Paul Veneto is in the midst of a long journey. The retired United Airlines flight attendant is traveling from Boston Logan Airport to Ground Zero in New York City…by foot…while pushing a beverage cart.
Flight Attendant Paul Veneto Pushes Beverage Cart From Boston Airport To Ground Zero…By Foot
Veneto, 62, lost colleagues on September 11, 2001, a day which forever transformed aviation in the United States. To commemorate their lives as the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks approach, he is going on a long walk…all the way from Boston Logan, where UA175 and AA11 originated, to Ground Zero in New York, where they ultimately crashed into the World Trade Center, launching a new phase of world history.
On his walk, dubbed “Paulie’s Push,” he is pushing a beverage cart similar to what you see in the aisles when you fly. But instead of beverages inside, there are pictures of flight attendants and pilots who died that day.
Veneto told News 8 in Connecticut:
“This country came together after 9/11. We all remember that. People forget this country started coming together at 30,000 feet. That’s where it started with these crew members. They stood toe to toe against those guys to protect those people on those aircraft and to protect us down here.
“It’s not a big deal for me to push this cart. I got their pictures on top of this cart and when it’s raining, when it’s hot, when my legs are hurting, I look down at their faces and I say, ‘what I’m doing is nothing compared to what they accomplished that morning.’…they stood up to terrorism.”
Veneto is accompanied by a motorhome, which follows him and gives him a dry place to lodge at night.
You can follow Veneto’s route live here. He’s making steady progress and plans to arrive in Lower Manhattan by the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
CONCLUSION
I’m not sure Veneto will inspire a Forrest Gump-like movement (that was fiction, after all), but I am incredibly impressed by the manner in which has chosen to honor his deceased colleagues. Safe travels Mr. Veneto! As he told Eyewitness News 3:
“I could walk to New York. I could run to New York. I could do things everybody else does, but I’m going to do something flight attendants do.”
image: Paul Veneto / Instagram
I look at these types of things and just can’t help thinking how all that effort could be better expended elsewhere. Who exactly does this help?…..right…..nobody. He’s also a “former” junkie. I’d keep an eye on where any money ends up.
Also a criminal too
https://patch.com/massachusetts/braintree/braintree-milton-men-accused-running-illegal-tobacco-ring
Totally nuts and waste of time/resources.
Uplifting story. Making people smile when smiles are needed!
What a pointless endeavour.
Right? What’s the point of honoring the people who were the first to encounter the terrorists that fateful day, Those whose throats were slit as they went about their in-flight duties unaware their lives were about to end. The very people that tried their best to comfort and calm the passengers while having the presence of mind to contact their superiors on the ground and pass on crucial information.
Right?
Former United Airlines Flight Attendant