00:05 About each time 911 rolls around, your mind goes back to it. It’s been 23 years, but I’m sure it’s something you don’t ever want to forget.

00:12 Yeah. You know, you know, they always use the term never forget. I mean, obviously, you know, I’m not going to forget cuz I was there, you know, I was helping out, you know, doing the best I could with what I had. But you still got to, you know, think about, you know, why it happened and who sacrificed, you know, to help us, you know, be where we are today, you know, to have the safest country that we could possibly live in. Welcome to Six-Figure Trucker, the podcast where we share advice on how to be successful in trucking and have fun while doing so. We’ll share stories, news, and advice on how to earn six figures in trucking. And we’ll speak to guys and gals that are already doing so. Let’s get to the show.

00:58 Hello everyone and welcome to the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport and we join you each and every week. It’s a space where we elevate and celebrate the drivers that make Norton Transport such a company that it is and we could not do it without the drivers. They are the backbone of our operation and we are truly grateful for everything they do. And last week you heard from Peter Rizzo who is a non CDL driver, box truck driver primarily, drives other things of course, but a nonCDL driver and he was joining us from just outside of just west of Kansas in Colorado. Peter, how are you now?

01:33 Doing well, thanks. I appreciate it.

01:34 Now, we were talking about your experiences as a driver. You’ve been doing this just kind of recapping last week’s episode. Eight years, two years with us, have incredible stats as we ran down your check-in percentage of 100% 100% on time monthtodate. And that of course we’re in September now, 92% on time for the quarter, 89% completion rate. Let’s kind of I mean we talked about this last week, but those have all got to be I guess points of pride for you.

02:04 Yes, D. It was pretty I was pretty shocked when you told me about my stats and I really appreciate that and you know I’m going to obviously I’m going to try to continue to you know keep those numbers where they are. Like I said it’s you know it’s sometimes it can be difficult you know with you know driving across the country and making different deliveries with the weather and whatnot but you know just got to stay focused and you know stay safe and that’s the most important thing.

02:29 Gotcha. Now, you live in North Carolina now, Greensboro, North Carolina. But that’s not your home state. You came from New York City. Were you born and raised in New York City?

02:40 I was born and raised on in Suffolk County, New York, which is on Long Island. That’s where I grew up. And then you know, I went to school upstate New York, college. Played some basketball. Growing up pretty tall. So, sometimes fitting into these trucks is rather tough, but yeah, but I basically grew up on Long Island and you know that’s basically where I grew up.

03:07 Gotcha. How tall are you, Peter?

03:09 68.

03:10 Oh my. Yeah. Folding into some of those box trucks probably is kind of difficult.

03:14 Yeah, it is. It’s tough, but you know, come to the territory. Now, you were born and raised in Long Island, but you had shared with us before we got on the air, you were a member of the New York City Police Department at a time which was everybody remembers, which we’re recording now here on September 14th, but 23 years ago, this past Wednesday or two weeks ago, Wednesday, 911. Tell us where you were and how it was for you professionally and what was going on at 911. 23 years ago.

03:47 Yeah, sure. So all my life I’ve been surrounded by police officers and firemen and EMS workers. My father was ill growing up and I took care of him a lot. So unfortunately a lot of times he had to go to the hospital. So I was always around like I said first responders ever since I was I can remember probably three or four years old. So, you know, being around that, you know, I always wanted to get involved in, you know, in firefighting and police. So, I w up taking the police route. So I graduated college kind of, you know, was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. So, I took the step and moved towards law enforcement. I was working as a freelance graphic designer for a movie and commercial studio and I was driving through New York City with my colleague. This is probably early 2000 and I wound up pulling up next to a New York City Police Department recruiting van at a traffic light by Central Park.

04:53 Mhm.

