9-11-01

[Rybka]

What were your thoughts on September 11, 2001? What are your thoughts a year later? Did you write anything?

I wrote this after seeing a fleeting shot on TV of a grown man sitting on a curb with his head in his hands. A small child stood next to him, one hand on his shoulder, eyes wide in wonderment/confusion, her right hand waving a small flag.

I have always been surprised that no one has been intrigued that 911 is our emergency call code.

911

Respectful regards, Rybka

 

[karmadog]

I remember speculation that the terrorists picked the date for that reason. As a sort of joke.

On the day, I had fallen asleep on the couch with the TV on. When I awoke, there were pictures of the north tower burning. I thought that they were discussing the '93 attack. When I heard someone mention that a plane had hit the tower, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes just in time to see the south tower get hit.

I didn't turn my TV off for 36 hours.

When I finally turned off the TV, I went out and got drunk.

At the bar, there were several members of our military. They were champing at the bit to fight someone. They were ready to ship out at that moment to where ever those responsible were.

I came home drunk and depressed.

I have not written anything about 9/11.

In USA Today, they ran an article about the elevator lobby on the 78th floor of the south tower. They estimated that there were 200 people in that lobby when the plane hit. Twelve people survived. Apparently, the left wing tip passed through that section of the building spewing flames and debris. A man and woman might be standing inches apart, one is killed while the other escapes to see their family.

Also in the south tower, those who panicked were most likely to survive. In both towers, those who were most selfless died. One quoted account from a survivor of the south tower elevator lobby stated that a man pushed past a woman trying to get into the elevator. He said, "This ain't the Titanic lady."

He very likely survived.

 

[JUDO]

I'm still so frustrated and pissed that I don't want to go there. My violence is buried under layers of emotion.

- Judo

 

[Angeline]

What I Remember

I live near New York City. I changed the names, but otherwise this is all true. I've been waiting for the right time to write it. I guess this was it. My community was much less affected than many, many others. Thanks for the thread, Rybka.

New York Stories

Joey was not in the South Tower
nor was Arlene the trains were
running late from Princeton Junction
and he gave up and she had to go to
Perth Amboy to meet the wedding
photographer anyway so he met her
there and the news was on and
people gathered in Liberty Park with
smoke blowing across the bay and Joey
said you could see smoke and debris in
the air and he and Arlene held hands
and watched the towers collapse
because they couldn't stop looking and
watched the fall of New York City and
sometimes the smoke would shift and
they could see the Statue of Liberty.

I drove to work and the news was on
the radio but it made no sense so
I kept driving and there was an
awards ceremony at work and
I was late because I always am and
no one had heard so they didn't
believe me at first and then it got quiet
because the evidence was mounting
and then they believed and we all
began to panic our families our friends
and i could not get through to my
childrens' school and my heart was
clenching and it really does feel like
your heart is clenching when you're
that scared and I ran to my car and
the drive took forever but I got them
I got my kids and we went home and
I made lunch as if everything was ok
but it wasn't because Sarah is Allison's
friend and her father was the pilot
of the first plane and even now
sometimes when Allison hears a jet
she says "Is it going to hit the house,
Mommy?"

I don't like Helen we've worked together
for years and we clashed from the first
and I despise her elitist politics and she
thinks I'm a fool for having a social
conscience but we work together so
what can you do and I always liked her
two boys nice kids and Benjamin
graduated from college just in June and
it was his first real job and maybe if he'd
worked on a lower floor he would have
made it but he didn't and he didn't and
it's hard to look at Helen now without
remembering the times that Ben came in
my office and I gave him gum and he
told me knock-knock jokes.

