9/12

I didn't post yesterday, September 11, not because the horror of that day wasn't on my mind but because it was.

Words fail the depth of sorrow and loss and trauma we all carry in our souls. For those who survived, but most of all for those who lost loved ones or friends. And for those who courageously did the awful recovery work in the toxic aftermath at Ground Zero who are sentenced to lifelong poor health or devastating illness, they are the saints among us.

We all have stories to tell.

My cousin was a little late for work that Tuesday at Goldman Sachs (Tower 2) and stopped by the cafeteria first for a coffee, when she saw the falling debris and smoke from Tower 1 through the window. An announcement told everyone all was under control and to stay inside, return to their offices. She didn't listen. She one was in a mass of people on the street fleeing the building when the 2nd plane hit. We couldn't contact her for hours after, a frightening time.

Depression and anxiety have dogged her since, the legacy of 9/11 survivors.

For the families of those who perished, no closure because they will never know the final moments of their loved ones, what they felt, what they thought... and most have no remains to bury.

Words fail on September 11.

Let the survivors and families of the lost know that we grieve with them, pray for them and let the thought of their reunion in the next life give them some peace.

Comments

  1. GA

    I lost many that day and still cannot look at the lower Manhattan skyline without a feeling of,,,, so many words and none are adequate to describe the raw mixture of emotions. I am still in some shock, however, about photo on MSV. Earl posted asking Roman to take it down. I wish that he would. While it is "art" and "provocative", it ripped a hole in me when it popped up on the screen and I was finally able to absorb the impact of the images. I guess it is still too raw.

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  2. Same here.

    It's exploitation in politics makes me want to throw up-- every time.

    Having watched it unfold from Pier A park (actually heard the 'boom' of the first plane and saw the billowing smoke from my First Street apt., then ran to the park across the street), watching thousands die as the buildings collapsed... it will stay raw for the rest of my days. I don't want to see those images either. They're in my head already, indelible.

    I worked on multiple projects in Tower 2 over a 4 year period, spent a lot of time down there... one client was on floors 100-105... I knew the buildings well, could walk them with my eyes closed.

    Surreal is not the word.

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  3. I can remember walking through the towers in early 2001 on the way to the PATH station and having the person I was with be veryveryvery nervous. When I asked them why they said "you know they tried to knock these buildings down once".
    I, in my infinite wisdom said "you think too much".

    I guess I lost that battle of wits.

    I can remember standing in shock on a rooftop and watching the towers fall down.
    My neighbor stood next to me behind a chimney stack and nervously said "I think this is when the nuclear blast goes off".

    Peace.

    and maybe cut Roman some slack

    don't sweat the small shit

    as Dr Suess might say, I don't always know when to feel had, bad, mad or sad

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