RETIREE NEVER FORGETS COST OF FREEDOM.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
On Sept. 12, 2001, Philip Crispi walked into the garage of his Glendale home and, for three days, came out only to eat and sleep. Inside, the retired Pac Bell employee took a 3-by-8 piece of plywood plywood, manufactured board composed of an odd number of thin sheets of wood glued together under pressure with grains of the successive layers at right angles. Laminated wood differs from plywood in that the grains of its sheets are parallel. , spray-painted it white and painstakingly pains·tak·ing adj. Marked by or requiring great pains; very careful and diligent. See Synonyms at meticulous. n. Extremely careful and diligent work or effort. taped out Refers to the completion of the design of a chip. The next stage is to put it into production. The term comes from the early days when designs were transferred to the fabricator via magnetic tape. a message he wanted to convey on his homemade home·made adj. 1. Made or prepared in the home: homemade pie. 2. Made by oneself. 3. Crudely or simply made. Adj. 1. American flag. ``LET US NEVER FORGET,'' he began in capital letters. And Philip Crispi never forgets. Five years after 9-11, his plywood flag still stands on a tripod in front of his home in the 1100 block of Norton Avenue. He washes it once a week. And when a Santa Ana wind The Santa Ana winds (or Santana winds) are warm, dry winds that characteristically appear in Southern California weather during autumn and early winter. Meteorology blows, he tightens the bolts at the base so the flag doesn't blow into his neighbor's yard. Nobody has ever tried to steal it, and no one has ever touched it with graffiti. But people who walk or drive down Norton Avenue have taken the time to knock on Noun 1. knock on - (rugby) knocking the ball forward while trying to catch it (a foul) rugby, rugby football, rugger - a form of football played with an oval ball rugby, rugby football, rugger - a form of football played with an oval ball Crispi's front door to say thanks. ``I built it for the victims and our troops, and it'll be standing there as long as I'm standing,'' Crispi said Monday, the fifth anniversary of 9-11. ``Not long after I put it up, a policeman knocked on my door, and I thought `Oh, my gosh, what did I do?' ``When I opened the door, he said he just wanted to stop and tell me he appreciated what I was doing. Over the years, a lot of people have knocked on my door to say the same thing. Makes you feel good.'' Dennis Doyle, a Glendale Community College Glendale Community College can refer to one of two colleges in the United States.
``We have a lot of walkers in the neighborhood, and Phil's plywood flag stands there every day like a challenge to all of us not to forget.'' On Monday, Crispi took his plywood flag to Incarnation Catholic School in Glendale, where about 20 boys from Boy Scout Troop 101, Verdugo Hills Council, held a retirement ceremony for other flags. ``We borrow it every year for the ceremony because the boys like seeing it,'' Doyle said. ``It touches something inside them. I think Phil's flag touches something inside a lot of people.'' Now and then, Phil retires to his garage again for a few days to make another flag for a veteran who has requested one like Phil's. ``I've built five others that are on display in other parts of the country,'' said Crispi, 69. ``Whatever I can do to help people remember the victims of 9-11 and to support the troops, I do.'' dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Philip Crispi heeds his own advice printed on the 8-foot-tall wooden flag that he made after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and displays in front of his Glendale home. He never forgets that freedom is not free. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
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