Thomas Eugene Molinaro was only 23 days old when his father, Firefighter Carl Eugene Molinaro of Tottenville, was buried underneath the rubble of Tower 1 of the World Trade Center.
Although the time between Thomas' birth and his father's death was brief, they shared some tender moments, which were captured on videotape by Donna Molinaro, Mr. Molinaro's wife and Thomas' mother.
On one tape a sleeping Thomas is shown nestled in his 32-year-old father's arms. On another, Thomas can be seen looking at a football game on television while Mr. Molinaro, an avid football fan, joked that his son "likes football already." Mrs. Molinaro, 29, doesn't use her video camera often. But in the wake of the tragic loss of her husband, she said she's glad his baby son and his 2-year-old daughter, Sabrina Rose Molinaro, will have video images of their father to hold onto, even if they don't remember how great a father he was.
"Everybody that knew Carl loved Carl, especially me," said Mrs. Molinaro, who will formally rename her son Carl Eugene Molinaro Jr., in honor of his father. Mr. Molinaro was born in Brooklyn and moved to Eltingville with his family when he was 11 years old. He attended Tottenville High School and played on the school's football team.
He was only a teen-ager when he met his future wife, a then-12-year-old fellow Eltingville resident named Donna Winters. The couple wed in 1997 and moved to Tottenville.
After graduating from high school, Mr. Molinaro went to work for Mirror Craft Designs, the Linden, N.J., furniture maker owned by his father. For fun, he would ride motorized dirt bikes and go on hunting trips with his family in upstate New York.
But Mr. Molinaro developed another ambition beyond furniture making. He wanted to become a New York City firefighter.
Under the tutelage of Mrs. Molinaro's father, a 40-year Fire Department veteran, Mr. Molinaro passed the department's entrance exam and entered the Fire Academy in February 1999. After graduating in May, he was assigned to Ladder Co. 2, a unit based on 51st Street on Manhattan's East Side.
As part of the normal rotation system for probationary firefighters, Mr. Molinaro was transferred to Brooklyn's Engine Co. 250 in October 1999. Once there, he became close friends with Firefighter Michael Ragusa, who is still among the thousands missing as a result of the disaster.
Mr. Molinaro moved to Engine Co. 160 in Concord in January. He was scheduled to remain there until this month, but a change in the department's plans led to him being transferred back to Ladder 2 in July.
That transfer ultimately proved fatal for Mr. Molinaro, because members of Ladder 2 were inside Tower 1 aiding in the evacuation when the building collapsed.
Mrs. Molinaro said her husband was supposed to get off work at 9 a.m. on Sept. 11 but was still in the firehouse when Ladder 2 was called to respond to the Trade Center.
Mr. Molinaro joined his colleagues on the rig and was on his way downtown when he called his wife on a cell phone at 9:07 a.m. He said was on his way to the disaster and advised her to turn on the TV to see what was going on. "I was really scared," Mrs. Molinaro said.
Typical of his concern for others, Mr. Molinaro said he was worried about his cousin, Michelle. He knew she worked in downtown Manhattan and thought she might have worked in the Trade Center.
Mrs. Molinaro made a quick phone call and found out Michelle did not work in the Trade Center. She then called her husband back to give him that information. It was the last time she would ever speak to him.
"He was definitely my best friend," Mrs. Molinaro said.
Mr. Molinaro's body was recovered Saturday. Mrs. Molinaro was informed of the discovery Monday morning after the body was positively identified.
Although the loss of her husband has been difficult to bear, Mrs. Molinaro finds herself comforted by her children, who are fortunate enough not to understand the gravity of what has happened. Sabrina even tries to console her mother when she sees her crying.
"She's a little ray of sunshine around here," Mrs. Molinaro said.
Staten Island Advance, 2001