Karl Martino – 9/30/2001

Events in the last few weeks have made clear to me what is important in life.  The terrorist attacks have hammered home just how precious life is and that our time here can end in a blink of an eye. September 11th will always be remembered as a day that changed all of our lives.

My family was affected emotionally from those events, but something closer to home has made these feelings even more clear.

On September 15th, just four days after the attacks, my nephew, Hunter, 3 and 1/2 months old, passed away from SIDS.  He was happy boy that was filled with love and joy, at that point where his personality was in full spring.  His eyes would light up at the sight of people he recognized. His smile would lift your heart. His chuckle was loud and made you want to chuckle too.

We will miss him with all our hearts.

Dante and Katie’s family fills me with hope and I am proud of them. Their children, including Mathew, ten, and Brendan, three, blow me away. They share their love and compassion with everyone they know. You could not meet a more loving, giving family.

It is in that spirit they have started the Sleeping Angels Fund. It helps to provide memorials for those who have been touched by infant death and do not have the financial means.

I am taking down two of my websites to spend more time with my family, PhillyFuture.org and PhillyStories.com. This personal site has taken on a sprawling character and I intend to keep it simple and pare it down. Time is better spent elsewhere.

Additionally, this has led me to reconsider my career. I am a well established corporate developer. Does my work make a difference for the better in this world or simply pay the bills?

The lives we lead are important. How we spend our time is what counts. Spend it on compassion. Spend it on life. Spend it on love.