Five years ago, on the fifth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, I participated in the 2,996 Project, a writing assignment for bloggers all around the world to honor the victims of that terrible day. Cantor Fitzgerald bond trader Vincent Abate was assigned to me, so it is in his memory that I re-publish this post. Please say a prayer for him and for the other souls who were lost September 11, 2001.
Vincent Abate, 40 ...bond trader, Cantor Fitzgerald
"To be acquainted with Vinny for five minutes, even then, was to know him. He was, in many ways, larger than life. His personality radiated from within a room. His friends describe him as a man's man...a lover of women, of his career, of life."
In Latin, the name "Vincent" means conqueror. Alfred and Elaine Abate couldn't have selected a more appropriate name for their eldest son when he entered the world on May 23, 1961. Throughout his life, Vincent Abate conquered the hearts of everyone he happened to meet. The Brooklyn, New York native was described as "happy, enthusiastic, honest, and affectionate" by his family and his many friends, one of whom remembered that he was "the type of guy that would give you the shirt off his back to make sure you weren't cold."
A lifelong bachelor, Vincent resided in a brownstone in his beloved Brooklyn. Neighbors would often see him zooming down the streets in his black corvette with the top down and Elvis tunes blaring from the radio. It wasn't unusual for him to travel to Las Vegas on weekends, where he could often be found shooting craps at Caeasar's Palace. Vinny also enjoyed horse racing. A regular at the Meadowlands, he grew particularly fond of a filly named Worldly Beauty. A couple of weeks before his death, Vinny traveled to Canada with friends and was in the audience when Worldly Beauty captured the She's A Great Lady Stake in 1:53.
Vincent had always enjoyed a close relationship with his brother Andrew, who was 3 years his junior. The two boys were inseparable during childhood, first attending St. Francis Cabrini Grammar School and then Poly Prep Country Day School, where they played baseball and football. Although they attended different colleges ( Vinny graduated from Ithaca College in '84 while Andrew graduated from C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in 1987 ), the brothers eventually found themselves working side by side at Cantor Fitzgerald as bond traders. In the evenings, after long days, the brothers unwound by shooting hoops or batting handballs together. On summer weekends, Andrew and his wife, Carolyn, often drove to Vincent's rented house on the Jersey Shore for Vincent's barbecue or Andrew's grilled teriyaki.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, when the first plane hit the North tower of the World Trade Center, Vincent and Andrew were working in their offices. They were among the 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees who perished in the attack.
To the Abate family...your beloved Vincent and Andrew will NEVER be forgotten. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
*sources: wallofamericans.com, legacy.com(guestbook), september11victims.com, cnn.com, and nytimes.com*