04:54 So I leaned out the window and I said, “Hey.” So I said, “How’s the job?” And she said, “Oh, it’s you know, it’s rewarding. Has a lot of good experiences. You know, you’ll have a good time. You’ll learn a lot and you know, it’s a great 20 year 20 year journey. I said, “All right, give me an application.” So, she reached out and grabbed an application and handed me right across into the van that I was driving and filled out that application, sent it in. Got hired by the New York City Police Department. In I think it was April of 2001 and then in July 2001 I was there was my first day after going through all the background checks and paperwork I was my first day was I think it was July 7th 2001 and then that’s when I entered the New York City Police Department.”

05:41 I gotcha. So you had to go through an academy I would presume.

05:45 Yes, correct. So started the police academy and on September 10th, 2001, I worked till 2 in the morning, which is you go to school, you know, every other week. You go to school in the morning hours, then you switch to the night hours, so you get used to the schedules. So, I wound up getting home 2:30 in the morning, I believe it was, on September 11th. And, just fell asleep. I was so tired. And then I got a knock on my bedroom door from my father. And he woke me up and said, “Hey, a plane just hit the Twin Towers.” So, you know, I was groggy. I woke up. I said, “Hey, you know what?” You know, I asked him again. I said, “Yeah.” He said, “A plane hit the Twin Towers.” So, I got up, went over to the TV, and I saw it. I saw the building on fire. And you know, started getting dressed after I just went to sleep not too long prior to that. Called up my travel mate and I said, “You know, we got to go into the city. They’re asking everybody to come— And as that happened, I saw the second play on the news.”

06:47 I was watching it hit the towers. So, you know, probably within an hour and 15 minutes, we were on the road heading into New York City.

06:57 What was your mindset at that time when it happened. I mean, everybody—

07:02 Who remembers it all had different recollections and different mindsets when it happened depending upon where you were right there.

07:08 Yeah. I mean, we were in, you know, obviously we were in the police academy. You know, we’re rookies. Were, you know, we had the police mentality going through. Hey, like, you know, what are we supposed to do? Where are we supposed to go? So we called our command. The command had a rally point for us. We all met at the rally point and we p we sat there for a few hours until we were dispatched to, you know, where we had to go. And you know, it was interesting. You know, we were working 12 to 15 hour shifts at some point. And you know as police academy recruits, you know, we didn’t have all our tools. We didn’t even have our badges, we didn’t have our guns, you know, we didn’t have our body armor. We just would just put out onto the street to help as best as we can because the city was in chaos. And you know, with losing all the firefighters and police officers and, you know, all you know, the first responders, it was just chaos, you know.

08:05 So it was very very interesting to be thrown into that situation. You basically get thrown into the fire right away. So—

08:12 That’s what we were up against.

08:14 That’s what I was just thinking. That had to be incredible on the job training to fall into something like that fresh out of the academy.

08:21 Yep. Yeah, it was interesting. Unfortunately, you know, a lot of people lost their lives in the towers and I was involved with helping with some of the families you know, some of the victims that were deceased, you know, and it was pretty intense and you know, it’s something I think about, you know when 911 approaches, I you know, it brings back some of the memories of some of the jobs that I had to do you know, for those first few months of, you know, September, October, sober and you know it was rough. It was pretty rough.

08:56 I can imagine. I can imagine. We certainly thank you across the country. I mean for the service that the men and women in blue in New York City did because it was a tall task to have to get the call for and you know as we’re talking now we’ve just passed 911 just a couple a few days ago. You were talking about each time 911 rolls around your mind goes back to it. What’s it like now? I mean, it’s been 23 years, but I’m sure it’s something you don’t ever want to forget.