 

[stargirl32]

i was sitting by my computer here in the uk on 9/11. waiting to speak to pokerman in newyork on msn ,, i had a problem with one of my storys and he was a friendly voice who listened and made me laugh ,,,
my husband was watching the news as he always does after dinner, when he literly screamed ,,, " A FUCKING PLANE HAS CRASHED IN TO A SKY SCRAPER IN NEW YORK .."
i left the msn open thinking it must have been a terrible accident ,, and i remember thinking that it looked so much like some tom clancy movie ,, i exspected harrison ford to come in to shot any second.. as the terrible news unfolded , i just sat transfixed ,, as another plane came in to view i willed it to miss ,, to swerve right a little bit more ,,
it didnt of course,,
my msn then binged at me ,, pokerman had signed in ,, my first question ,,,,, are you alright ,, where are you ,, how far away are you ?,,,
the confusion was so great ,, i was telling him things i heard from the news that he didnt know about ,, like the pentigon hit ,

i wote something the other day ,, one of those strange thoughts you get when you first wake up ,, it dint mean a thing to me at the time ,, but i glanced through my note book today ,, it said..


Every where in the world
From Ohio to Milton Keynes
A televised explosion
Will make someone fall of their chair
And say I love you .


the 9/11 made us all pull together a little bit more , made the world smaller..... made us all closer ..

 

[Senna Jawa]

What were your thoughts on September 11, 2001? What are your thoughts a year later? Did you write anything?

I did. About seven months before it has happened. It is not the first time that my poem unfortunately was played later by real life, and on those other occasions even in a vivid detail.

I'll spare you the Polish original of my poem but here are two translations, the first one by Marek Lugowski, who besides being a great poet is also that good at tranlating (his translations of Halina Poswiatowska were admired even by people hostile to him); the second translation (chronologically the first), is my own :


                who may embark on some plane or other
                who may stray beyond the sheltering confines
                who may trust someone else outright
                who may avoid the streak in the sky


(translated by Marek Lugowski)


I prefaced my translation on rec.arts.poems
with something of an apology:

  I can't translate it well but here is the gist of it

yes, here it is:



        who will not get on a plane
        who accidentally will leave the walls
        who will not trust naively another
        who will avoid smudge in the sky



Art is about recreating the world in your own way. My "summer end" poem was met here mostly with disbelief but that's what it did. But when seven years after my another poem a horribly stupid murder (for jokes! as in my poem) has occured across the Atlantic like along the scenario from my text... that's spooky, I didn't feel well after reading the news.

Let me end on a lighter note. Someone, who signs himself/herself "Havved" asked in the context of 9-11:

  Now then... what rhymes with dirty bomb?

What would be your answer? Mine was:


        The dirtiest sex bomb
        wins the most enthusiastic aplomb


Regards,

 

[Goodguy2]

Angeline

............ and I always liked her
two boys nice kids and Benjamin
graduated from college just in June and
it was his first real job and maybe if he'd
worked on a lower floor he would have
made it but he didn't and he didn't and
it's hard to look at Helen now without
remembering the times that Ben came in
my office and I gave him gum and he
told me knock-knock jokes.

I'm sorry.

GG2

 

[Rybka]

Senna Jawa wrote:

Now then... what rhymes with dirty bomb?

What would be your answer? Mine was:


The dirtiest sex bomb
wins the most enthusiastic aplomb

The dirtiest bomb
now let's all remain calm
is owned by Sadam


Regards, Rybka

PS: how do you indent words/lines on this board?

 

[Angeline]

Hey GG2

Thank you. I'm lucky; my family is intact. Some communities were just devastated. I have a friend who lives just outside Manhatten--they lost 30-some people. For weeks people went to funerals. People he went to high school with, neighbors, and on and on. If you know NYC, you know that the World Trade Center was enormous, almost a little city within the city. If you live even 100 miles outside NYC, chances are someone in your neighborhood worked there or knew someone who did. To me, as horrific as it is to think of this in terms of an American tragedy, it's even worse when you start thinking in terms of individual lives.

It's easy to be cynical about all this because of the way some have capitalized on it--making money from 911 t-shirts and photographs of the towers with an American flag superimposed over them, etc. Well, easy for me: I'm cynical about most things. But 9/11/02 is going to be a sad day in my town.

 

[Goodguy2]

Angeline

Although I don't live there and have never been to the East Coast, it hurt me (and all of us I believe) in a lasting way. I actually have a very good friend of mine who worked in WTC 7 (The third one that fell....maybe it was 5?) and was there when it all happened.

I unfortunately watched the event happen on TV as I was getting ready to go to work that day. I watched as the first Tower burned thinking is was an accident only to watch the second plane hit. I have never felt anger as I did in that moment in time and I still feel it today. Anyway, enough of me.

