Anniversary of Night

9-11-2011 credit: Gary Holzman

 
For future generations,  9-11 will be the day America lost it's sense of invulnerability in a single act of terrorism.

For the rest of us it's a scab that gets pulled off every year; we stare into the gaping wound in our hearts and some of us fall into its blackness.

We remember exactly where we were.

GA was standing in Pier A park among the hundreds who'd gathered, watching from the west bank of the Hudson River as flames and smoke poured from an enormous hole in Tower Two.  Cries rang out as Tower Two pancaked down in slow motion; we helplessly watched thousands die in real time.  After that police dispersed the crowd, told us to go home.  Mine was across the street.  From my roof  there it was: an open space in the panorama of lower Manhattan; Tower One had collapsed moments before.  The odor hung for weeks, as the wounded skyline belched smoke and toxins over us.

Hoboken lost the most of any zip code that day: moms, dads, brothers, sisters, friends, neighbors.

What to do?

In solidarity and grief we hung flags, lit candles, gathered in the park to mourn our dead. 

Small comfort for those with empty chairs at the dinner table, at a graduation or wedding, at the birth of a child.

Another 9-11, anniversary of  night.  We remember you.

Joao A. "J.J." Aguiar Jr., 30

Jean A. Andrucki, 43

 Peter Apollo, 26

Marty Boryczewski, 29

Nick Brandemarti, 21

Swarma Chalasani, 33

Christopher Colasanti, 33

Michael S. Costello, 27

Christopher Cramer, 34

Gavin Cushny, 47

Neil Dollard, 28

 Douglas DiStefano, 24

 Michael DeRienzo, 37

Margaret Echtermann, 33

Jeffrey B. Gardner, 36

 Michael Edward Gould, 29

Scott Hazelcorn, 29

 Joseph Ianelli

Matthew Horning, 26

Thomas Knox, 31

Donna Bernaerts-Kearns, 44

Greg Malone, 42

Marc A. Murolo

Katie McGarry-Noack, 30

George McLaughlin Jr., 36

Michael Mullin, 27

John Murray, 32

 Martin S. Niederer, 23

Brian Novotny, 33

Keith K. O'Connor, 28

Lesley Thomas O'Keefe, 40

Dominique Pandolfo, 27

 Jon A. Perconti Jr., 32

Scott Rohner, 22

Joshua Rosenblum, 28

Nick Rowe, 29

 Ronald Ruben, 36

Richard L. Salinardi, 32

James Kenneth Samuel Jr., 29

 John Schroeder, 32

Alex Steinman, 32

Melissa Vincent, 28

James Patrick White, 34

Deborah Lynn Williams, 35

Michael Wittenstein, 34

Please contact me with any omissions or corrections.