It’s gray and rainy today, but six years ago, the sun shone and the air was crisp, bringing to mind football games and baked apples. The morning was nothing short of glorious, which added to the pain of the attacks.
There has been debate in The New York Times and elsewhere about the appropriateness of commemorating 9/11. Some say it only reopens the wounds. Some say it’s time to move on. Some say the list of victims should be read every year. There is no right answer to when grieving, either public or private, should be finished.
I was fortunate that day; I did not lose anyone I loved. I lived in Westchester, though, and for weeks the newspaper was filled with the obituaries of young men and women, many around my age, some of them accompanied by stories of bravery and kindness performed in the face of fear and death.
That’s what I want to think about today, what I want to take away from the unbearable pain of that day. I want to consider how I might be kinder in my life, and then I want to be kinder. That was the glory of 9/11, at least for a while: the kindnesses proferred by strangers. That’s what I want to see continue.
Won’t you go out of your way to do something extra kind today, too, as a way to quietly remember the tragedy of the day?
Sending big hugs to you today.
I’m currently watching a re-broadcast of that morning’s news footage. It hurts, and I’m not sure how re-broadcasting it can possibly be doing anyone any good… and yet I can’t tear myself away.
And I think of your story, of your character trying to find her husband.
I like what you said about kindness. I think I might repost your words on my blog, if you don’t mind.
I don’t know what else to say, but I’m sending my love.
Yes, it would be great if the general kindness that happens after a tragedy would linger a bit longer…we saw a lot of that here after the bridge collapse last month, and of course now it’s disintegrating into political finger-pointing. But there’s still hope. I saw an article in the paper yesterday where a group of local restaurants (really good ones) banded together and provided a dinner party for the kids who were on the school bus on the bridge (and who all survived) and their parents. The kids were about to take their first bus ride since the collapse, and the restaurants wanted them to have something fun to look forward to right after. How kind of them, to help those poor kids get over the scare of getting on a bus again.
I understand the pull between commemoration and re drudging the past…
I did know someone who did not make it out of Tower 1 and a few who were lucky enough to take a different train or not go straight to work….
I feel like the name reading is a comfort to the families and loved ones of the folks who lost their lives.In a climate of political unrest, it assures the families that we have not forgotten their pain and that their loved ones were significant and special.
I know that the day my dad passed away (4 years ago) is still filled with tears and sadness for me.. i wish the world would read out his name to know what an amazing man he was…
I love your idea of commemoration through kindness. What better way to remember people who were lost than by trying to embody their best qualities. In that way, they live on longer.
I wish there was a way to find a balance, but, as we all mourn and remember our dead differently, I doubt that will happen. It seems that the lowest parts of human nature will out and that sickens me. It’s a shame that the kindness and spirit of overcoming together was lost so quickly.
I’m glad the weather is different today than it was six years ago. If it was the same, I think it would be harder because today is Tuesday. Does that make sense? It feels closer this year because it’s Tuesday.
Sending cat hair covered love, Bev. *hugs*
This was a nice post to read today. Thanks!
Thank you for that beautiful tribute.
I marked today in my own quiet way – remembering everything about that day five years ago.
I hope I never forget the amazing sense of the preciousness of life that stayed with me for months after the attack. I won’t be watching news, or going to public gatherings. But I will never forget what today means.
Great thoughts you shared.
How will we ever ever forget. I don’t think I possibly could. It paralyzed me. All the firefighter stuff was too much for me. Such loss. My own SH (sweet husband)firefighter says they are just doing their jobs…
not to me they aren’t.