Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2007 23:37:20 GMT -5
SALUTING A 'MAN'S MAN'
By STEVE DUNLEAVY
August 25, 2007 -- BOBBY BEDDIA stole Fifth Avenue from the swells yes terday. The funeral for the beloved firefighter turned the famous street into a wall-to-wall carpet of blue.
"He was your real man's man, a real guy who I think would have a had a kick out of taking millionaire's row," said close friend Mike Sheehan, a retired cop.
Beddia, 53, perished with his partner Joseph Graffagnino, 33, last Saturday in the house of horrors known as the Deutsche Bank building.
As solemn as was yesterday's funeral that drew thousands to St. Patrick's Cathedral, there was a turn of celebration for Beddia's unquenchable thirst for life.
It was a life that spanned his love of firefighting, tending bar to his friends, golf, paddleball, poker or just driving his Alfa Romeo with the top down and the wind blowing through his hair.
A close pal, Lt. Raymond O'Hanlon, of Engine 24, wondered whether it was appropriate at St. Patrick's to refer to a certain talent that Beddia, a bachelor, possessed.
"Bobby could spot a beautiful woman from 1,000 yards away . . . even at night," O'Hanlon said to loud laughter from a jam-packed cathedral.
"Each time you think of him, you do not cry. We smile and laugh," said FDNY Chaplain Monsignor John Delendick.
"He was such a man of joy, such a man of conviction, such a man of love. He had one flaw - he couldn't stand losing. You had to stay there until he won."
In an open letter, Bobby's sister, Susan Beddia Olson, read:
"Remember teaching me how to drive a car? Remember all my girlfriends having a crush on you? Remember walking me down the aisle?"
Delendick also recalled Bobby's love of Greenwich Village, which his firehouse covered.
"Sorry, Mr. Mayor," the monsignor said, smiling at Mayor Bloomberg. "Bobby was the mayor of Greenwich Village."
Bianca Bob, a filmmaker and musician who met and worked with Beddia at Ground Zero for nine months after 9/11, remembered him as "one of the most generous people I know.
"We always felt his warmth. He'd give big kisses. He was a genuine, humble guy and funny as hell," she said. "He'd make fun of everybody, but not in a mean-spirited way."
It was that sense of humor that kept Bob from wearing one of her most prized possessions yesterday - the Carhartt fireman's jacket Beddia gave her for her birthday.
"I would have worn that Carhartt jacket today, but I know he would have made fun of me for that."
Again, as in Thursday's funeral for Joe Graffagnino, Gov. Spitzer, Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta promised vigorous investigations into the cause of last Saturday's deathtrap.
And it was announced at St. Patrick's that the Beddia family had asked that charitable donations coming their way should be diverted to the surviving children of Joe Graffagnino.
A firetruck bearing Bobby's body was led by a pipe band in a slow, respectful march down Fifth Avenue.
But when their sad task was complete, the band doubled back on Fifth in a briskly paced military march, blowing their lungs out to the loud cheers of thousands of firefighters who took over the real estate from the swells.
Bobby would have liked that.
But for the firefighters left behind attending these series of grim gatherings, it's tough.
"I went home after the [Graffagnino] funeral . . . even the short time I was there I was grateful," said Lt. Al Goodenough, 51, who lost 38 friends on 9/11.
"Those were guys I banged nails with, guys I studied with, guys I worked with on the side, guys I carpooled with - and it's hard," said Lt. Al. "You go through these things in life for the brotherhood."
Additional reporting by Matt Nestel
steve.dunleavy@nypost.com
***
R.I.P. BOBBY BEDDIA YOU SURE SOUND LIKE A GUY ID SURELY LIKE AND RESPECT.
GOD BLESS YOUR SOUL AND GOD BLESS YOUR FAMILY.
JIMMY AND JEANNIE
P.S. MY BROTHER FREDDIE WAS A N.Y.C. FIRE CAPTAIN WHO WAS INJURED BADLY AFTER 19 YEARSON THE JOB.. HE WAS ON THE BATTALION CHIEFS LIST ABOUT TO BE MADE WHEN HE FELL THREE STORYS IN A BURNT OUT BUILDING THAT PEOPLE WERE LIVING IN.
THEY SHOULD OF PROMOTED HIM FIRST BEFORE RETIRING HIM,
HE WORKED IN AN AWFUL LOT OF SH-THOUSES IN HARLEM AND HELLS KITHEN AND THE BRONX.
JIMMY
