Today is very difficult for all of us as we remember the life of our friend, Fire-Fighter Abd' Allah-Karriem Ali, who passed away August 13th after a 3 year battle with cancer, at only 37 years of age.

Life doesn't seem fair – death even less – and we just don't understand it. We mourn this terrible loss – We see his family – his wife Khadija – and his beautiful children-and we feel their pain. We are sad – and indeed, even angry.

But as I remember how hard Karriem worked to fulfill his dream of becoming a fire-fighter and his courage on the job as witnessed by his heroic rescue of a trapped resident, I imagine he would want us to rise above our grief and look forward to the future with hope and commitment.

We should honor his memory by celebrating his accomplishments. His courage was exemplified some time ago in Rock Creek, when he received an award for valor. As well as the recent Group Effort award from St. Barnabas. Perhaps his greatest achievement was that he was a loving and supportive husband and parent, a leader in his community and a force in his work place and, above all, a loyal and kind-hearted friend and neighbor.

President John F. Kennedy once wrote: “For without belittling the courage with which men have died, we should not forget those acts of courage with which men have lived.”

We should do this by supporting his family not just in their time of need, but always by keeping them in our hearts socially, spiritually and financially. In this way, we will keep Fire- Fighter Ali's memory alive by watching his young family grow into the chronicle of our extraordinary city.

May his memory be blessed, and may we all be comforted in the many memories we hold.