Six Years Since 9/11

[Kevy Baby]

And I still can't talk about it.

[Snowflake]

and they still can't seem to find Bin Laden, either.

My thoughts go to the poeple who lost their lives and the firefighters and policemen and women who tried to save them.

[tracilicious]

How timely it is that I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns last night. I totally didn't plan that. And how frustrating that all the signs were there, and our government ignored them. My thoughts go out to all of the Americans that lost their lives on 9/11 and after. And to all the people of the countries that have been affected much more than we have.

[innerSpaceman]

I can talk about it day and night. It really doesn't phase me all that much.

I love how George Bush spins bin Laden's recent taped message as a justification for the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq simply because bin Laden mentioned Iraq ... when of course the fact of bin Laden leaving a 6th anniversary nine eleven message is one of the great nose-thumbings the U.S. has ever received.

I hate to agee with the madman bin Laden (though almost dread more agreeing with the madman Bush) ... but he has a certain point when he points out that the acts of 19 men (and their supporting cohorts) pulled the mightiest military and world state like a puppet on a string to a self-destructive course change against its uber-alis will.


As for the 9/11 tragedy itself ... it's both tough and fascinating for me, because I have memories of living through the day ... and so many personal memories of New York in general and the Trade Center in particular.

But I try to put the tragedy into perspective, and not fall into the Americomorphic trap of believing it was any worse or more awful than any other tragedy of mass civilian death ... whether caused by bands of terror fuctards or by powerful warlords of "legitimate" governments.

[JWBear]

and they still can't seem to find Bin Laden, either.



It's hard to find what your not even looking for.

[katiesue]

I missed 9/11. Seriously. It's a whole weird void for me.

I knew a little of what happened in the morning. I was at my best friends ranch preparing for three funerals that day. Her mom hates tv on a good day but the day of her husband, son and daughter-in-laws funerals, no tv in the house.

We got a few phone calls from people, but the ringing phone was freaking her out a bit as well so we only took a few calls before we shut the ringers off. The ranch foreman was freaking out because his wife was in Texas and there were rumors of bombs going off there and he couldn't reach her.

After the funeral I packed up and started driving home. The ranch is on the north side of Mt. Shasta so I had quite a long ride. Once I got down into cell phone reception Maddy's dad started calling, fliping out. Ugh. So a long drive pepperd by insane paranoid phone calls. That was my 9/11 day. I didn't see any tv coverage until late that night. And by that time I think a lot had been edited down.

So I just have this huge disconnect for 9/11.

[€uroMeinke]

I wonder if it’s been long enough. I feel bad for the family members that have to troop out once again for this annual ceremony where they have to endure the endless reading of names, anonymizing their loved ones in a flawed attempt to call them out. Losing someone to tragedy and terrorism is bad enough, loosing them to the public good must be maddening. Grief never comes on a set schedule and yet each there they must be there, expressing their love, their grief, while the world steals yet another piece of their lives in order to promote some other agenda be it radical Islam or the American way.

My thoughts are to the families, and their losses far beyond the Loved ones taken in the towers.

[FEJ]

I remember it happening, seeing the second plane hit the tower on TV live, and the weird experiences that enveloped the surrounding days. It had a great impact on my job at the time since the FedEx planes could not fly. I als o remember how weird it felt with nothing flying overhead. It was kind of peaceful in a weird way. I don't get weirded out by "September 11th." It is another day. In a few years it will be like Pearl Harbor Day or other war tragedies. One could argue that The Crusades (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades) were a form of terrorism that lasted many years, yet I could argue that there may be some Americans who do not know of this period of history. There are many "terrorist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents)" activities that are now long forgotten. Granted, they did not result in the amount of same day loss of life, but they did result in loss of life none the less. Whether one or two thousand or more, should not change the significance. I agree with iSM, you can bunch war and terrorism in the same pile.

This is not to dismiss the tragic loss of life, because it was a tragic loss.
But is also not a reason to shy away from the day.

It is a day on the calendar that something tragic happened. It is also a day where great things have happened. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11) As is every day of the year. We happen to know personally someone who was born on the same date. Happy Birthday Alex.

For me, it is not a day to wince, or take lightly. It is a marker on the journey.

