9/11 The Anniversary.. What Did You Do Today?

[YaadPyar]

Firstly, I offer the the appropriate respect and solemnity for the event itself.  And secondly I will offer the thought that at this point it seems almost self-indulgent to consider the anniversary of this tragedy a somehow greater cause for sorrow than the very real tragedies everywhere on this precious planet.

I'm sure I've said something similar somewhere at BetterMost before: the suffering and pain of this event is the suffering of famine in the Sudan, war in Iraq, genocide in Rwanda, earthquakes in Pakistan, bombs in India, poverty in North Korea, suicide in France, child abuse in Russia, political corruption in Brazil, economic devestation in Congo, pollution in the Arctic...

That we are united in our sorrow and grief and tragedy is at least to be united.  There is no story more important - no sorrow worse than your own.  For me the anniversary is a reminder of what Golda Meier said: "There will be no peace in the Middle East until the Arabs love their children more than they hate the Jews."

Tragedy can only end when love is more powerful than hate ~ in our own hearts, minds, words, actions, relationships, philosophies, politics, and policies.

[Katie77]

I dont think anyone will forget the first sight of the Towers after the first plane went into it....Yes it was late at night, here in Aussie, I was in bed...my hubby was surfing the channels before he too was coming to bed, and he happened on the news bulletin, and came in and woke me up, and then we saw the second plane hit......we sat there dumbfounded....and then sat there all night, watching proceedings.....


The other night, my hubby and  I watched a documentary on 9/11...actually it was about the man they photographed, jumping out of the building.....we saw so many pictures that we had never seen before.....

When it was over, my hubby said, "When we all get a bit complacent about those bastards, we should be forced to watch something like that, so we dont forget, and we dont stop trying to get rid of them".....

I guess thats what we all should be feeling today, five years later.....we MUST NOT forget, and we must destroy terrorism.

[Meryl]

Firstly, I offer the the appropriate respect and solemnity for the event itself.  And secondly I will offer the thought that at this point it seems almost self-indulgent to consider the anniversary of this tragedy a somehow greater cause for sorrow than the very real tragedies everywhere on this precious planet.

I'm sure I've said something similar somewhere at BetterMost before: the suffering and pain of this event is the suffering of famine in the Sudan, war in Iraq, genocide in Rwanda, earthquakes in Pakistan, bombs in India, poverty in North Korea, suicide in France, child abuse in Russia, political corruption in Brazil, economic devestation in Congo, pollution in the Arctic...

That we are united in our sorrow and grief and tragedy is at least to be united.  There is no story more important - no sorrow worse than your own.  For me the anniversary is a reminder of what Golda Meier said: "There will be no peace in the Middle East until the Arabs love their children more than they hate the Jews."

Tragedy can only end when love is more powerful than hate ~ in our own hearts, minds, words, actions, relationships, philosophies, politics, and policies.

Thanks, Celeste, that's what I've been feeling all day and not realizing it.  I stayed away from the TV because I couldn't watch those poor families dragged once again through those long memorial services downtown, reciting all the names of the victims, reliving the grief, reopening the wounds.  I didn't want to see the politicians looking solemn and making patriotic speeches--tomorrow is a primary election, and they were all out making themselves very visible.  I hate the pageant that this has become.   No one is about to forget what happened.  Pounding it into the ground only feeds the hate.  Let be, let be. 

[Amber]

I too avoided any documentary/news programs regarding 9/11.  I just couldn't handle it - it both makes me sad and just angers me.  Especially knowing like meryl posted above, that it's an election year and the politicians were going to be out in full force.

Instead I spent a few quiet moments thinking about the day, how things have changed for the nation since the day and how I have changed since that day.

[Kelda]

so, what were people doing that day?

Me, I was doing a weeks unpaid work experience in a small advertising & animation agency in Irvine. I was due to go back to do my final year at uni the next week.

Only 2 guys and me in the office

Someone along the corridor in this business centre told us the news that a plane had hit the trade centre. I didn't realise how much of a big deal it was until later - probably not till I saw the tv footage. This was just after 2pm so not long after the first plane hit. We put the radio on and listened, tried to get online to see what was happening, but couldn't. Everything was down.

When I got home, well to my sisters, we just sat and watched the news all night.

There was nothing in the newspapers I saw today re: Sep 11. maybe there will be tomorrow.

(Most were focussing on Maddie McCann and also about a huge murder case in Scotland which got thrown out due to lack of evidence when its clear the guy is as guilty as hell, (he is already in prison for natural life for other murders, etc etc) but given the murders of the 2 teenagers took place in the 70's the DNA evidence is not enough.  )

I was out tonight so didn't see the news to see if there was anything.

I did think about it when I was in my trainnig session today and realised the time.

RIP.

[moremojo]

I had called in sick that day--I don't think I really was sick, just taking a "mental health" day to relax at home and get a little tidying up done. I slept late, and after rising, spent about an hour or so doing some cleaning in the bathroom. When I turned on the TV, I think it was early afternoon, and I was puzzled by the coverage on some event at the World Trade Center that was dominating almost every channel. At first I thought I might be watching some kind of commemorative footage of the bombing that took place there in 1993, I believe, but very soon I realized that this was a new event, and of a very major scale. It took me a while to get my bearings and understand what exactly had happened--I wondered if we were now at war, and if so, with whom?

Later that afternoon, my sister returned home from work, and I asked her what conditions were like on the streets. She said life was going on pretty much as normal, though everyone knew of the attack and was at least somewhat skiddish as a result.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Today when I said Morning Prayer, I added a prayer commending to God all those who died on that terrible day--and all their friends, families, and loved ones left behind to mourn.

 

[Kelda]

a bump.. I was reading some of the survivor stories today - harrowing.

[delalluvia]

[Kelda]

I can't believe its 8 years.. there was few documentaries on at the start of the week, and I watched the ones I could (I have some sort of morbid fascination with it. 

Its still as heartbreaking.. the thing that gets me is hearing all the recordings of people in there on the phone to loved ones or to the emergency servies, and especially the police and firemen, running up those stairs, giveing their crewmates updates and just wanting to will them to stop going up, to stop running to their deaths & to stop being brave and just get out.

There is one that always gets me which is a fireman called Orio Palmer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orio_Palmer

This guy was so fit he reached the 78th floor of the south tower (the actual impact zone) with all his gear on and found a stairway that had not been totally breached and if only he had time he would have probably saved lots of lives of the people above the impact zone.

Most fireman within the time should probably only have reached about the 40th floor but he was up there in the thick of it and gave orders to crewmates to get up there only seconds before the building collapsed.