PEOPLE
PEOPLE WERE KILLED DURING THE 9/11 TERRORIST ATTACKS AND OUR WORLD FOREVER CHANGED AND
THAT LOSS FOR 9 YEAR OLD MATT
BOB, SHE WAS EVEN DEEPER. HE
LOST HIS FATHER AND HE'S
SHARING HIS STORY IN A NEW BOOK
CALLED SWAY AND MATT IS JOINING
US NOW THIS MORNING. AND MATT,
IT IS GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING
US. GOOD MORNING AND THANK YOU
FOR HAVING ME THIS MORNING. NOW
YOU WERE JUST 9 YEARS OLD 19
YEARS AGO ON 9/11 AND YOU GET
TO FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR FATHER'S
DEATH IF YOU COULD JUST TAKE US
BACK WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT DAY
TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY? I WAS
IN SCHOOL AND AT ABOUT 9:00 AND
THEY PULLED ME OUT OF CLASS AND
THEY TOLD ME THAT MY THAT MY
FATHER'S BUILDING HAD BEEN HIT
BY A PLANE. THEY SAID THEY WERE
EVACUATING IT AND THAT HE WAS
SAFE AND THEY DIDN'T REALLY
KNOW TOO MUCH MORE BESIDES
THAT, I GOT HOME LATER THAT DAY
BECAUSE MY MOM HAD ACTUALLY
KEPT MY BROTHER AND IN SCHOOL
WHILE THIS WAS GOING ON BECAUSE
COINCIDING US FINDING OUT ABOUT
THE NEWS SHE SPOKE TO MY FATHER
ON THE PHONE, MY DAD JOHN BOB
SHE WAS LOCATED ON 100 FIFTH
FLOOR OF THE NORTH TOWER. YOU
WERE AT THE CANDIDATES GERALD
AND I HAD NO WAY OUT OF WAY
ESCAPING WHAT WAS GOING ON IN
THERE. AND SO I GOT HOME LATER
IN THAT IN THE AFTERNOON AND WE
JUST PRETTY MUCH GREETED BY
FAMILY AND FRIENDS ALL
SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE
MAINLY HUDDLED AROUND THE TV ON
PHONES CALLING HOTLINES SELF MY
DAD'S CELL PHONE PEOPLE WHO MAY
HAVE HAD ANY INFORMATION AND
HOSPITALS. ANYTHING THAT CAN
MAYBE POINT US IN THE DIRECTION
OF WHERE MY FATHER WAS OR IF HE
HAD BEEN FOUND OR LOCATED. AND
SO PRETTY SOON THEREAFTER AFTER
KIND OF SORT OF LIKE NOT KIND
OF SEEING THE FOOTAGE NOT IN
COMPLETE DETAIL BUT TEMPORARILY
AT LEAST MY GRANDMOTHER HAD ME
AND MY BROTHER NICK GO PLAY
WITH OUR NEIGHBORS ACROSS
THE STREET AND GET AWAY FROM
ALL THE MADNESS THAT WAS GOING
ON THE HOUSE. PEOPLE'S MOODS
WERE STARTING TO CHANGE.
EVERYONE WAS REALLY UPSET AND
EMOTIONAL. SO IT WAS A LOT TO
BE AROUND AND AS 9 YEAR OLD KID
OF COURSE. AND I MEAN THE PANIC
OF THAT DAY AND THEN FOR YOU TO
BE IN SCHOOL THAT DAY AND THEN
COME HOME TO ALL OF THAT I
CANNOT IMAGINE JUST AS A 9 YEAR
OLD HOW TO EVEN PROCESS EVEN AS
ADULTS HOW TO PROCESS AT ALL
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT. YOU
WENT ON A QUEST TO FIND OUT
WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR DAD. HIS
MATES. YEAH. AND I WAS OBSESSED
WITH THAT AND I WANTED TO SOLVE
THE LONG STANDING MYSTERY WHICH
WAS THE REMAINING TIME GAPS
FROM ESSENTIALLY 850 IN
THE MORNING TO TEN TWENTY EIGHT
WHEN THE GOLDEN COLLAPSED. ALL
I KNEW WAS THAT HE HAD MADE A
FEW PHONE CALLS. SPOKEN TO MY
MOTHER TWICE AND HE HAD SPOKEN
TO HIS BROTHER. MY UNCLE. AND
SO THIS QUESTION MINE BECAME
EXTREMELY INCESSANT. IT WAS
ABSOLUTELY AN OBSESSION AND AND
SO I STARTED ASKING QUESTIONS
TO ALL THE PEOPLE CLOSE TO ME
AND ASKING IF THEY THOUGHT MY
FATHER WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE
WHO JUMPED. NO ONE SEEMINGLY
KNEW AT LEAST TO MY KNOWLEDGE
AT THAT TIME WHAT HAD HAPPENED
TO HIM. SO I WAS ASKING THESE
QUESTIONS AND I WAS LOOKING AT
THE FOOTAGE PEOPLE HANGING OUT
OF THE WINDOWS AND PEOPLE WHO
WERE JUMPING THINKING AND MAYBE
I COULD SEE MY FATHER AND ONE
OF THOSE PHOTOS THAT OBSESSION
AND THAT CURIOSITY AND INTEREST
IN THAT SUBJECT LED TO ME BEING
SEXUALLY ABUSED BY AN UNCLE
THROUGH MARRIAGE. HOO HOO.
