Many of his fellow yoga
practitioners had no idea that Pat was a legend in the
FDNY, with a sixth sense that enabled him to quickly
find helpless victims in utter chaos and dense smoke.
Likewise, his brother firefighters had no idea that
“Paddy” was a Black Belt in karate who taught
self-defense to the blind. Or that he was a decorated
USMC Vietnam War veteran. Or an accomplished boxer and
former Golden Gloves contender.
Or a Broadway musical theatre
buff.
Pat didn’t talk about what he
did; he just went out and did it.
Captain Patrick J. Brown had an
uncanny ability to be exactly where he was needed at
exactly the right time. He died on September 11, 2001,
surrounded by scores of burn victims he was trying to
evacuate from the WTC’s North Tower. Outside the FDNY,
the many people whose lives he touched insist that he
was inspired when it came to knowing their hurt, and how
to heal it. To deal with her loss, his close friend and
former fiancée, Sharon Watts, began collecting stories
about Pat, carefully stitching them together with her
own personal narrative. The result is an intimate and
moving literary experience, as well as a riveting
introduction to a highly complex man whose legacy—
encapsulated in MISS YOU, PAT— is destined to live on.