[BarTopDancer]

I remember seeing video of the first plane and wondering what kind of crap B movie Fox was showing. Then I turned to NBC and saw the smoking tower and 2nd plane. And Matt Lauer basically going WTF is going on.

I had a friend in that area who I haven't heard from since that day. I think about him and wonder if he took that opportunity to start a new life or if he was one of the victims.

[innerSpaceman]

Not to speak for him, but zapppop is loathe to talk about 9/11. He says it's because he's sick of hearing about it (and I don't doubt that's true), but I think there may be something deeper to it.

I remember taking him to see United 93 and being angry at him for playing video games on his cell phone thru the whole movie. So he confessed to me that, as well as his famous phonographic memory, he also has a photographic memory with little control over the replay of disturbing imagery. And he did not want to watch United 93. He'll watch gory horror films, so I think he classifies 9/11 as disturbing as well as tiresome.


But he's not reluctant to make light of the event with tasteless t-shirts. :blush:

[AllyOops!]

I'll never, ever forget that day. I remember going out for Monday Night Football the night before & coming home, climbing into bed & waking up to panic & horror the very next morning.

At the time, I worked 9 to 5 at a Media Co. I woke up around 6 to my alarm radio, which was always set to 97.1 because I was (and still am) a monster Howard Stern fan. The Howard Stern Show is located in Manhattan, NY. When my radio clicked on, it was total panic & mayhem on his show. I mean, Howard & Co. were completely as in control as much as they could be, but I knew something was definitely wrong.

I grabbed my remote, switched on my television, and my eyes were met with the instant vision of a smoking tower. I remember thinking, "what an awful plane accident!" Then, immediately after, I thought "Why would one of our planes fly so low in that flight path? What happened? WHOA..twice?" I knew something was very wrong. There was urgency & fear in the news report. The towers were hit. I rubbed my eyes, took of my jammies and started the water for my shower. As I waited for the water to warm, it hit me. What was I doing? I needed to watch the news.

I turned off the faucets, slipped into my bathrobe and sat in front of my TV. My little brother knocked on my door & he looked completely ashen. He asked me if I had heard. I had.

My stepdad left for work, and to drop my brother off at school, and I began to try to get ready for work. My Mom called, who works for the Sherriff's Dept., and she told me they were on "lockdown" (not allowed to leave the building). I just panicked and began to cry. She then told me to get ready and go to work. To keep as distracted as much as I could. After talking with my Mom & Grandma, I finally left for work.

The streets were empty. Where there were people, it was quiet. We watched the news all day long at work. I emailed my stepmom, completely numb and horrified. I printed out that email & I still have it in my safety belongings box. I emailed my best friend, too (who has since passed away) and we vented and talked all day long.

We couldn't even get through to our office in Manhattan, which was so awful, wondering and waiting. When I finally spoke to the New York staff a week or so later, their stories were unbelievable. I would sit for hours on the phone, listening, stunned.

I never, ever want to repeat a day like that. At that time, it was speculation, panic, rumors & I felt completely vulnerable and frightenend. I would lie in my bed, wide awake, in absolute fear.

There is still so much sadness, as was evident when I went to see United 93 at the theater. You could hear a pin drop during the entire movie, until those brave passengers rushed the cockpit. People erupted into cheers, standing on their feet. However, as the plane plummeted & the movie closed, people left the theater in complete silence. I couldn't even sleep that night, imagining how scared I would have felt. My stomach is in knots now. I don't think it will get any easier anytime soon.

My prayers and heart are with all of the families, friends & firefighters, police, and any other volunteer and person involved with the horror of that day. I can't imagine a pain like that ever heals completely.

[Kevy Baby]

Not to speak for him, but zapppop is loathe to talk about 9/11. He says it's because he's sick of hearing about it (and I don't doubt that's true), but I think there may be something deeper to it.

I remember taking him to see United 93 and being angry at him for playing video games on his cell phone thru the whole movie. So he confessed to me that, as well as his famous phonographic memory, he also has a photographic memory with little control over the replay of disturbing imagery. And he did not want to watch United 93. He'll watch gory horror films, so I think he classifies 9/11 as disturbing as well as tiresome.I am in the same boat as Zap on this. A little overexposure and a lot of disturbance.

