CHARLES COSTELLO: No Rights to
Bragging
To
Charles Costello, bragging was a criminal offense. No
matter what he achieved or whom he helped, Mr. Costello
never let on about it to his family. At home, he was just
Chuck, doting father to four children, adoring husband to
Mary and a lover of good, long bike rides.
At a recent memorial, 1,000 people turned out to tell
his family of the Charles Costello they knew, the
elevator technician who often on his way to work shuttled
neighbors to bus stops and did other errands. On Sept.
11, despite his partner's pleas, Mr. Costello jumped out
of his work truck and ran into 1 World Trade Center.
"I'll be fine," he said. "Just keep your cellphone
on."
Slowly, Mrs. Costello has come to believe that her
husband is safe in heaven. His spirit, she says, is still
watching over his family, sending signals that life must
go on. The night before his memorial service last week,
as she prayed for a sign that it was O.K. to have a
funeral without a body, Mrs. Costello was jolted from her
sleep by "a pure white light and deep tingling sensation
that went from my head to my toes."
The moment was meant as a message, she said. "I really
believe that washis way of trying to give me peace and
strength," she said. "All the hysterical crying, it
stopped after that. I feel like, in a way, I've become as
strong as he was."
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