K called from Florida, "Planes crashed into the World Trade Center and one of the towers just fell." Unemployed in Los Angeles and half asleep at 7:30 AM, I shuffled downstairs to the TV, past Joy as she prepared for work. At first, all I saw was a dirty cloud obscuring southern Manhattan. Then a stunned announcer said the second tower had just collapsed. Joy joined me, work forgotten as we learned of the attack.
Other friends phoned throughout the day. Paul Rugg speculated about the pilots of the doomed aircraft, certain they weren't Americans forced to crash. TJ, a Vietnam vet, was incensed at the footage of jubilant Palestinians with their candy and AK-47s. He wished he could gift them with a nice buttering of napalm. In a grim mood, I agreed. Watching TV and power-chewing Nicorette, I mostly felt numb — except when the subject was jumpers. Then I felt horror. Go to work, sip coffee, joke with your pals, then decide whether you'll suffocate, burn alive, or leap a quarter mile to certain death. Questions of etiquette arise: jump solo or hold hands with a co-worker? Perhaps several of you link arms and form a chain, finding courage in numbers. Or do you clutch a table cloth and step into the air, desperately hoping it slows your fall?
The journey takes ten seconds.
Air velocity rips away your shoes.
You explode on impact.
I will always be haunted by the jumpers of 9/11.
Oceans of paper were blasted from the towers, filling the New York sky like the Devil's ticker tape. Invoices and wedding invitations floated down to gray sidewalks.
My friend Cathy, who worked in D.C., reported chaos as the government sent everyone home at once following the Pentagon attack. One jammed intersection turned scary as a man leaped out of an SUV brandishing a pistol and attempting to direct traffic.
Being murdered is not a heroic act, though it can be. Flight 93 passengers fought back and died, saving many more in their sacrifice. North Tower Port Authority employees rescued over 70 people before perishing.
There were many heroes that day.
My sister Mary Pat and I had dinner at a coffee shop. She was passing through town, leaving a job in Mountain View, CA to return to Phoenix. Depressed by the day's events, our meal was not jolly.
Later, Joy tried to give blood, but the hospital was overwhelmed with donations and refused.
Vulnerability, grief, dismay, anger.
Such a beautiful morning with a sky so blue.
(Photos from: Little Green Footballs.)
Repost: Sept. 11, 2008
Update: Strange to reread this. TJ died in 2009 and K passed away just over a year ago. My wife, Joy, and I are doing well, as is Paul Rugg who now rides the train.
Repost: Sept. 11, 2013
Update: I had cancer surgery last year, but recovered. My wife is doing well and my sister battles her own health woes. I have not heard from my friend Cathy in a few years. Paul Rugg continues riding the train in addition to being a voice over machine.
Repost: Sept. 11, 2015
Update: Paul Rugg's daughter was not quite two years old on 9/11/01. Now she is a freshmen in college. I have retired from TV animation writing, though, as stated elsewhere, I find retirement to be indistinguishable from unemployment. (Save for a small annuity.) And very soon, I shall ride the train to see my sister. (Explanatory post t/k.)
Repost: Sept. 11, 2017
Update: Ten years have passed since I composed this post, 17 years since the incident. Alas, the greatest hit to our nation continues to be a colossal security apparatus that can't seem to function without monitoring everyone's communications, then lying about it. I'd rather not comment on airport theater. Still, my wife remains gainfully employed and I'm racing to complete a dystopian thriller by Christmas. Amidst the great events, the little things carry us forward.
Repost: Sept. 11, 2018
Update: About to publish a softcover version of my prostate book. Meanwhile the Afghanistan Forever War continues. I refuse to believe that for almost 20 years, there's been no better way of fighting the Taliban than sending billions to Pakistan to provide hiding places for them while they infiltrate Afghan government forces and assassinate our advisors. The Byzantine Empire lasted over a thousand years battling multiple enemies on different fronts, employing a combination of diplomacy military prowess, and strategic alliances. With the entrenched, consequence-proof dimwits we have infesting Washington D.C., we'll probably end up surrendering to the Taliban.
Repost: Sept. 11, 2019
Update: How odd to stand on the threshold of twenty years. Given the riots and chaos of the pandemic, the blithering repose of local government re. small-business-killing lockdowns, the event is passing with barely a mention. If I hadn't spotted a NatGeo special on the Twin Towers, I might've forgotten myself. Interesting health issue, with cataract surgery, an upcoming new crown—for a tooth—and the results of a biopsy for skin cancer. Paul Rugg works on a Henson TV show, and his daughter nears the end of her undergrad studies. My sister continues on with NPR in the unburned portion of the Pacific Northwest. I will publish a book of my short stories by Christmas. Joy's work will soon restore her full pay, slashed during the lockdowns. Since South Dakota never locked down at all, shouldn't their population be deader than the Sioux at Wounded Knee? Not all experts are experts.
Update:
What I wrote sarcastically in 2019 came true. A devastating mortifying defeat.
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7 comments:
I remember where I was when that happened! I can't look at live footage anymore. My stomach won't take it! Especially that guy falling!
Of recent days.... Is that true.... that South Dakota NEVER locked down. How's that possible? WEIRD!
The theories and conspiracies about this are are a nickel a dozen. Hope you're doing well.
Jumpers were the most tragic. What an awful fate.
SD never did lock down and things are going Ok.
And I hope all is well with you.
Okay.... that IS weird. Definitely opens the door to conspiracy theories.
Right now, Delta Plus (Mu) is in the news, BUT only the UNVACCINATED are encouraged to get the booster shot. Better than the hackkneed version I heard from a friend at work. Speaking of which, gotta get going.
I'm doing well. Grousing about having to get up for work. That's a good sign. Hope all's well with you.
In an odd twist, the U.S. government is trying to force vaccine mandates onto companies employing 100 or more people.
At the same time, they exempt the U.S. Postal Service plus hundreds of thousands of
illegal immigrants pouring over the southern boarder as well as those being
ferried in from Afghanistan.
Neither medicine nor consistency seem to be a consideration in these stange rulings.
I don't get that either. How does ADDING to a problem, (by allowing exemptions of people who work with the PUBLIC and permitting ILLEGAL and UNVACCINATED immigrants into the country ) SOLVE the problem?!?!? More to the point, WHY are POSTAL WORKERS exempt from vaccination? Won't that just help SPREAD the virus? The illegal immigrants aren't officially under government employment, postal workers are ! Again, I don't get it.
A few weeks ago, a group of anti-vaxxers protested in front of Health Science's Center, shouting, "My Body, my choice." If I'd been within twenty feet of one of these morons, I would have shouted, "WRONG CAUSE!" or "Pregnancy Isn't Contagious! Covid IS!"
Wonder if Jonas Salk had the same problem when he was getting ready to distribute his Polio vaccine? 🤦♀️🤔
Illegals are in the care of the government and are being dispersed across this country on government aircraft. If being unvaccinated is dangerous then why?
Apparently, postal workers as well as the Congress and Court Systems are not under the jurisdiction of any presidential order. Hence, they are not required to be vaccinated.
Our national COVID response seems more based on whim than reason.
What you said. And (pardon the language) COMMON SENSE doesn't seem to have any place in the matter, either! OY! I wish I knew how to add gifs. There's a great one of Judge Judy just about hiding her face in her hands from all the idiocy.
HOPEFULLY the postal workers got vaxxed on their own. NONE of this makes any sense. You would (pardon my language again) THINK the gov would get their stuff together for the sake of the ECONOMY, if for no other reason. Then again, like you said, REASON doesn't have a lot to do with the choices those numbskulls are making. OY!!!! 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
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