Sept 11th. how will you remeber?

“I will remeber by lighting candles and sitting on my roof top with the view of NY drinking a couple of drinks.

what about you?”

“climbing Santa Fe Baldy with my sister and flying the US from the top. 14 miles roundtrip, 3000 ft climb.”

“Dang. That's tommarrow.

Sometimes it feels like it happened a decade ago, and other times it feel s like it happened last week.

After 9/11 my neighborhood had white candles (the tall glass Catholic-style ones) lit everywhere. In windows, on sidewalks, on stoops, in the park, in the stores. Some areas of the 'hood had sidewalk "alters" where we would go and light candles and take flowers.

Then a month or so later the plane to the Dominican Republic crashed. 80% of the people where from my neighborhood. More candles and alters came out.

I remember how beautiful it was to walk throught the crisp night air and see all of these points of light. There was something soothing in these lights. That no matter how much pain, grief, anger, confusion, sense of loss, and again grief - so overwhelming it felt like your heart was going to shrivel up and turn to stone - you were feeling, that the world still had oxygen to burn, that life was still happening, and that each of the lit candles represented someone else out there who gave a damn too.

So that said, I think I will take a candle out to the stoop where the wax drippings from two years ago still stain the concrete. And maybe other people will remember that unity by placing their candles out there - in remembrance and celebration of the fragility of life.”

“By working. Promoting capitalism must be the one thing that really pisses them off the most.”

“I will be spending the day on a circuit hike along one of the rivers in the Shenandoah National Park.

Mapes, I will light a candle too. Thank you for your volunteer efforts in the aftermath of 9/11.”

“I plan on trying to taking the day off, stay in the basement and start to put up the plastic with duct tape. Bushie has gots me skeert!

j/k!





I have no idea what I'll be doing, but I'm only kinda kidding about taking the day off.”

“Gonna play golf, drink beer and watch over my shoulder for suspicious ragheads.”

“I am going to plant a tree!


8)”

“I cross a suburban commuter rail bridge on the way to work.
There are flags and a poem commorating those that did not come home that night.

I see that twice a day, every work day. Those people were my neighbours, my kids go to school with their kids.”

“I find it amazing that some stupid troll's contest thread has significantly more responses than this one.”

“i was thinking the same thing. but thats how it is these days.
not worth the effort anymore.”

“Twinkle Toes, that was a very well-written post.”

“not sure, just thankful this 9/11 will be (hopefully) normal and relatively peaceful, as compared to the one 2 years ago.”

“i think this was a good idea for a thread, Maple. maybe it seems like it's "not worth the effort," but some people would prefer not to dwell on grief or shock, or don't experience it in the same way you do. not to mention the fact that no two people experienced Sept. 11th in the same way.”

“your right lyra, just getting tired of the trolls.”

“i feel ya, homeslice.”

“Well, I care Mrs Maple.”

“Homeslice!

lyra, you are soo phat!”

“Maple it's probably not that people don't care, it's just that they don't feel comfortable discussing it in a public, relatively anonymous, forum.”

“It will always hurt
Last week I watched several documentaries about the World Trade Center and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It was not easy to do. The shows reopened old wounds.
But it brought back a flood of memories of the day, and feelings as well.
The attacks happened while we were at our printing plant in Bristol. Some of our co-workers had cell phones with them, and the calls started coming in.
First report was that a plane had crashed into one of the WTC towers. Then came the report of the second crash, and it was apparent that this was no accident.
That was followed by the report of the crash into the Pentagon, and somebody broke out a radio.
We followed the events of that morning, the collapse of the towers, the collapse of part of the Pentagon, and the crash of the fourth hijacked flight into a field in Western Pennsylvania.
On the way back to the office, I stopped at the turnpike rest plaza to watch video clips of the crashes and collapse of the twin towers. The building was crammed with travelers doing the same thing; mouths open at the horror that had unfolded that morning.
In the days and weeks that followed, horror turned to anger, anger to determination, and we responded to the attack.
Last winter, I visited friends, treebeard and mapleleaf, who live in Brooklyn. A party had been scheduled for another friend, Artex, who was leaving the New York area for Florida.
Treebeard drove me, mapleleaf, and my good friend Creek Dancer to the party. On the way we drove up the West Side Highway, past Ground Zero.
From the other side of the fence, batteries of lights flooded the site with light. Treebeard remarked that it was Ground Zero at about the same time I was about to ask.
I removed my baseball cap. A flood of emotions swept over me.
In an instant, I felt that those who died there did so simply because they represented America's strength.
Whether they were US citizens or citizens of other countries, they represented all that is right about our nation.
That is why the WTC was selected as a target, along with the Pentagon and another Washington target left untouched when the passengers on the fourth plane apparently rushed the cockpit to stop the terrorists.
That wave of emotion and realization took just seconds to transpire. As we passed by the site, I put my hat back on.
I reflected that we had just driven by on the highway, with a high fence hiding the scene from view. It was, at the time, cleaned up. There was not much to see, but that was the entire point. There should have been two high buildings there, and they would indeed have been visible if not for Sept. 11.
Treebeard and mapleleaf, in the immediate wake of Sept. 11, volunteered to hand out water and other necessities to emergency workers on their way to Ground Zero for rescue work.
That was their way of helping out in what everybody realizes was New York City's worst, and finest hour.
And that was the other side of the story: the heroic response of police and firefighters.
On that day, ordinary folks in New York and the Pentagon died horrible deaths at the hands of terrorists. Others rose to assist and were stricken down.
Still others stepped into the breach to do whatever they could in the rescue and recovery efforts.
Yes, you take your hat off to what happened that day. You reopen the wounds. You cry at times, and at times you just ache.
They died because they represented us, or because, representing us, they rose to assist and died in that effort.
Part of all of us died that day, but part of all of us shone that day. In both cases, they represented what is right about our country.
It will always hurt, and it will always amaze.”

