David Arce: Stray Cats, Dogs,
Kids
When
Margaret Arce opened up her son's apartment in Stuyvesant
Town, she found remnants of his generosity, letters to
Santa Claus from poor children.
David Arce, a firefighter, would answer them by
delivering wished-for toys, year after year.
"He has always been like that, always bringing home
stray cats, stray dogs, stray kids," she said. "Growing
up, it was the same thing; he was always bringing someone
home to me who needed a meal, or who needed a coat."
On Sept. 11, he jumped on the fire truck, Engine
Company 33, on Great Jones Street, even though his shift
had ended.
She described her son, 36, as a bit of a fatalist. "He
always had this belief that destiny was waiting there,"
she said.
Firefighter Arce, whose nickname was Buddha, was an
enthusiastic fan of Joseph Campbell and would have long
discussions at the firehouse about the writer's research
into myth and religion. "I think what resonated was the
overall belief that in the bottom line, everybody's
religion is the same," she said. "Everybody is the same.
It just comes down to one being. No matter who you are
and what you are, we're all underneath the same sky."
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