Monday, September 25, 2006

Jason E. Sabbag
Age 26

Born April 30, 1975, in New York City, Jason Sabbag was the son of Ralph and Brigitte Sabbag of Greenwich, CT. He was raised in Greenwich and graduated from Greenwich High School in 1993, where he was an honor student, captain of the men's tennis team and a state open doubles tennis champion. In 1997 he graduated with honors from Georgetown University, where he received a degree in Economics and German.

After graduating, he worked as a high-yield fixed income portfolio manager for Citigroup, Inc., in New York City. Later he moved to Fiduciary Trust, where he was an assistant vice president and associate portfolio manager for European small/mid-cap portfolios. In addition to his parents, Jason is survived by his fiancé, Sarah Hare, his brother, Cliff Sabbag, his sister, Laurence Hagan, and his brother-in-law, Mark Hagan, all of New York City.

Ok This tribute is late. It's late because on the anniversary of 9/11, I happened to be supporting a man with Aspergers syndrome to fly from London to Dublin. It was his first time flying. I had no net access whilst away. I had no idea how the man I was supporting would react to flying. he and I had gone through what to expect, step by step, from the check in procedure to the fact that the wheels make a banging noise when they are lowered in readiness for landing

But it’s the thought, and on 9/11, I thought a lot about that terrible day 5 years ago.

I thought about Jason. I wondered what his day normally looked like. Did he have a favourite café or deli that he stopped off at each day to pick up an obligatory pre-work coffee or croissant? Did he like going to the movies? What was his favourite music? What did he like to eat?


All I know about that horrible day is what I watched unfold on the television. At the time, I lived in Sydney Australia. I had just got home from work, and was getting ready to tune into The West Wing, when I found some news bullitan instead. There were reports that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Centre. I thought ‘Wow’ to myself and wondered what happened. I then watched the 2nd plane crash into the 2nd tower. I watched for the next 4 hours into the wee hours of the morning, appalled, horrified and tearful. I was moved to tears by the commentary. Moved by the bravery of the emergency services. I thought about the impact this would have on the world. I felt for the people in the building and goosepimples appeared on my arms.

Jason was part of that. I felt it better to quote a tribute from people that knew him. The following is a tribute from his workmates:

Jason made the best of every day. He was our big smile, our teammate and our friend. He was also a major contributor to our success. We will miss Jason, his kindness, his calm demeanor and his sense of humor. But he lives on-in our hearts, our minds and in our work.

And although the anniversary reminded us about that terrible day and how so many lives came to an end at once, 9/11 2006 saw a new beginning with a man who ordinarily would never fly, breaking down a new barrier to find a greater level of social inclusion. Lets look to new beginnings.

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