WRONGFULLY TOLD ME AS A WAY TO
KNOCK DOWN MY VULNERABILITY
EVEN MORE THAN MY FATHER WAS
ONE OF THE JUMPERS AND SO THAT
THAT ENSUED AND ALL THE WHILE I
JUST KEPT THINKING AND TRYING
TO STILL SOLVE THIS THIS
MYSTERY. AND THEN HEARING THAT
HE WAS ONE EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A
LIE THAT JUST IGNITED THAT
FLAME EVEN MORE. AND I WAS SO
DETERMINED TO FIND HIM THEN IN
ONE OF THOSE PHOTOS NOW AND TO
BE YOU KNOW, YOU LOST YOUR
FATHER AT 9 YEARS OLD IN SUCH A
TRAGIC EVENT AND THEN BEING
ASSAULTED BY A FAMILY MEMBER,
SOMEONE WHO WAS MARRIED AND
OBVIOUSLY BUT STILL I MEAN THAT
I CAN'T EVEN FATHOM. I'M SO
SORRY YOU WENT THROUGH THAT. I
MEAN HOW DID ALL OF THIS CHANGE
YOUR LIFE? WELL, I STARTED
USING DRUGS AND ALCOHOL AS A
WAY TO COPE MY PROBLEMS. AND
TEMPORARY, YOU KNOW, WAS A
TEMPORARY SOLUTION TO THOSE
PROBLEMS. BUT I SPIRALED DEEP
INTO DRUG ADDICTIONS,
PARTICULARLY OPIATE ABUSE AND
OPIOID ADDICTION AND BEZOS AND
OTHER OTHER SUBSTANCES. I
NEEDED TO HIT MY OWN BOTTOM AND
WHEN I FINALLY GOT TO THAT
POINT AND I WAS READY AND
WILLING AND TRULY WANTED TO GET
SOBER, I DID. AND WHEN I GOT
SOBER THAT WAS THAT WAS JUST
OVER FIVE YEARS AGO I STARTED
SPEAKING AND TELLING MY STORY A
LITTLE BIT. AND THAT'S WHEN I
STARTED TO REALLY START TO HEAL
.I WAS FINALLY GETTING
THE CLOSURE THAT I WAS LOOKING
FOR. ALL THESE YEARS BECAUSE
THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS THAT
I BOTTLED UP INSIDE AND NEVER
NEVER EXPRESSED OR LET OUT AND
I FINALLY DID THAT. AND WHEN I
FINALLY BROKE DOWN THAT
BARRIER, THAT'S WHEN I STARTED
TO TRULY HEAL AND RECOVER FROM
ALL THE THINGS THAT I WENT
THROUGH. AND TODAY I'M LIVING A
LIFE WHERE, YOU KNOW, THINGS
AREN'T ALWAYS PERFECT OF
COURSE, BUT I'M LIVING A LIFE
MOST TIME FILLED WITH PEACE AND
SERENITY BECAUSE NOW I HAVE
CLOSURE WITH MY FATHER'S DEATH,
YOU KNOW, AND I HAVE ACCEPTED
THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO ME.
AND I VIEW THEM AS EVENTS THAT
HAPPENED BUT NOT THINGS THAT
HAVE TO DEFINE OR SHAPE WHO I
AM TODAY. WOW. I LOST MY FATHER
AT A YOUNG AGE TOO SO I CAN
UNDERSTAND HAVING YOU KNOW,
LIVING WITHOUT YOUR FATHER
FIGURE IS SOMEONE YOU CAN TURN
TO WAS CLOSE TO YOU. IS
DEFINITELY HARD TO GET THROUGH
.BUT NOW THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO
SHARE YOUR STORY, IT CERTAINLY
CAN HELP SO MANY PEOPLE. WHAT
DO YOU WANT READERS TO TAKE
AWAY FROM YOUR NEW BOOK? IT'S
CALLED SWAY, BY THE WAY, FOR
OUR VIEWERS WHO ARE WATCHING. I
WANT PEOPLE TO SEE STRENGTH AND
RESILIENCE AND THE IMMEASURABLE
STRENGTH RESIGNED TODAY THAT I
EMBODY THROUGHOUT THIS WHOLE
ENTIRE PROCESS AND IN MY LIFE
AND THE FACT THAT I CAN SERVE
AS A BEACON OF HOPE AND LIGHT
FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING
THROUGH TURMOIL OR TRAUMAS AND
SHOW THEM THAT YOU CAN OVERCOME
THESE ADVERSITIES THAT YOU'RE
DEALT WITH AND THAT YOU FACE
YOU JUST DON'T HAVE TO LET THEM
CONSUME YOU THE WAY THAT I
ALLOWED MINE TO FOR SO MANY
YEARS. AND HERE'S A PICTURE OF
THAT BOOK AS WELL ON OUR
SCREEN. MATT BAI TO THANK YOU
SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS WITH
US AND SHARING THE STORY ABOUT
YOUR FATHER AS WELL. I'M SURE
HE IS VERY PROUD OF ALL OF YOU
HAVE OVERCOME. ABSOLUTELY. IT'S