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WESTPORT, Conn. Ten years ago, Connie Taylors son, Bradley Vadas of Westport, was killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. While she and her family suffered a personal loss, she said the entire world ultimately suffered.
"Frankly, I think the whole world has changed because of it. People are more frightened now than before and are more cautious," said Taylor, a Weston resident. "I'm very afraid for the future and sad by the way the world has become."
Her less-than-optimistic outlook is largely due to the ongoing economic crises and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Im especially sad with the way our country handled 9/11. These two wars were involved with, in my opinion, are unjust and one of them looks like it will go on forever.
Taylor's son, who was 37 when he died, worked as a vice president for the investment banking firm Keefe, Bruyette and Woods in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. When the second plane hit his tower, he was in his office on the 89th floor, above the impact zone.
Taylor said she was on her way to work in New Haven when the planes hit. By the time she got to her office, she watched as the towers fell.
That day, Taylor said, her ex-husband, Vadas' father, got a call from their son. So did Kris McFerren, their sons fiancée, who now lives in California. Because she was on her way to work, Taylor said she didn't get to talk to her son that day, but she believes he tried calling.
"After watching the towers fall on TV, I received a suspect voice message," Taylor recalled. "I couldn't hear anything but these strange beeping noises."
Vadas, who grew up in Weston, attended Boston College. Upon graduation, he began his 16-year career at Keefe, Bruyette and Woods, Taylor said.
Although he was "very driven in his work," Taylor said her son was a kind man who enjoyed life. He particularly enjoyed playing sports, she said, and played baseball every weekend at Compo Beach.
In the 10 years that have passed since his death, Taylor said her grief is just as strong.
"I guess the pain has certainly gotten better since that fall, but it will never go away," she said. "You just live with it day after day because life has to go on. We all miss him terribly.
With everything that has happened since Sept. 11, 2001, are you optimistic about the country's future? Leave a comment below or on our Facebook page.
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