Buried alive: 9/11 survivor offers hope, as authors, readers get reacquainted at slimmed down Morristown Festival of Books

William Jimeno, author of 'Sunrise Through the Darkness,' shows scar from 9/11, at the 2021 Morristown Festival of Books. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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By Marion Filler and Kevin Coughlin

 

You can conquer despair. William Jimeno is sure of it.

“Whatever darknesses you’re going through, remember: Every single day there is a sunrise. You just have to fight very hard to get to that,” he said Saturday in Morristown at the eighth annual Morristown Festival of Books.

William Jimeno, author of ‘Sunrise Through the Darkness,’ at the 2021 Morristown Festival of Books. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Jimeno knows what he’s talking about. On 9/11, the Twin Towers buried the Port Authority cop and his sergeant for 13 excruciating hours. Sunrise Through the Darkness recounts his  20-year struggle to overcome post traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt after his miraculous rescue.

It was the most inspiring talk on a cool, overcast day brimming with inspiration, elation and curiosity.

One author examined George Washington’s slave-holding, and speculated about how our first president might view today’s political tumult. Other writers shared secrets of their craft, from young adult novels to historical fiction and whodunnits.

The festival itself was the cliffhanger climax to more than a year and a half of suspense and mystery.

“We were very unsure moving forward, and every month we had meetings and reassessed the situation,” said Jennifer Kraft of Kraft Events, the Basking Ridge company that has produced the festival since it began.

Festival of Books 2021, slideshow photos by Kevin Coughlin. Click/hover on image for captions:

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P1470307 Authors Lauren Willig and Sadeqa Johnson
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P1470246 Pam Bennett-Santoro and Susan Cicchetti
P1470124 Chad Leinaweaver and Deanna Quinones
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P1470055 Mariah Texidor formerly of 70 South Gallery
P1470063 David O Stewart
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P1460834 Linda Hellstrom
P1470035 Susan Browne
P1470048 Mayor Tim dougherty with author Megan Miranda and Val Smith
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P1470228 Greg and Wendy Supron
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Last fall’s event was shelved, and pandemic uncertainties persisted in 2021. Would large gatherings be allowed this October? What venues would re-open?  Would authors now accustomed to virtual promotion risk in-person appearances?  Would the public? Should the event go virtual?

Talk tents behind the library, for KidFest at the 2021 Morristown Festival of Books. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

“We were going to do it one way or the other, but we felt that people needed an in-person one, and if we could possibly do that, we would,” said Linda Hellstrom, book fest founder and chairperson emeritus.

Authors proved especially hard to come by. Led by Karen Gruenberg and Caroline Godfrey, the festival committee recalibrated, reasoning that smaller-scale success was preferable to chancing a giant flop, Hellstrom said.

That meant no keynote speaker this weekend, and significantly fewer authors. Prior years boasted several indoor venues — the Morristown & Morris Township Library, the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, the Presbyterian Parish House and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. This time, only St. Peter’s hosted talks inside.

Lectures and book signings occurred in tents on St. Peter’s lawn. KidFest activities for children and young adults were held in parking lots at the Presbyterian Parish House and library.

Kraft said she anticipated 6,000 people at the festival. As always, it was free, thanks to generous sponsors.

A big outdoor audience listens to authors Sadeqa Johnson and Lauren Willig at the 2021 Morristown Festival of Books. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Some visitors traveled a fair distance. Colleen Wertsch came from Annapolis, MD,  to join her childhood friend, Joy Wodziak of Morristown, and Kali, a fluffy white Havamalt (a Havanese /Maltese breed).  Susan Cicchetti, a pre-K teacher from Staten Island, made her first trek to the festival.

Pam Bennett-Santoro of Morristown and Susan Cicchetti of Staten Island at the 2021 Morristown Festival of Books. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

“It’s wonderful,” Cicchetti said.

“It’s great they’re able to do it in the pandemic. I’m not scared at all,” added Pam Bennett-Santoro of Morristown.

For Susan Browne, a teacher from Parsippany, things almost felt normal again. “I’m thrilled. It’s like we’re back. It’s so worthwhile.”

