Feature Story Spring 2003

How a little girl's pen became mightier than the terrorist sword

En Español

Photo by Kathy Funk

Edward George Bulwer-Lytton once wrote that "the pen is mightier than the sword." Amanda Davio has proven that a kindergartner with a crayon is just as mighty. Following the tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001, she made a construction paper card in support of emergency workers, just like thousands of schoolchildren across the nation.However, her card just happened to catch the eye of a New York City police officer, bringing comfort to his despair. It was the beginning of a journey for the kindergartner and the cop – a journey of faith that has proven good can come from something so evil as the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

Their worlds came together at a place inappropriately named Fresh Kills – the Staten Island landfill that was designated as the site for sifting through the rubble of the World Trade Center towers. It was around a year ago, March 7, 2002, and Officer Steve Tarricone's job was to do just that – sift through debris looking for anything thatwould bring closure to the families of the more than 2,800 victims of the terrorist attacks. It's not a job many would want to do, but it was his duty. That didn't make it any easier for him, though.

"Everyone (from the 106th precinct) took a turn at the landfill," explains Steve. After donning a protective suit and a special breathing mask, he was sent into a tent with six or eight other police officers to go through debris as it passed on conveyor belts the top of a cop's gun, identification cards, bones ... "Six months later and it was just bone. I couldn't believe bones were coming off there; it was like a graveyard.

"I was sitting there thinking, `Oh, my God, stuff from the World Trade Center is passing me by.'"

When things got to be too much, Steve found refuge in a tent set up by the Red Cross. There, he was surrounded by thousands of cards from schoolchildren from across the nation – all in support of the work he and his fellow officers and firefighters were doing. He stopped to look at them and he picked up the card in front. It said: "Thank You. You Make Me Feel Proud." It was signed "Amanda." He turned it over and there was a return address stamped on the back –"St. Martha School."

This wasn't the first time Steve had been surrounded by cards. When he was pulling 12-hour shifts at Ground Zero, cards of support and encouragement were posted everywhere. Again, when he was dispatched to assist at the crash site of American Airlines Flight 587 in November 2001, written sentiments surrounded the emergency workers.

However, at Fresh Kills, it was the first time he was able to really stop and take it all in. "I wanted to say `thank you' and Amanda's card was the one (I chose)," Steve says. "Three weeks later, I decided to write to her."

He sent a package to the school that included an NYPD baseball hat, a badge, a cloth insignia, photos of Ground Zero and some police membership cards – along with the construction paper greeting he picked up at the Red Cross tent. His letter to the school, in part, said: "I would like to thank Amanda, her classmates and the staff at St. Martha School for all your support and taking the time out of your busy day to thank all of us."

He asked that the items be given to Amanda. The school principal, Mrs. Hillman, decided that a special all-school presentation was in order. She called Amanda's parents, Chris and Sherri Davio, and told them they might just want to videotape the spring program.

Chris and Sherri did just that. "(The program) was just incredibly moving," said Chris. Moving for her parents, maybe, but Amanda actually thought she might be in trouble when Mrs. Hillman called her name. "It scared me!" shares the first-grader.

It wasn't the first time she had been scared. It had been an in-service day for St. Martha School when terrorists attacked the

World Trade Center. Amanda had been staying at her grandmother's house and saw the events unfold on television. "I was kind of scared that (the terrorists) would come here and knock down our buildings. ... I didn't know who it was doing these terrible things. And I was sad for the kids who lost their parents."

Chris and Sherri with Amanda and her two sisters. "The whole experience has been important to the kids," Chris says. "I'm glad something positive has come out of Sept. 11"

One good turn deserved another, so the Davio family decided to thank Officer Tarricone for his act of kindness. They sent him a copy of the videotaped program along with a personal greeting from Amanda, which included a song and an introduction to her dog, Jasmine.

"I wasn't really expecting a reply," says Steve. "But when I got her videotape, I must have sat down on the couch and watched it 15 or 20 times. I was just crying my eyes out."

Before long, Amanda, her parents and two sisters, Angela, 8, and Alissa, 14, journeyed to New York to meet Steve, who rolled out the red carpet for his new friends from across the country. According to Steve, it was "Amanda's show." She was featured in the New York Post and on the radio, where she informed listeners that when she grows up she wants to be a "police officer." In the meantime, thanks to Steve, she was made an honorary member of the NYPD – her badge number: 91101.

The Davios visited Ground Zero and New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly took the time to welcome Amanda and her family to the city. "He told us that Amanda has come to represent all the schoolchildren who sent cards," says Chris, "and that Steve has come to represent all the police officers."

"The whole experience has been important to the kids," Chris says. "I'm glad something positive has come out of Sept. 11. Just to see the reaction from Steve and other officers on how important the cards were will always stay with us."

Last November, it was the Davios' turn to play hosts to the Tarricone family. Steve, his wife and daughter made a trip to see Amanda. Even though he was hobbled by a broken ankle, Steve visited each classroom at St. Martha School to personally thank all the students for their support. He gave each one a folder containing all sorts of mementos. The most important –and the one he asked them to hold close to their hearts forever – was a police union bereavement card listing the names of the 23 NYPD officers who lost their lives at the World Trade Center.

"I'm just amazed by the power of God's love and how He can bring a joy and blessing out of something so tragic," Sherri explains. "Seeing the ripple effect of God's message of love, compassion and kindness. We feel like we're examples of how the nation became united (after Sept. 11). (Steve) represents the heroes and we represent families across the nation."

"We have family in New York now," Sherri continues. "It's amazing how connected we are – and not merely by coincidence. It was just meant to be.

"We feel very blessed."

"I definitely believe that all this was meant to happen," says Steve. "There's a higher Power here doing all this; it was all set up for us to meet. This is going to be a lifelong friendship. It's amazing what can come out of tragedy. I just lose my words when I'm talking about all this.

"Luckily, neither he nor Amanda was at a loss for words when each of them took timeto simply say "thank you."

Feature Stories

Sept 11:

How a little girl's pen became mightier than the terrorist sword.

En Español

Retirement: