Christoffer Carstanjen was a man of several nicknames, including "Mr. Wonderful". To borrow a line from Joe Namath, "It ain't bragging if you can back it up." Christoffer Carstanjen could - and did.
He was a computer expert who earned his living as a computer research specialist for the Office of Information Technologies (OIT) at the University of Massachusetts. He served as OIT's liaison to the UMass College of Humanities and Fine Arts, which made him an in-demand member of the UMass community, especially at the beginning of every semester. He was also a trained chef, a fan of English country dancing, and a motorcycle enthusiast. If all that was not enough to earn his sobriquet, he had built his own home with the help of his friends.
Christoffer Carstanjen was just 33 years old when he boarded United Flight 175 at Logan Airport in Boston for what was scheduled to be an 8:00 am flight to San Francisco. He was flying to California where he intended to spend his vacation participating in the annual Great Pacific Coast Motorcycle Ride. Tragically, shortly after Flight 175 took off at 8:14 that morning, the five murderous cowards who hijacked it irrevocably altered its destination, crashing it into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 am, striking the building between its 77th and 85th floors.
"Listen and surround yourself with positive people", was one of Mr. Carstanjen's mantras. He not only said it, he believed it, and he lived it.
Christoffer Mikael Carstanjen
Photo Credit: VoicesCenter.Org
Every day.
-AK
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