Guy Barzvi was on the career fast track as a technology manager at eSpeed, Cantor Fitzgerald's technology unit. He loved what he did, said his mother, Gila. But in the weeks before Sept. 11, one aspect of his role as manager had him in turmoil. The swelling wave of layoffs across the country was lapping at the door of his company, and it was his job to hand out the pink slips.

He was losing sleep over it, his mother said. "He was really struggling with this. It wasn't in his nature. He was a smart, savvy businessman. But he was also a humble and gentle person, the peacemaker among family and friends."

Barzvi, 29, a Forest Hills, bachelor, worked for Cantor from the firm's 103rd floor offices in Tower One. He had worked for Goldman Sachs before joining Cantor two years ago. His body has not been recovered, his mother said. Her daughter, Lori, had worked for Morgan Stanley on the 71st floor of Tower One but took a job at a midtown Manhattan company about eight months ago.

Barzvi was born here, but his parents, who immigrated to the United States, have witnessed the face of terror before. Barzvi's father, Arie, is from Jerusalem; his mother migrated to Israel from Germany after WWII.

Barzvi graduated from high school in Forest Hills and earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and computer science from Queens College.

His mother said he taught her everything she knows about computers and

taught himself a lot, too.

After learning he had roots in Spain, Barzvi became so intrigued with the culture that he taught himself Spanish and became fluent in the language, his mother said. On a recent trip to Spain, he fell in love with flamenco music and started teaching himself to play it on the guitar. He was even learning salsa dancing, his mother said. "He was a very spiritual person, an angel."

-- Collin Nash (Newsday)