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CNN Live At Daybreak
Spirit of America: Skating Event the Garden
Aired October 05, 2001 - 08:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: A young woman who lost her brother in the September 11 Pennsylvania plane crash, is putting her best foot forward. 16-year-old Joanna Glick will honor his memory with a tribute on the ice later today.
She joins us now. It's good to have you with us, Joanna.
JOANNA GLICK, SISTER OF FLIGHT 93 VICTIM: It's good to be here.
ZAHN: How are you doing?
GLICK: I'm OK.
ZAHN: I know this is very important for you to get out on the ice tonight and honor your brother.
Before we talk about what you are going to try to accomplish out there, let's remind people of exactly what your brother did onboard that plane that went down in Pennsylvania.
He was what? A 6'2" black Judo -- black belt Judo fighter.
GLICK: Right.
ZAHN: Big guy.
GLICK: Yes.
ZAHN: Strong guy.
GLICK: Yes.
ZAHN: And from what you have been able to reconstruct from conversations he had with his wife, what can you tell us?
About how he tried to fight back.
GLICK: The story between Liz and Jeremy about the phone call, because I wasn't there. But from how I take it, it's really -- that he really overtook the hijackers, is basically what I got from it.
ZAHN: And I suspect that doesn't surprise you?
GLICK: No, not at all. That is totally Jeremy. I knew before we even knew that Jeremy was one of the hijackers, that -- one of the hijackers, that I knew it was going to be him.
ZAHN: Apparently, through cell phone conversations that several other male passengers had with wives and people at work, they knew that one plane had already slammed into the World Trade Center. So they sort of knew what their fate was, and they did everything they could to change that.
GLICK: Yes.
ZAHN: People have spoken with such great affection about your brother, about what a fearless fighter he was. Now we have a picture of him holding you as a baby. And he looks so soft and kind, and it is a very sweet picture.
What do you remember about your brother?
GLICK: He was always my giant teddy bear. I loved to cuddle in his arms, even as I got older. He was totally my ultimate protector. And that is just the role he played in my life.
O'BRIEN: I know he was also very supportive of your skating.
GLICK: Yes.
ZAHN: And you are a terrific skater. And at one point you were taking the sport very seriously, and then you took three months off from the sport, and now you are back on the ice. We actually have some pictures of you getting ready for your performance later on tonight at Madison Square Garden.
What put you back on the ice?
GLICK: I really wanted to do this for Jeremy. It's a very personal performance, and I'm really honored that I can share it with so many people. And it's such an amazing arena. But really -- I'm really concentrating on the way I feel towards him. And that's really -- I'm just going to try and not focus on anything else
ZAHN: You personally picked the music, and you helped...
GLICK: Yes.
ZAHN: ... choreograph this with your coach. What are you going to skate to?
GLICK: It's called "I Will Remember You," by Sarah McLachlan.
ZAHN: Is that a song Jeremy knew, or was familiar with?
GLICK: Yes.
ZAHN: And what was it about that song that made you really want to pick it.
GLICK: It really captured the feeling that I wanted to portray to the nation about how I feel during this time. ZAHN: We saw you on the tape in the zone, having to really concentrate on this very complicated routine you are doing. Try to put yourself in that head later tonight. What are you going to be thinking about?
GLICK: I'm really going to be thinking about Jeremy, and how he was always my supporter, and no matter what decision I made, he really backed me and everything I did. So that's what I'm going to be thinking about.
ZAHN: Who else will be skating tonight?
GLICK: All the greats.
ZAHN: Kristi Yamaguchi, Scotty Hamilton, all those folks that we've become so familiar with over the years at the Winter Olympics.
Your brother will be honored, as will the other passengers on the jet, with the Congressional Gold Medal which is Congress' highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements. What does that mean to your family?
GLICK: It just fills us all with pride, and really we're honored that the government is taking notice of his actions.
ZAHN: And how is Jeremy's wife doing, and how is his little girl doing?
GLICK: They are doing great.
ZAHN: Are you able to spend time with them at all?
GLICK: Yes. They are coming to my -- actually.
ZAHN: They are?
GLICK: Yes.
GLICK: We will all be cheering you on. I think it is tremendous that you are able to find the strength to do this for your brother.
Once again, Joanna will be performing later tonight at Madison Square Garden in honor of her brother Jeremy, who is one of the men credited with trying to take control of the plane, when he knew that it was supposedly headed for Washington, and obviously changed the fate of that flight.
Joanna, good luck to you.
GLICK: Thank you.
ZAHN: Thank you so much.
We remember Jeremy Glick with the music Joanna will be dancing to tonight at Madison Square Garden.
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