Drawing by Don East. For more of his art go to his BLOG.On Facebook today I said this:
"I think today is best used for reflection...no need to overthink it. Reflect, appreciate, remember, love, pray....but no hate. And don't let the crazy media make it a circus. My TV is off for the day."
And it is. No TV for me. This whole 10th Anniversary crap is for the media & tourists. To a New Yorker it's like it was yesterday. Especially to those who lost someone. I was lucky and did not. I had a friend who worked in the mall there. In fact, I was on the phone with him the night before. It was 11pm and he whinned at me that if he didn't get some sleep he'd be late for work. I remember chiding him, saying something like, "You don't even need to be there at 8am! Why are you going in so early? Besides, I hardly ever get to talk to you!"
I kept him on the phone past midnight.
He overslept.
When the planes hit, instead of being there he was in bed.
Thank God.
I met a woman over the phone at my first collections (insurance) job who had escaped Tower Two alive. She and a friend had been working there during the bombing years previous so when Tower 2 swayed from Tower 1's explosion she and her friend, though told to stay calm and go back to their desk, grabbed their purses and said, "We're outta here."
They took the stairs down and halfway down felt the building rock. The lights went out and they waited. The emergency lights came on and they continued down the stairs.
Legs feeling like jelly they exited Tower Two and got across the courtyard when Tower Two fell.
For stories like that, and many more, I do not see why NYC hasn't made it a city holiday. When it falls on a weekday it's my opinion it should be a paid holiday for anyone working in the any of the 5 boroughs of the city.
It wasn't 10 years ago in our hearts. It was yesterday. And we hurt just thinking about it. We feel a sense of unity. We appreciate those who died to save others. We pray for those who lost loved ones. We remember what that day felt like with just a photo...it takes our breath away. We love our fellow New Yorkers for being supportive...understanding...and giving.
I directed a short one act in the Chester Horn Short Play Festival called "Going Up." It was about these 6 people trapped on an elevator. 3/4 of the way through the play it is revealed that it is the morning of 9/11 and they're in the World Trade Center and as the play comes to a conclusion, they all take hands and go up into the light...as the elevator wasn't stuck, just their souls were waiting to move on...to accept their fate.
I asked the actors what it felt like on stage when the big reveal happened. As audiences effect your performance very often just by their energy (or lack there of). Each had similar versions of the same story. I specifically remember Suzanne and Rachel's answers, not word for word...but the gist. Suzanne stated how you could hear the whole audience (around 60 people) take a quick intake of air...followed by it catching in their throats. Rachel said that the energy, the empathy, that rushed off the audience in waves was so powerful it was hard to not burst into tears on stage, to stay focused as an actor.
So all this hoopla about "It's been ten years...blah blah blah..." No love, when New Yorkers really think on it, it was ten minutes ago.
So when 9/11 pops into your head...no matter the day...pray for all the survivors who lost loved ones that day. Pray for those who were so close to the devistation (not just in New York, but in DC and on Flight 93 In PA) that it effected them emotionally and/or physically (some are still sick). Pray that people will someday learn to love vs. hate...see no color...see no religion...see no sexual preference...
We are all God's children and that makes us equal in the only eyes that matter. His.
Tamsin