But he's not reluctant to make light of the event with tasteless t-shirts. :blush:Except this part

[sleepyjeff]

It is a day on the calendar that something tragic happened. It is also a day where great things have happened. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11)


Yep...it was the day the Battle of Vienna Started. This was the greatest victory for the Polish Army and also marked the high tide mark of the Ottoman Empire's push into Europe.

[Not Afraid]

I had a incredibly awful day that day and it changed my life - but it had nothing to do with new York.

[madmonkeygirl]

NA so did i. Basically Matt had had seizures throughout the night and i called into work at early our time here on the west coast. Due to not being able to go back to sleep i turned on the tv to see what was going on. Right before the second plane hit Matt came around and we watched as the second plane hit the towers. I had a few friends in who lived in New York and didn't know if they were ok or not til much later on in the day. I believe later on that day i had to take Matt in to the doctors.

[scaeagles]

Personally, I think Bin Laden is already dead. I think his recent tapes may even allude to it. He looks markedly younger in the tapes than in earlier ones, and whenever the speaking refers to current events, the video seems to freeze. I might perhaps be twisting in some odd conspiracy theory, but it would seem in the best interests of al Qaeda to give the illusion that he is still alive. his death really couldn't be considered martyrdom if he died hiding in a cave, and he is certainly the figure head of al Qaeda. I certainly don't claim to know, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was dead.

I don't think it is Bush using bin Laden videos as support for Iraq....I think it is bin Laden (or whomever making the videos) making Iraq a rallying point to al Qaeda, because if the US defeats the insurgence there (as the success of the surge would seem to indicate is happening), then al Qaeda loses momentum. A premature US withdrawal would equate to a tremendous victory for al Qaeda, whether al Qaeda was a reason for the invasion or not.

[CoasterMatt]

al Queda still believes it crushed the Soviet Union...

[scaeagles]

I suppose the biggest thing that saddens me now, looking back, though - and I say this without pointing fingers or placing blame because every aspect of the political spectrum has participated in it - is how that day has been made to be political. Even the concept of memorials and ceremonies on the anniversary have become political with all parties looking to gain political advantage in some way or another.

That sickens me.

I realize we all have differing perspectives of what using it for political purposes would entail.

[wendybeth]

I think Bin Laden has discovered Miss Clairol.

[BarTopDancer]

Personally, I think Bin Laden is already dead. I think his recent tapes may even allude to it. He looks markedly younger in the tapes than in earlier ones, and whenever the speaking refers to current events, the video seems to freeze. I might perhaps be twisting in some odd conspiracy theory, but it would seem in the best interests of al Qaeda to give the illusion that he is still alive. his death really couldn't be considered martyrdom if he died hiding in a cave, and he is certainly the figure head of al Qaeda. I certainly don't claim to know, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was dead.

Take note. I agree with Leo. 110%.

I think Bin Laden has discovered Miss Clairol.

I was just saying I think he uses Just for Men.

[Gemini Cricket]

I'm wearing the 2001 flag shirt that I bought from Old Navy the day after it happened.

The whole thing was tragic and sad. Thinking back on that day gives me the blues.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Its a tragic event that I won't soon forget. Sad it had to happen.

I Think Bin Ladin is somewhere near Vegas running a whorehouse...

[AllyOops!]

I Think Bin Ladin is somewhere near Vegas running a whorehouse...

Viva Las Vegas! That was him at the VMA's, in the Kanye West hosted Hugh Hefner party suite, knockin' back the mile long yard of jagermeister, followed by the 20 shot platter of Rumplemintz. I think it was actually him that flashed his bare cooch at the camera rather then Britney. Cover that grisled sh*t up, dirtbag.

If it were only that easy. :(

[wendybeth]

Did I ever tell you all about Saddam Hussein and our cruise to Alaska? There was a guy that- I **** you not- looked exactly like Saddam Hussein, post capture. (This was before he was captured, if I remember right). Anyway, he was bearded and bedraggled and spent a lot of time in the casino. Eric tried to surreptitiously snap a pic, but none of them turned out.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

On an "Interesting"note - I was at the park today - wasn't busy at all - I figured if anything was gonna go "down" might as well have a front row seat. Sick thinking, I know.