09:26 Yeah. You mean you know, you know, they always use the term never forget. I mean, obviously, you know, I’m not going to forget cuz I was there, you know, I was helping out, you know, doing the best I could with what I had and with all my you know, with all my colleagues and my brothers and sisters. You know, it’s a lot different now than it was you know, fresh out of the gate, you know, the first couple years after. But you still got to, you know, think about, you know, why it happened and who sacrificed, you know, to help us, you know, be where we are today and to have a, you know, to have the safest country that we could possibly live in. You understand what I’m saying? So, it’s you has to—

10:05 You have to have some kind of pride, you know, patriotism in this country to stay focused and vigilant, especially what’s going on today in the world. You got to stay focused and you just got to be aware of your surroundings and just keep, you know, just know that there’s people out there that that are trying to do their jobs and to try to keep everybody safe.

10:25 How did it change you personally and professionally?

10:28 You know, the thing about the police department is you learn, especially in New York City, you learn very, very fast. You learn very quick. And if you don’t learn fast, you’re just going to get yourself in a situation that’s not going to be pretty. So it helped me to realize, you know, working from the streets and working in a, you know, in a civil, you know, catastrophe, you know, it really makes you hone in on, you know, on your priorities, right? And to try to push those, you know, it’s like a learning instrument, right? You know, if you stick your hand in the fire, it’s going to burn. You’re not going to do it again after that, right? So I think passing on everything that you’ve learned to you know your friends, your family and people that ask questions about that day and about you know about what’s happening you know since I think that’s the best I think that’s the best way for me to you know to move forward and you know I always I’m an open book when it comes to 11. If anybody has a question for me I always answer it and if they have you know it’s that’s just the best way I move forward through it.

11:34 So so today it’s definitely it makes you sharper in my perspective. It makes you sharper and it makes you know understand what’s around you. So that’s something I took away from it.

11:48 What are some of the most common questions you get from a people in the city and b people outside the city about 911 even 23 years later?

11:57 You know it’s difficult because I mean I’m not out there saying hey I’m in 911. Hey, that was another, you know, I don’t I’m not that type of guy. So it’s if pe people that know me and you know, you know, I have stuff like I carry around with me on my bag that, you know, shows that I was a police officer and stuff like that. That’s just to keep, you know, to support the cause. But you know, a lot of times people ask me what it was like, you know, you know, for me the fir the first day was a little unorganized because we didn’t really know what to do because it was something that never happened before. So the second day, you know, it was more control. The third day, everybody was locked in on what our responsibilities were. And then after that, it was, you know, pretty much, you know, you got to go to work, right? You got to take care of business.

12:44 So, you know, the questions and comments that I usually get are, you know, you know, what was it like, you know, being down there? You know, what did I see? What did I do? Am I scared of flying? You know, I’ll get that a lot because I fly all the time everywhere. You know, I’m flying two, three times a week. Sometimes I get questions like that. Are you afraid to fly after that? Will you? And I’m like, no, you know, you know, it’s not about being afraid to fly, you know, it’s just the security of everything. You know, you just want to be secure. And that’s the most important thing. I guess security questions are a lot of the questions that I get. You know, you think we’re safe now. You think, you know, it can happen again. And you know, I try to tell people, listen, anything can happen. You know, you’re only, you know, security. You could be as safe as you want to be, but there’s always somebody out there that’s going to try to get around it. You know what I mean? Mhm.

13:28 So, I try to try to be optimistic every time somebody asks me a question. You know—

13:32 You’re listening to Peter Rizzo here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Peter, if you’re just joining us, is one of our nonCDL drivers, a very good one, has great statistics, and he’s been kind enough to share his time. He was on the right on the ground with as a New York City police officer during 911 23 years ago. And Peter, do you know, you were talking about sense of security. I guess I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but from what we’ve learned from you, I guess you’re do you fall into the category that you can’t live in fear?

14:06 100%. You got to just live you got to live day by day. You can’t worry about you know there’s like you said earlier peeling back the onion. You know, if you allow, you know, certain events and certain people to get under your skin and to make you nervous, then, you know, you really need to step back and take a deep breath and evaluate your situation because you can’t live in fear. You got to just live your day, you know, just go through your day as if you were the day before. And, you know, if it’s going to come at you, it’s going to come at you. But when it does come, just make sure you’re ready for it and you can and you have the right circle of friends and family to help you deal with it. That’s how I look at it. Just go through your day as you always would.

