It is hard to believe it has been six years. My C. was three and his little brother only two months old. We were living in Garden City, Long Island at the time.
My friend and I were just getting to know one another and the tragedy cemented our friendship. Our husbands were in the military, hers a recruiter and mine a submariner. We knew immediately what the day meant. War.
When I think back to that day, I wonder about the person I was and the person I've become. I grew up.
I am reminded of a passage in Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes"..."And that was the October week when they grew up overnight, and were never so young any more".
A few days before 9/11 we got back from our vacation on the Oregon coast to find our basement covered in an inch of water from a broken pipe in the kitchen above. We stayed in a motel while the repairs were done. We were getting ready for work when we saw the towers getting hit. My immediate thought was that this would be a long war. My second thought was of the Union in the Civil War - and of how the victory was obtained in the face of much internal dissent and international intrigue against the weakened Union. I thought that this would be the same. I turned to my wife and asked "so, will they win?" "They believe in God" she answered.
I was lucky in that I was able to play a (very small and insignificant) part in the response to 9/11. But the personal emotional benefits of so doing were enormous. I've been fortunate to have spent the past eight years increasingly involved in this field. One of the tragedies of this whole business is the very limited opportunity of most of us to contribute. Had I not been given the chance, I don't know what I would have done.
Ed has become a fervent rooter-for-the-American at the Open.
FERVENT
In one of the matches Chris liked the European better (I think the guy was European), and Ed was appalled. They had arguments about it.
I finally reminded him that, way back when, before the days of 9/11, he had once told me that liberals consider themselves citizens of the international community more than citizens of a particular country.
At the time, I didn't even know what that meant.
So naturally I brought this up in the middle of a tennis match in which Ed is telling his son he has to root for the American because he is the American.
Ed said he did remember telling me about international communities and such, but "I never felt that way about sports."
It is hard to believe it has been six years. My C. was three and his little brother only two months old. We were living in Garden City, Long Island at the time.
ReplyDeleteMy friend and I were just getting to know one another and the tragedy cemented our friendship. Our husbands were in the military, hers a recruiter and mine a submariner. We knew immediately what the day meant. War.
When I think back to that day, I wonder about the person I was and the person I've become. I grew up.
I am reminded of a passage in Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes"..."And that was the October week when they grew up overnight, and were never so young any more".
A few days before 9/11 we got back from our vacation on the Oregon coast to find our basement covered in an inch of water from a broken pipe in the kitchen above. We stayed in a motel while the repairs were done. We were getting ready for work when we saw the towers getting hit. My immediate thought was that this would be a long war. My second thought was of the Union in the Civil War - and of how the victory was obtained in the face of much internal dissent and international intrigue against the weakened Union. I thought that this would be the same. I turned to my wife and asked "so, will they win?" "They believe in God" she answered.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky in that I was able to play a (very small and insignificant) part in the response to 9/11. But the personal emotional benefits of so doing were enormous. I've been fortunate to have spent the past eight years increasingly involved in this field. One of the tragedies of this whole business is the very limited opportunity of most of us to contribute. Had I not been given the chance, I don't know what I would have done.
Hi Skookumchuk!!!!!
ReplyDeleteFantastic to see you!!!!
C.
"And that was the October week when they grew up overnight, and were never so young any more".
ReplyDeleteThat's beautiful.
I turned to my wife and asked "so, will they win?" "They believe in God" she answered.
ReplyDeleteThat'll do it.
Actually, this is an interesting area.
I think I've noticed crosses popping up on women's necks -- women who, prior to 9/11, I wouldn't have imagined wearing crosses.
I wear one myself much of the year.
(For awhile there I was wearing a thin gold chain with a tiny cross AND a tiny star of David just to make a point.)
My major "recognition moment" came one day when I looked at my new issue of HOUSE & GARDEN, a British interior design magazine.
These magazines always have a photo of the editor in the front of the magazine, accompanied by the editor's letter to readers.
The editor was wearing a cross.
This is her generic photo; it appears every month.
In a magazine about interior design.
I would NEVER have seen an editor wearing a cross in an editor's photo before 9/11.
I don't think.
Those little "signs" are out there. They're everywhere.
Here's another funny one....
ReplyDeleteEd has become a fervent rooter-for-the-American at the Open.
FERVENT
In one of the matches Chris liked the European better (I think the guy was European), and Ed was appalled. They had arguments about it.
I finally reminded him that, way back when, before the days of 9/11, he had once told me that liberals consider themselves citizens of the international community more than citizens of a particular country.
At the time, I didn't even know what that meant.
So naturally I brought this up in the middle of a tennis match in which Ed is telling his son he has to root for the American because he is the American.
Ed said he did remember telling me about international communities and such, but "I never felt that way about sports."
I love it!
hee hee.
ReplyDelete