But I went over to Screamin' with my single rider pass and I got wisked into a seat without a seconds thought. Seated next to me was a gent of "arabic" likeness - beard and all. My thought was, initially, not only do I get the front row, I get to sit next to the guy. This should be a fun ride.

Naturally, all was well and I"m typing this - so I wasn't blow up on Screamin' and the 99 Virgins will have to wait. I mean, I should get something since I would have been sitting next to him - right?

[Motorboat Cruiser]

What a surreal day that was. First, trying to wake up and make sense of the image on the TV, that of one of the world trade center towers engulfed in flames. Then, before I could even fully comprehend that, watching a plane fly into the other tower. I simply couldn't wrap my mind around it. Driving into work with my roommate and listening to Howard Stern, who was completely out of character and justifiably freaking out, saying " we don't know how much longer we will be able to broadcast." He said that another plane had hit the pentagon, possibly the white house or capitol building and it was then that I realized that this really was an attack.

But the thing that I will remember most about that day is sitting around our office, trying to get whatever new information we could, when my friend called to ask if I was watching the news. I told him I wasn't but was well-aware of what happened. He made a statement that made no sense to me until I was able to later get to a TV and confirm it for myself, that "the towers are gone". Huh? On fire, sure. Gone? What the hell does that mean?

And then, when I returned to a television and caught my first glimpse of my beloved NY Skyline, without the twin towers, it was as if I was looking at a different city. In my many excusions into the city as a child, those were the first things that we saw, the first inkling that we were getting close to this city. I would stare at them in awe and wonder the entire way. Gone?

Gone?

My next thought was towards an old friend, one who had contacted me a few weeks earlier through classmates.com . He had written to touch base and had told me that he was NYC firefighter now. Thinking of him, my heart sank. I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever hear from him again. I wrote to him but received no response. Finally, about 4 days later, I got an email from him, written from a person clearly exhausted beyond imagination. He had the day off on 9/11 and was home in Long Island. Immediately called into work, he had been on the job for 4 days straight, only stopping to sleep for a few moments here and there on the sidewalk. He told me that the television images didn't, couldn't, capture the horror he had witnessed. I've never been so happy to receive an email in my entire life.

And six years later, the horror has lessened but the anger has grown, especially knowing that there were warning signs that were ignored. That famous NY skyline still seems wrong every time I see it and it always will. That isn't the NY I remember.

[innerSpaceman]

hmmm, even though I used to spend many lunch hours at the top of the trade center, and of course hate how it is they came to fall .... I'm glad they're gone.

They were an architectural blight on the city. They were giant, over-scaled blocks of complete ugly. The way they simply dominated everything else in Manhattan with their monolithic hugeness was horribly wrong, and I'm very glad they're not part of the skyline any more.

Oh, sure, New Yorkers got used to them, even grew to love them. They were a bizarre oddity that, after a few decades, became accepted and often cherished by the people of New York.


But it literally took decades. The buildings were commercial, artistic and social failures until the late 90's.


And, yeah, since I clearly remember my father's business being forceably relocated to make way for the Towers, I have a secret delight that they were doomed from the start.

I bemoan all the human loss and unspeakable tragedy of that day. But in the long run ... good riddance to the World Trade Center.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Well, like I said, in my particular instance, they were something that had always been there. I'm sure that has a lot to do with my feelings about them.

[Strangler Lewis]

I hate the Mainplace Mall in Santa Ana because it resulted in the demolition of the minimall where my father had his business. Of course, it had long since failed, but that's beside the point.

With the exception of the Empire State Building's proximity to the Chrysler Building, don't most "world's tallest buildings" overwhelm their surroundings? Does Taipei 101 blend in? Did the Petronas Towers? And the Sears Tower's not so much to look at either.

[innerSpaceman]

No, the WTC did not overwhelm by height, but by bulk. They were twin featureless monoliths that blotted out the entire sky if you were anywhere in lower Manhattan, and appared as two absurd out-of-scale children's toy models of square blocks from further away.


The horrific architecture and overbearing bulk of scale ruination were decried quite accurately when the monoliths appeared in the 70's. People gradually got used to them, but they were monstrocities of size and boredom that had little to do with thier height alone, and bore no relation to other towering structures of the world.