By Joyce Kryszak and Sharon Osorio
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-966757.mp3
Buffalo, NY – While people all across the United States gathered Monday to cheer and celebrate the news of bin Laden's death, the day was anything but joyous for some of those who lost loved ones on 9-11.
Two family members from Western New York said the news brought them nothing but dark clouds of pain again from that horrific day more than nine years ago.
"It does turn another page for us, it just doesn't finalize the chapter yet," said Leigh Macadlo.
And Macadlo said she is not sure anything ever will. Macadlo's twin brother Leonard was killed on 9-11. She said losing him left a permanent hole in her heart. And she felt her heart aching again when she learned that bin Laden was dead.
She said there is no closure. There is no elation. Macadlo said she feels only renewed anger and pain. And a new emotion - fear.
"I know the first thing my daughter said to me is...'this doesn't change anything. It doesn't bring Uncle Leonard back.' But she said, 'I'm scared. What if there's another attack? What if we made them more angry,'" said Macadlo.
To deal with those fears and renewed pain, Macadlo said she knows she will be turning even more to the support group of 9-11 families who have comforted one another for nine years. In fact, she said that was her first instinct.
"I actually sent out a mass email to all the 9-11 family members that I know, and I asked how they were doing, because I wanted to make sure they were o.k. and let them know I was thinking of them," said Macadlo.
One of those fellow family members is Karen Eckert. Her sister Beverly lost her husband Sean on 9-11. Beverly became a crusader for the rights of the 9-11 families. Then, she too was lost in the Flight 3407 crash.
Karen Eckert said she is struggling to process all the grief - on top of the news of bin Laden's death.
"We had a long night last night, not much sleep, reflecting on that," said Eckert. "We don't forget Sean, we'll never forget Sean. And we'll never foget Beverly," said Eckert. "That's the reality of our lives unfortunately."
That reality took Eckert on the road Monday. She was on her way to Washington, D.C. to fight to save the embattled airline safety bill. She is among the Flight 3407 family members who has fought since the crash for new safety regulations that could prevent another airline tragedy.
Not unlike the relentless hunt for bin Laden, Eckert said she too will never give up.
"Just like Beverly fought every day of her life after 9-11 to make sure that didn't happen again. In honor of her and of those who died in Flight 3407 we knew what happened, we knew what went wrong. We knew their system failures and we know they needed to be addressed and changed," said Eckert. "So, we're in it for the long haul too, even if it takes years."
Eckert said she remains optimistic they can appeal to the humanness of elected officials to help keep the new safety regulations intact.