Throughout the day, volunteer Wendy Supron said she mostly heard thanks from patrons –for bringing back the festival, and for strict COVID-19 protocols. Masks and proof of vaccination (for those eligible) were required. Social distancing was maintained inside St. Peter’s.

A few guests complained to volunteer Deanna Quinones about outdoor masking. “I explained that we were just trying to put on the safest event we possibly can,” she said.

Volunteer Greg Supron, left, checks visitor’s hand stamp for proof of COVID-19 vaccination, Morristown Festival of Books 2021. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
‘I LOVE BOOKS!’

The purest joy was on display at KidFest.

Akio Acevedo of Cho’s Legacy Tae Kwan Do with fans of Corey Schwartz’ ninja book, at KidFest at the 2021 Morristown Festival of Books. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Tadpoles squealed with delight at the antics of performer Stretch the Sillyman, while a kindergarten crowd showed off its power strikes and kicks under the tutelage of Akio Acevedo from Cho’s Legacy Tae Kwan Do in Morristown.

The martial artist was recruited by children’s author Corey Rosen Schwartz (Two Tough Trucks), whose prior works include a ninja story.

“This is my first event in almost two years,” Schwartz said of the festival. “It’s so amazing. I missed it so much.”

KidFest 2021, slideshow photos by Kevin Coughlin. Click/hover on image for captions:

P1470164 Chris Grabenstein author of The Smartest Kid in the Universe
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P1470156 Moderator Rachel Kempster Barry with authors Katie Zhao and Jordyn Taylor
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P1470190 Deejay Eli Kababa of GSDP Entertainment of Randolph
P1470195 Emilia Gaglioti 5 and a half of East Hanover
P1470200 Rose Gaglioti of East Hanover gets a kiss from son Paul age 3
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KidFest fans seemed easy to please. Asked what she enjoyed most, 5 1/2-year-old Emilia Gaglioti of East Hanover replied: “The balloons!”  She clutched a fistful of inflatable happiness, courtesy of Colors the Clown from Closter.

Jenifer Santoro of Clinton with daughters, Laila ,10, and Ryleigh, 9, at KidFest, at the 2021 Morristown Festival of Books. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Sisters Laila and Ryleigh Santoro, ages 10 and 9, from Clifton, were wide-eyed.

“I love books!” said Laila. “I love how they can be about anything, whether it’s real or not.”

Ryleigh concurred: “I get to trap myself in a little world where anything can happen.”

Mayor Tim Dougherty could relate. He fondly remembered devouring Robert Louis Stevenson’s  Kidnapped in his youth. “It got me to use my imagination,” he said.

The festival is a testament to what a handful of dedicated people can create, Dougherty said. “It’s a really great event that showcases our community.”

WASHINGTON ON SLAVERY, AND POISONED POLITICS

Few Americans have been studied as extensively as George Washington, and none are more integral to Morristown’s history.

In George Washington, The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father, David O. Stewart describes a man of “relentless self-improvement,” who impressed better-educated founders with his athleticism, his experience fighting Indians, and his ability to get things done.

Washington listened attentively, thought carefully before speaking, and was affable — enabling him to become a masterful politician without appearing to be one, Stewart said.

Artist’s conception of how George Washington might look today; at the 2021 Morristown Festival of Books. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

But Washington could fInd no political solution for slavery. Late in life, he made plans to free his slaves after his death. But Virginia estate laws, which deemed slaves as property, complicated things.

“I think he freed his own slaves really as an act of personal atonement. I don’t think he expected it to change the world,” Stewart said in response to an audience question.

“He never opposed slavery in public, which is pretty easy to criticize. He’s our great leader. But he thought it would destroy the union, and he thought the union was more important. That was a political decision he made,” the author said.

Another spectator asked how Washington might view today’s political turmoil. While it’s impossible to know for sure, Stewart said he “understood the poison of partisanship.”

Washington’s farewell address acknowledged that Americans will be partisan: “‘That’s what people do. But we can’t let it get out of control. And I think that would be one of his principal messages to us,” Stewart said.

WALKING THE SLAVE TRAIL; SMITHIES GO TO WAR

Slavery figured in another dynamic presentation.

