The first "little flower" died more than a half-century ago, but a blossom of the same genre sprang to life in the recent history of New York City...and America.

We relics of a fading past can vividly recall the fiery Fiorella La Guardia, mayor of the Big Apple from 1934 to 1945. He was brash, blunt, always up-front, and fiercely results-oriented, arguably to a fault in the minds of some. If he suffered from any form of mike fright, it was probably the fear that someone might take it away from him.

My fondest recollections of this colorful little guy were the newsreel clips of him reading the funny papers to the children of all ages who had been deprived of this diversion by a newspaper strike. Shedding all semblance of dignity, he not only read the words, but acted out all the characters with a joyous abandon that would have put Soupy Sales to shame.

It was of the very essence of La Guardia to cut to the chase when a problem arose and to do whatever was within his personal power to mitigate it. Thus it was that the CEO of a major city could be seen and heard hamming it up as Dick Tracy, Tess Trueheart, Pat Patton, and the menagerie of villains that harassed them.

Another enduring picture of "Hizzoner" was in a firefighter's helmet, pursuing his penchant for responding to fire alarms. There was little evidence that his participation brought any major conflagrations under control, but his presence did wonders for the morale on the firing line. Where he saw a need, he just wanted to be there.

Fast-forward to another Italian-American mayor in the same big town for some striking similarities, including the aforementioned headgear. No shrinking violet in terms of the spotlight, Rudy Giuliani threw himself, body and soul, at the 9/11 catastrophe, risking and almost losing his own life in the process. He was, it seemed, almost everywhere during the frantic days and sleepless nights that followed the horror of what was, perhaps, the most infamous deed in world history.

September 11 was the beginning of the end of his term of office - primary election day to select his successor . Then came the planes. Almost overnight, he changed from a lame-duck officeholder, simultaneously battling cancer and domestic strife, to a towering crusader against panic, paranoia and purposelessness.

Under his inspiring leadership, an already great city showed even more greatness, almost shrugging off what might have been a mortal wound to its very existence. This new "little flower" rallied the spirit of survivors, friends and families of the dead and injured, rescue workers, and fearful citizens, both in the city and around the nation.

With what he now admits was a fragile blend of determination and hopeful bravado, he exhorted both residents and visitors to go about their lives as normally as possible. There were thousands of pictures of him, touring the disaster site, meeting the press, attending scores of funerals, hugging those who needed hugs, weeping unashamedly with mourners, and shouting defiance at the unspeakable scumbags who had perpetrated those filthy deeds. Prior to that, Giuliani had gained fame, and accumulated enemies, as the Galahad-handing prosecutor who put mafiosi, crooked pols, drug dealers and Wall Street miscreants behind bars.

He then swept into Gracie Mansion and, from that Command Post, broomed out the low-lifes that had accumulated citywide under the seven mayors who preceded him and succeeded (mostly failed, actually) La Guardia. Down went crime by 2/3, murders by a full half; off came 2/3 of the million people on welfare; away went most of the public behaviors and social hazards that had made the city about as safe for visitors as the inside of a gorilla cage. Small wonder that TIME honored him as Person of the Year (after flirting with the preposterous notion of granting that distinction to Usama Been Rotten).

Giuliani thus emerges, although not impeccably, as a political icon on which his colleagues could well model. The qualities he has displayed since 9/11 will serve his fortunate future constituents well wherever he next leads, as lead he almost certainly will. We could ask little more of President Bush, last year's P.O.Y., than that he emulate Giuliani's courage, honesty and focus on the most direct path toward the best solution to the problems at hand.

A diamond in the rough, Giuliano roughed up a lot of people and made more than a few mistakes over the years, but nothing can dull the brilliant image of the little man who stood amid the wreckage of Ground Zero and defiantly shouted to the world: "Tomorrow, New York will be here!"

It will, indeed...and so will Rudy the Rock!