I got to work that morning and checked in on another message board I frequent that my friend back there also posts on. To say he was scared would be an understatment. He posted about people leaping from buildings, the second plane, the horror, etc. Then, he quit posting. None of us could get him on his cell and all of us were terrified for him. It took two days for us to get ahold of him. At least 50 of us from the US and Canada tried endlessly.

Anyway, it is a day I wish I could forget but will not be able to. I guess that is good though. Days like 9-11, 12-7, and other dates should never be forgotten. They should never be forgotten in remembrance of the people lost, their families, who our enemies are, and how we should treat people who attack us. That last part is frustrating to me. In my eyes, no one has paid for this yet. And, as time goes on, the world will forget what happened and think that the US is just a big bully when in fact, we are just protecting our sovereignty.

Angie, my heart goes out to you and all of you back there in NYC/NJ. May God bless you.

GG2

 

[Angeline]

Well We Do Have the Pizza Date

when you do visit. You know--the one where I prove that you're all talk and this is the only place that makes it right?

 

[Goodguy2]

Re: Well We Do Have the Pizza Date

when you do visit. You know--the one where I prove that you're all talk and this is the only place that makes it right?

I would love that Angie. I'm buying though.

GG2

Was taught to buy dinner and say it is the best I've had even if it isn't.

 

[Angeline]

I knew you wouldn't let it go, GG!

but it is better pizza. Once I was in the midwest--Iowa to be exact--and I had pizza on someone's recommendation, and they cut the pie in squares! Squares! I'm sorry. I'm very open-minded, but squares (and, no, it was not deep dish style) are just wrong.

Here's a Poem. You have to hear the blues when you read it, or better yet make up a blues and sing this as lyrics! (and GG, I do know you are descended from Roman nobility or something so I might be willing to admit you know your pizza )

Better Pizza Blues

Don't call no Domino's,
if you wanna taste my pie.
Thumbs down on Pizza Hut
cause that shit'll make you cry.
Give you a nosebleed baby,
make your tummy crash.
Forget about those places.
This girl don't eat that trash.

Follow me to South Street,
stay close and hold my hand,
walk rough, strut your swagger.
Yeah that's what we understand.
You in my world now honey,
so smile and just act cool.
We're headed for DiDonado's:
Think of it as Pizza School.

There's sausage and pepper
and mushoom black olive
anchovey and onion too
pepperoni cause baby
this ain't no bologna
fly pie with no barbeque!

So take a slice, hold it
open up, fold it, bite it,
and give it a chew, swallow
and breath cause
you my homie now and
garlic is so good for you.

 

[WickedEve]

I never did write any 9-11 poetry. I still can't. I guess I'm not ready. Though, like all of you, I've had many feelings about it. I live in a very small town, and I've always felt so safe, but not anymore. The main way I was personally affected was by the way it affected my little children. We live on the east coast, not far from an air force base. Jets often go through the valley where I live, practicing maneuvers. After my kids saw the planes on TV, they were terrified for months of the jets flying over us.

 

[Goodguy2]

Will you marry me?

but it is better pizza. Once I was in the midwest--Iowa to be exact--and I had pizza on someone's recommendation, and they cut the pie in squares! Squares! I'm sorry. I'm very open-minded, but squares (and, no, it was not deep dish style) are just wrong.

Here's a Poem. You have to hear the blues when you read it, or better yet make up a blues and sing this as lyrics! (and GG, I do know you are descended from Roman nobility or something so I might be willing to admit you know your pizza )

Better Pizza Blues

Don't call no Domino's,
if you wanna taste my pie.
Thumbs down on Pizza Hut
cause that shit'll make you cry.
Give you a nosebleed baby,
make your tummy crash.
Forget about those places.
This girl don't eat that trash.

Follow me to South Street,
stay close and hold my hand,
walk rough, strut your swagger.
Yeah that's what we understand.
You in my world now honey,
so smile and just act cool.
We're headed for DiDonado's:
Think of it as Pizza School.