Sadeqa Johnson and Lauren Willing riveted the audience with tales of an enslaved black woman and a group of Smith College women in World War I.

Both novels are fiction inspired by real events.

Authors Lauren Willig and Sadeqa Johnson at the 2021 Morristown Festival of Books. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Soon after moving from New Jersey to Virginia in 2015, Johnson walked the Richmond Slave Trail.

“I was not looking for magic to happen,” she said. But it did, when she discovered references to Lumpkin Jail. Johnson was surprised to learn that Lumpkin, a white man, married a black woman, Mary Lumpkin.

“I couldn’t help wondering what happened to Mary Lumpkin,” she said. And that was the beginning of The Yellow Wife.

Willing also came to her topic serendipitously. While researching the First World War, she found a reference to Picardy cake, and googled it. That led to another discovery, a memoir from a Smith alumna describing a Christmas party near the front lines in France in 1917.

“What were a group of Smithies doing in the Somme, dressing up as Father Christmas at the height of the war?” Willig wondered. She hunted for the answer, which resulted in Band of Sisters.

‘IF YOU’RE NOT PARANOID, YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION’

So states the cover of crime writer Wendy Whitman’s book Premonition.

Whitman worked for Court TV and Nancy Grace, where she had access to horrific crimes. She chose to include 22 of them in her book, which describes their backstories and legal proceedings.

The 2021 Morristown Festival of Books banner ripples near the Morristown & Township Library. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The gloom and doom is leavened with black humor. Yet there are underlying “what if” warnings, about moments when better decisions could have made the difference between life and death.

“I think you should pay attention, because sometimes a relatively simple thing you can do can save your life,” Whitman told moderator Chad Leinaweaver, director of the Morristown & Township Library.

‘WE ALL HAVE OUR WORLD TRADE CENTERS’

Take your worst nightmare and “multiply it by a million.”

That’s how Will Jimeno remembers the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

He was 33. His wife was seven months pregnant. They had a 4-year-old daughter, and a new home in Clifton.

Author tent at St. Peter’s, for the 2021 Morristown Festival of Books. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The Port Authority Police lost 37 officers that day. One died next to Jimeno. Both towers of the World Trade Center had collapsed onto them. Jimeno thought they were victims of a car bomb.

His left leg was pinned in the rubble. Fireballs fell into their crevice, heating another officer’s gun—sending 15 rounds into the darkness over Jimeno’s head.

He wanted to die. But he recalled a little girl…rescued after an earthquake in Turkey. And a movie… G.I. Jane. Pain is your friend, a character advised. It lets you know you’re not dead.

Quitting was not in Jimeno’s playbook. His parents, Colombian immigrants, were not quitters.

Jimeno and Sgt. John McLoughlin kept themselves awake and alive, hour after hour, until a pair of Marines found them.

William Jimeno, author of ‘Sunrise Through the Darkness,’ autographs his book at the 2021 Morristown Festival of Books. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Survivor’s guilt plagued Jimeno for years. Seeking help is hard for men, he said. He tried a succession of therapists before clicking with one.

To pay forward his good fortune and pay down his guilt, Jimeno gives suicide prevention talks.

Get help, he counsels anyone in crisis. Don’t try to minimize the problem by comparisons. “We all have our World Trade Centers,” he said.

If your first therapist feels wrong, keep looking. Keep a sense of humor, too. Jimeno likes telling schoolkids the hole in his leg is for storing quarters, for tolls.

In addition to Sunrise Through the Darkness, co-authored with clinical psychologist Michael Moats, Jimeno has co-written a children’s book, Immigrant, American, Survivor, A Little Boy Who Grew Up to Be All Three.

Audience inside St. Peter’s Church, for the 2021 Morristown Festival of Books. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

“Next year, hopefully, we’ll be sitting at this festival with no mask on,” he told a tent full of listeners.

Other disasters will follow the pandemic, he knows.

“Teach your children, like my mom and dad taught me: Life throws some bad stuff at you. But we’re human beings. We’re strong. And we can overcome those tragedies.”

Jimeno hopes to make people think.

“If this guy can make it out–220 stories hit him and his sergeant–and they can make it out, so can I. Out of whatever darkness it is.

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