Isle toddler born
on 9/11 joins
NYC memorial
NEW YORK >> Kazuko Spear was in labor when she heard the news that would forever add a note of sadness to her daughter's birthday.
It was 4 a.m. Hawaii time on Sept. 11 two years ago, and Spear, of Kaneohe, was in pain from the contractions.
"The nurse came in and said I had to take a look at the TV," Spear said during an early birthday celebration for babies born the day simultaneous terrorist attacks shocked the nation. "In between contractions I was watching TV, and I was just zoned."
Krystal, who hugged a blue blanket as her mother spoke, was among 28 toddlers from 27 states who came to New York for two days of festivities that began Sunday with a buffet dinner and birthday cake decorated with an American flag.
Other toddlers at the celebration included chubby-cheeked Andrew Wasilewski from Mississippi, twins Katie and Kathie Johnson from South Dakota, and Alyse Dansby, a playful 23-month-old from Alaska.
These children come from far-flung places, but they are united by a common twist of fate.
Sept. 11, 2001, "was such a tragedy, but in the light of tragedy, something so wonderful was happening," said Alyse's mother, Susana Dansby, standing in a sea of parents and toddlers dressed in red, white and blue. "I just feel close to these people."
Organized by Christine Pisera Naman -- whose son Trevor also was born on the day of the terrorist attacks that killed 3,000 people -- the birthday celebration was set to continue yesterday with a visit to Toys "R" Us and a cruise around the Statue of Liberty.
Inspired by Trevor's birth and troubled by what was happening around her, Naman said she felt the need to get in touch with mothers who also gave birth on Sept. 11, 2001.
She then asked the mothers to send her their babies' pictures, which she has published in a book entitled "Faces of Hope: Babies Born on 9/11." A portion of the proceeds from the book, featuring one baby from every state, is being donated to a fund for orphans of the 9/11 attacks.
"Very rarely in your life do you simultaneously shed tears of joy and tears of such sadness all on the same day," said Naman, of Monroeville, Pa. "It was an easy day to give up and say, 'Good Lord, what are we doing?' But then you look at your baby, and you see a good reason to go on."
Many of the 9/11 babies' parents described a similar mix of joy and pain as they experienced the births of their children while New York and Washington, D.C., came under attack.
Kalli Johnson, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, said she was overjoyed by the birth of her identical twins, Kathie and Katie, but was too ashamed to admit it.
"For our people, twins are a sacred blessing," said Johnson, bouncing one girl on her knee while feeding the other a slice of watermelon, "but I was ashamed for being happy because other people were so sad."
Given the unusual circumstances their children were born into, a number of parents said they believed their toddlers have a special mission to spread a message of hope and peace.
Karen Wasilewski, of Albany, Miss., made a keepsake box of 9/11 mementos that she plans to give to her son to teach him how important it is for people to get along, despite their differences.
