Friday, September 4, 2009
9/11
Yep. One week to go. Next Friday.
Earlier this morning I sat down to watch this week's DVRed episode of "Rescue Me."
Just the opening credits... that's as far as I got.
They always get to me - but today... more so than usual.
I remember 9/11 so clearly.
I remember waking up... turning on the radio... hearing that a plane had crashing into the World Trade Center I immediately rushed into the living room to turn on the TV.
I'm watching the news... they're talking about the plane that hit one of the Towers... all of a sudden - live - I'm watching ANOTHER plane hit the other Tower.
Oh, yes... I remember that day. I'll never forget that day. I remember people jumping out of windows and falling... and falling... and falling... to their deaths - jumping to escape the smoke and heat and flames.
I remember not being able to contact my friend Rob via the phones but thankfully getting through to him via email.
I remember verifying that my friend Phil who worked in Midtown was ok - same with my friend Carl.
I remember the Towers falling... first one... then the other. The people running in panic... the debris storm threatening to overwhelm all in its path.
I remember Phil being "trapped" in the City - Phil's wife Sally at home in Beacon, NY with their new son - my new Godson - Ryan... who was five days old.
That evening I drove over to Beacon to be with Sally and Ryan. We didn't know when or if Phil would get home that night. Phil didn't want them to be alone. I made it over the Bear Mountain Bridge right before they shut it down to sweep it for explosives.
I remember going into the City three days after 9/11 in order to have some dental work done by my friend Irene. Her practice is in the Empire State Building. Over the GW Bridge... down the West Side Highway... bang a left to up into Midtown...
I remember troops. Humvees. Machine guns. FBI officers carrying automatic weapons. ATF officers carrying automatic weapons. There was even an APC.
I remember the eerie silence... the hesitation... the awareness... the politeness... the unspoken connection we all had with each other.
I remember bringing my passport as id to get into the Empire State Building and how it felt going through security.
I remember that for weeks afterward... for months afterward... New Yorkers and other metropolitans like myself put American flags in our car's rear windows and when we crossed paths with a police car, fire truck or ambulance the drivers and passengers would just look at each other and nod - civilians thanking first responders.
I remember heading to California for vacation three weeks after 9/11 and it being a totally different "feel" in California - nothing like the New York metropolitan area vibe. It was like Mary and I were visiting a foreign country where the "natives" were curious and sympathetic, but not all that shaken up themselves.
F--k California.
And now... it's approaching eight years gone by.
I'll attend the 9/11 Mass next Friday as I always do. I'll remember 9/11... The Day... that terrible, awful day. I'll reminisce with friends and family.
President Obama has declared September 11th to be "A National Day of Service."
Well... with all DUE respect... F--k you, Mr. President.
On September 11th - this September 11th and every single one to follow for as long as I live - I'll remember what was... I'll stay focused on what happened...
Don't you DARE tell me how to mourn, how to act, how to behave.
You wanted to recruit our children to The Cause, Mr. President? How'bout this instead:
On Friday, September 11th, 2009, our nation's middle school and high school students get exposed at school to what really happened on September 11th, 2001.
Some may say that middle school is too early for students to be exposed to scenes of death and destruction, but I say just as we should expose our children to the reality of the Holocaust and the slaughter of war so that they will beware the evils and tragedy of man's inhumanity to man, so too should they know exactly what was done to us on September 11th, 2001.
Readers. Please. Join me. Spread the word. 9/11 should be a Day of Remembrance.
And we must remember the truth - and pass it on to those who didn't live through it or were too young to register it.
God Bless America.
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4 comments:
Yeah, I know how you feel I was in Northern California during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. There were The quake killed 63 deaths, 3,757 injuries and left about 8000 people homeless. I was on the East Coast a week later (in DC). Folks asked about the earthquake, especially since they had experienced one themselves, but other than that, not much reaction. The more remote the incident the less impact it had. My office was less than 2 miles from the Pentagon. The proximity gives one a fuller appreciation of the significance.
Oops I meant to say, "especially since they had NOT experienced one for themselves"
One more thought. Do you have a title correct? I thought it was the National Day of Service and Remembrance and it's stated purpose is to "Our mission is to honor the victims of 9/11 and those who rose to service in response to the attacks by encouraging all Americans and others throughout the world to pledge to voluntarily perform at least one good deed, or another service activity on 9/11 each year."
I might be missing something but isn't its purpose to honor the victims and our heroic public service folks (policemen, firemen, other volunteers) some of whom lost their lives in the aftermath? Maybe I'm just reading their intent incorrectly?
Yep. I remember the '89 Loma Prieta earthquake. I was in southern California soon afterward and saw some of the damage.
As to the "National Day of Service..."
Well... I provided the link to the official site in my post.
(*SHRUG*)
Notice "service" comes before "remembrance."
You can make of that what you will.
I believe (at least I intended)my post to be fairly clear and comprehensible.
I have nothing against "service," David; I give blood, I donate to charities, I'm active in civic discourse and have served my community in various capacities.
I simply don't agree with watering down (IMHO) what 9/11 represents (to me) in the fashion President Obama has chosen to advance.
Anyway... (*SHRUG*)... I hope this "clarifies" my feelings and my point in posting.
Thanks so much for visiting and I hope you come back!
(*WINK*)
BILL
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