at the high school and they had just tuned in. After that was finished, I went to where my daughter worked at the nursery school because I needed to see her. You don’t forget that.”
Veneto said his journey, which he began last week during Tropical Storm Henri, is going fabulously. He didn’t think he would be able to do five miles during the day’s leg, he said, but he completed 18.
“The only thing that can fail is my body, but I’ve trained for this,” he said. “I’m ready mentally and physically.”
Veneto said the support he has received from Connecticut residents has been unbelievable and he wishes he could record the stories he has heard from people along the way.
‘We’re all together in this’
“I’m amazed at how there’s not division out here right now. We’re all together in this. Everybody believes in what I’m doing,” he said.
For 20 years, Veneto said, flight attendants and crew members were not recognized for their heroics during the terrorist attacks. “They were doing hand-tohand combat, and they weren’t trained for that,” he said.
Veneto, who was part of the crew on United Airlines Flight 175, had that day off. He lost colleagues when the plane was hijacked and flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, he said. Because of that, he later struggled with a worsening opioid addiction.
It almost killed him, Veneto said.
“I was able to come out of that, and just in time to be able to do this to recognize them,” he said. “How many miles will I do each day? I don’t know. But I guarantee you I’ll be there on Sept. 11 — I’ll tell you that.”
‘Suffering in silence’
Three years after the attacks, Veneto said, he felt he and his fellow flight crew members were suffering in silence. But when he saw an interview with the child of an attendant, he said he realized how it impacted their families as well.
“The fire grew at that point. I said, ‘Somebody’s got to do something,’” he said. “Every year, the anniversary would come up. Nothing was done and nobody did anything. I was in my addiction at this point, so that’s all I thought about, but I couldn’t do anything in that condition.”
Veneto was in survival mode, and knew he would do something if he could deal with his addiction, he said. In 2015, he began his slow process of recovery.
“It’s surreal,” he said. “I knew I was going to do it. I had to do it. How could I not do it? These are friends of mine. I knew they’d do that for me. That’s what we are supposed to do in this country.”
Awareness was the main goal
All proceeds from Paulie’s Push will support the families of 9/11 crew members who registered with not-for-profit organizations and Power Forward, which assists people dealing with addiction.
Two-time Stanley Cup champion Kevin Stevens founded Power Forward, Veneto said, and Stevens’s sister Kelly Wilson helped him organize the Push.
“I didn’t want anything to do with money,” he said. “I just wanted awareness. I want all of us to say, ‘Yeah. They were heroes.’ But, because she did so much, I agreed with her.
More people are being helped just by him pushing a cart, Veneto said. His effort has gotten bigger than he ever imagined.
“People have been reaching out to me for whatever issues they might have,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be addiction. I can see when people come up to me that there’s something going on with them. Obviously, I’m bringing them some sense of hope or inspiration to hang out.”
After crossing the bridge, Veneto walked down Middletown’s Main Street, with people waving their signs, shouting words of encouragement, and taking photographs with him.
Middletown police officers greeted him in front of the station, Community Relations Officer Jay Bodell said.
The next stop was Durham, where he ended his trek for the day at the Town Green.
Veneto said he believes in the saying, “Don’t quit five minutes before the miracle.
“I’m so grateful that there’s more people I can inspire,” he said. “As long as I stay focused on my main mission, everything else falls into place.”