.

.

 

RICHARD CUDINA: Friends Around the World

 

Richard Cudina was the kind of guy who might have tried skiing down Mount Everest. That is, before he had hip surgery a few years ago. Of course, he still had his helicopter pilot's license and could easily distract himself by sailing or beating the pants off his friends in a game of golf. "He had no fear and we all lived vicariously through Richie," said his younger brother, Chris. "Work was work, but when the whistle blew, he picked up another life."

When he was not calling all over the world as a bond broker for Cantor Fitzgerald, Mr. Cudina was phoning his friends in every corner of the globe. Stan Kowalski, who grew up with Richard in Cliffside Park, N.J., recalls the day his friend tracked him down at a hotel near San Francisco, just to say hello. "He could find anyone, anywhere," said Mr. Kowalski, who shared a birthday with his friend. (The two celebrated their 46th together three weeks ago, just like they had since grammar school.) "He had a presence that made people love him. That's why he had friends all over the world."

His brother, too, remembers the time Mr. Cudina unexpectedly tracked him down. He was at the Waldorf-Astoria, and it was 7 a.m., the first morning of his honeymoon. "He just wanted to check on his little brother," he said. "He woke me up. Of course, I'll never forgive him for that."

.

From "Profiles in Grief" of The New York Times
Picture from http://www.september11victims.com/