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By Jeremy | September 11, 2006
Warning: The following reflections ramble a bit and may seem confused. So be it.
The emerald blue skies brought me back.
I'd been resisting the emotions of the 5-year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, instead choosing to focus on the excitement of my son's first first day of first grade. But after dropping him off and getting stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the Gowanus Expressway, they were irresistable.
The first reminder was, of course, the view. The drive from South Brooklyn to Manhattan brings with it a coastal panorama of the greatest skyline in the world. Watching Lower Manhattan rise above the congested roadways makes the meaning of "skyscraper" self-evident. But conspicuously missing this morning, as they have been every day for the past five years, were the tallest scrapers of them all.
The second was that brilliant sky, eerily reminiscent of the brilliance five years ago, with few if any clouds. Deep, rich, regal almost, and unmistakeably blue.
The third was the planes. Sitting in traffic thinking about the missing towers and it's hard to ignore all the low flying plans landing at the three international airports within 10-20 miles of downtown.
The drive stirred the emotions and made me think about the lost lives and shattered families; the courage of those who ran in when everyone else ran out; the solidarity of the world for weeks, if not months, afterwards (with even a French newspaper proclaiming on September 12: "We are all Americans"); the compassion of the volunteers and first responders and all who donated time and money and prayers;
my dad's heroics; the changes that have unfolded in
my own life and career; the resulting War on Terror; the bravery of our troops; the return to geo-political divisions, cynicism and partisanship that seem ever more entrenched; the desperation and economic desolation where fanaticism breeds; and so much more.
Then I returned to the so-called "new normalcy." Why should we never forget those who lost lives on 9-11? To inspire courage and compassion? To enflame retribution? To finance memorials? What do you think?
Other 9/11/06 tidbits:
+ President Bush's
Pitt Street firehouse stop was four blocks from my parents' home.
+ CBN Newswatch/Christian World News interviewed me for a 5-year retrospective.
Check it here. The video includes my Ground Zero pictures, as well as never before seen pictures by my friend and master photographer
Michael Mowery.
Deanna tells me she saw the pictures on the 700 Club as well.
+
Pastor Joe shared with me that on 9/11, he was standing on East Broadway chatting with a friend when she mentioned a low flying plane. He turned his head just in time to see the first plane hit and feel the vibrations on the street beneath him. The screams from the neighbors still echo in his ears today. He and millions of other witnesses saw the devastation live, in real-time, first hand, and not just on television. The uniqueness of the WTC was in part its impact on the skyline, which could be seen for miles in every direction. New Yorkers in four boroughs and New Jerseyites across the Hudson were eyewitnesses to the act as it unfolded. And they knew, as they watched, that thousands were perishing before their very eyes.
+ Much love to my new friends at
Avon Wesleyan Church for inviting me to participate in their 9/11 tribute service on Sunday. It was a joy to join them in honoring local firefighters, EMTs, and law enforcement even as they remembered the brave first responders at Ground Zero.
Topics: 9-11, ground zero, media | No Comments »
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