14:47 Having gone through that and experiencing that and come out and coming out on the other side, does it help you or does it give you some skills to fall back on as a driveaway driver?

14:58 Yes it does. It does give you a little bit of skill. Like I said, always situational awareness. I always, you know, always keep my eyes open around me. Obviously when you’re driving you’re supposed to do that anyway, but you know because you know, in the police department they always train you to watch the person’s hands, right? The hands are what you have to watch because that’s where, you know, that’s where the problems start. So, you know, even today after 23 years, you know, I still, you know, after I left the police department, I still watch people’s hands. When I go to the airports, I’m always watching hands. When I’m watch when I’m on the bus, I’m always watching hands. When I’m eating lunch or eating dinner and I’m around a bunch of people, I’m always watching hands. I’m not doing it because it’s just out of habit—

15:42 Right?

15:43 You know, I can remember you know, when I was dating somebody during my police days, you know, I’d be always staring around looking around and then she would always say, “What are you looking at? What are you like, I’m looking at everybody’s hands.” I’m like, “I’m staring at everybody’s hands. I’m not staring at anybody else. I’m looking at their hands, you know, and then and they’re like, “Oh, okay. Okay.” I’m like, “Yeah, that’s what we do. It’s embedded in our minds the first day of, you know, the first week in the police academy. They always tell you to watch the first in pants, you know.” So, so it’s kind of, you know, it’s got it little quirks and you know, you know, that’s just how it is.”

16:15 I got you.

16:16 You know—

16:16 23 years after the fact after the date that dark chapter in our history as a country, do you stay in touch with people on the force fire department, police department, first responders? Do you still stay in touch with them?

16:31 Yes, I do. I stayed in touch with a lot of people. A lot of times on Facebook, obviously you know, I was a volunteer fireman also and an EMS worker, too. So, I have a pretty strong friendship back home and I still keep in contact with them as well.

16:45 How are they doing?

16:46 Oh, they’re fine. I mean, you know, our particular firehouse on Long Island, which was volunteer, we lost five firefighters in 911 from my specific firehouse. So, it’s you know, you know, there’s a lot of real close-knit group of firefighters and EMS workers at that particular firehouse. So, it’s Lakeland Fire Rescue out on Long Island. So, I joined after I joined that department after 9/11. So, you know, it was pretty you know, you got to keep up the you know, the work of your colleagues that you lost, you know what I mean? So, you have to you know, you have to really focus and you know, it was it’s different. It’s different, but everybody’s tight and every year everybody celebrates together and you know and remembers, you know, firefighters and the police officers and you know, it’s a good community. Real good community.

17:35 That’s a bond that will never be broken.

17:37 Correct. Correct. And I don’t talk about it much, so I appreciate you asking me about it. I really do appreciate it. Yeah, we appreciate greatly you being on the ground there and the service that you provided and I’m sure you guys worked incredibly long hours during that time.

17:54 Oh yeah, a lot of hours.

17:56 Oh yeah, I’m sure. Peter Rizzo here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Peter, thank you so much for sharing that time and your experience and how it’s changed and shaped you and made you one of our absolute top drivers. We certainly appreciate you.

18:10 Appreciate it. And thanks again for having me. I really enjoyed it. All right, Peter Rizzo on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Peter, be safe out there on the road. We know you are.

18:18 Thank you. Appreciate you.

18:25 Six-Figure Trucker is brought to you by Norton Transport. Norton Transport is a driveaway trucking company that customers can rely on. It offers excellent independent contract driving opportunities to professional, courteous, and qualified drivers that can provide the kind of service we deliver. If you’re interested in learning more about Norton or just want to subscribe to the show, check out Six-FigureTrucker.com. That’s Six-FigureTrucker.com.