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| |    The Littlest Radio Operator by Susan E. Davis reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P.
"It was a hobby that we developed together," Fred explains, "as a kind of father-daughter thing." Adds Beverly, "I like it because I get to meet all different people on the radio. And sometimes, at the meetings, I get to meet the people I've been talking to in person." As it happened, Beverly received her Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license just three days after the September 11th attacks. The very next day, the American Red Cross on Long Island put out a call for ham radio assistance. Beverly had been distraught by the news of the attacks, because, she says, "I didn't know how I could help out, but I wanted to." But when she heard the call for radio operators, she thought, "I can do that! Here's how I can help!" Her dad called the Red Cross to be sure that it was OK that Beverly was so young. "They just said, 'As long as she has a license, we're happy to have her,'" he says. That afternoon, father and daughter went to a local elementary school that had been set up as a shelter for Europeans stranded when the FAA grounded all planes in the United States. While her dad helped her by keeping a log, Beverly worked from 4 PM until midnight that day as the only radio operator on the site. Her job was to communicate with the Red Cross central office in Mineola, New York, about the shelter's needs for food, medical assistance, and other items. "What amazed me was how they treated her," Fred says. "They weren't condescending, they didn't talk really slowly, they just treated her like any other adult ham radio operator." Beverly also was thrilled at the role she played and says she'd do it again in a heartbeat. She also notes, "It made me feel better to help out. I feel so angry about the attacks and there's not a true reason why those people did what they did. But this made me feel I could help." Adds Fred, "I almost think it's not so much what Beverly did as who she is. She's one of the youngest female ham radio operators in the United States, she had only had her license for one day, and she was so eager to volunteer. I know I'm her dad and so I'm biased, but I think what she did was really impressive." Read the next story: Chores for Cash
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