“I am planning on a media boycott day. I would love to take a day off and go out into the wilderness, but as a poor substitute I am going to avoid all print and TV on that day. I may also light a candle, and go for an urban hike.

Rick”

“Thanks Geo.”

“Unlike most of my other posts. I really need to know.

What does lighting a candle signify?”

“good question. it may mean different things to different people.

to me it gives me hope.


or somin like that

ever jjust sit around a campfire?
just staring?

make you feel comfy?”

“Thank you, brother...”

“Interesting. Thank you for explaining.”

“I will be living my life. No flags or candles or television specials.”

“I don't want to dwell on it. I'll go on just like every other day excepting I probably won't watch too much TV or listen to NPR. I won't ever forget what happened or how many lost lives, I don't need or want to do anything special to remember. But, I can appreciate that others feel better by marking the day...”

“im with bacpac on this one. i mourned the victims shortly after it happened, but i really dont want to hear the constant hand-wringing and saccharine boo-hooing. if you lost a loved one in the attacks, then commemorate them however you wish, but everybody else, quit looking for an excuse to get all mushy.”

“Unfortunately it will probably turn into an excuse for finger pointing. I like Rick's idea. Ignore all media, don't give the mouthpieces a chance to sully the memories of the victims.”

“no media for me either! blech.

and it's a good thing you spelled that with a "ph," Bobo! ;-)”

“You are entitled to your view 2scoops.

However, your comment offended me. It was offensive, insensitive, ignorant, and callous.

I don't think people are "looking for a reason to get mushy". It's not like this is something that is pleasant to remember. It was very painful regardless of whether you directly knew someone who died or did not. Everywhere you walked in the city there were pictures of people who were missing. Everywhere... you know what - screw you - this is making me really upset here...be careful of how you word things with regards to this issue... some people are scarred more than others. Okay?”

“Personally, the longer I feel the hurt the less likely I am to forget. Complacency is the enemies friend.”

“well put, Path...”

“sorry 2scoops - didn't mean to be quite so harsh - just got upset”

“could you be a little more screechy? i think your reply was a little un-called for”

“ok well youve recanted. my point is, all my sympathy goes out to someone who actually lost a loved one. everybody else, i dont give a flip how they feel about it and im tired of hearing about it.”

“2poops - please refer to the thread above yours.

but see - it's a sensitive topic”

“One of the firefighters interviewed on last night's PBS show commented that the numbers of firefighters lost was so high,and he lost so many comrades that he felt he never got a chance to mourn each one properly.

Remembering is not about comfort or what we would like, in my opinion. It's about the fact that these people all were individuals with families, friends, associates, bonds and ties.

When you look at nearly 3,000 people whose lives were lost, it becomes harder to gauge the loss, just as it becomes harder to mourn a friend's loss.

The emotions are not easy for any of us. I thought at first I would not like to remember, would rather avoid remembering. But the simple fact is, it is impossible to forget, and impossible to deny one's own emotional response or cram the emotions behind a facade.

I guess I've learned over time that nothing good comes from denying or burying emotions. I don't know if the wounds ever go completely away. Perhaps they shouldn't. But denying them does not help heal.

Just my thoughts folks, as they apply to me. You are all free to act as you wish, remember or not remember, ignore or not.”

“Personally, the longer I feel the hurt the less likely I am to forget. Complacency is the enemies friend."
Pathman
01:40:19 PM
09/10/03

Reminds me of this:
"They took all the footage off my T.V.
Said it's too disturbing for you and me
It'll just breed anger that's what the experts say
If it was up to me I'd show it everyday
Some say this country's just out looking for a fight
After 9/11 man I'd have to say that's right
I've been there with the soldiers
Who've gone away to war
And you can bet that they remember
Just what they're fighting for"”

“all the ppl in nyc are also allowed a little more grief (i said a little), even if they didnt lose a loved one, because their city was attacked, especially the ones at near ground zero.”

“I plan on going hiking with a co-worker. He has never been to Savage Gulf and I am thinking of taking him to the Stone Door overlook, then maybe doing the loop on the plateau. Anyone else want to go, drop me a line.”

“You don't have a friggin' clue, do you man?”

“its a little bit more complicated than just being callous, insensitive, etc.....to me, making a big deal of it every anniversary is also, in a round-about way, acknowledging that religious terrorists, for one day, got one over on us, they won a small battle, they brought attention to themselves and made us scared, insecure and fighting amongst ourselves. everybody goes on about how it brought out the best in us, but it also brought out the worst in us, from attacks on anyone who looked middle eastern, to horrible political bickering.”

“I guess some wounds take longer to heal then others.”

“Let's just make it a national holiday! We can all have the day off, invite friends over, have a BBQ, drink some, and remember it the same way we remember all the other holidays.”

“thats the spirit, switchy!”