There's sausage and pepper
and mushoom black olive
anchovey and onion too
pepperoni cause baby
this ain't no bologna
fly pie with no barbeque!

So take a slice, hold it
open up, fold it, bite it,
and give it a chew, swallow
and breath cause
you my homie now and
garlic is so good for you.

That's freakin classic Angie! LMAO! Yes yes yes.......i will let ya take me on a pizza tour if I ever get back there. They better have some good facaccia too! Mmmmmmm....focaccia dipped in extra virgin olive oil and good balsamic vinegar!!! I'm hungry!

GG2

Angeline knows her chit

 

[Goodguy2]

I agree WE

I never did write any 9-11 poetry. I still can't. I guess I'm not ready. Though, like all of you, I've had many feelings about it. I live in a very small town, and I've always felt so safe, but not anymore. The main way I was personally affected was by the way it affected my little children. We live on the east coast, not far from an air force base. Jets often go through the valley where I live, practicing maneuvers. After my kids saw the planes on TV, they were terrified for months of the jets flying over us.

I have a lot of thoughts about 9-11 but I just can't bring them to fruition on paper. I think my problem is I am still too angry.

I hope your kids are doing better.

GG2

 

[Angeline]

Oh my God

I got you to concede!!! (Looking up into sky for flying pigs)

I do know my pizza.

Angeline, PhD
(pizza hussy dogma)

 

[Goodguy2]

Concede???

I got you to concede!!! (Looking up into sky for flying pigs)

I never said you didn't know your chit! I just said I knew my chit and you were kinda hesitant of it...........

GG2

square cut pizza is akin to Taco Bell being considered Mexican food

 

[Angeline]

Kids and Plane Noise

I suspect this is a pretty common thing, Eve. I know my daughter had it all wrapped up with her friend's father dying, but what you describe is something I've heard from many parents. That makes me almost as angry as the incident itself--that as a result of it my children are a little less innocent. It's so hard sometimes for children to just be children. I suppose it's no different from previous generations--the cold war, Vietnam, and so on. But that doesn't make me feel any better.

 

[Angeline]

Yeah yeah, I know GG

I was trying to sneak that past you. I should have know you wouldn't let me get away with it.

You want a pitcher of beer with the pizza?


Angeline, PhD
(probably had a delusion)

 

[Rybka]

Angeline (excellently) wrote:

Better Pizza Blues

Don't call no Domino's,
if you wanna taste my pie.
Thumbs down on Pizza Hut
cause that shit'll make you cry.
Give you a nosebleed baby,
make your tummy crash.
Forget about those places.
This girl don't eat that trash.

Follow me to South Street,
stay close and hold my hand,
walk rough, strut your swagger.
Yeah that's what we understand.
You in my world now honey,
so smile and just act cool.
We're headed for DiDonado's:
Think of it as Pizza School.

There's sausage and pepper
and mushoom black olive
anchovey and onion too
pepperoni cause baby
this ain't no bologna
fly pie with no barbeque!

So take a slice, hold it
open up, fold it, bite it,
and give it a chew, swallow
and breath cause
you my homie now and
garlic is so good for you.

EXCELLENT!! Add something about beer and post it. It is a solid 5

And YES! Garlic and ancovies are VERY good for you. Mushrooms are not! (However, I like shrimpses and wormses on my pie!) ><)))°<

Regards, Rybka

 

[Goodguy2]

Re: Yeah yeah, I know GG

You want a pitcher of beer with the pizza?

Yeah, but I'd really like it to be a pilsner from Veneto (VECCHIO BIRRAIO Microbrewery to be exact). Very light with a slight sweet taste to it.

GG2

Oh geez, I'm gonna get it for that one..........

 

[Angeline]

I Just Had This Vision

of all of us at the pizza place. It frightened me.

"Lemme have a large pie with anchovies and black olives, a pitcher of beer, and a small pie with extra shrimp and worms for the fish."

and GG2, I like you and you are my pal. I even admit grudging respect for your doctorate (but cause it's you, not for the degree itself), but darnit--you're in my hometown, you'll just have to deal with local microbrew!

 

[_Land]

Re: I knew you wouldn't let it go, GG!

My Grand Father was an itallian Imigrant, he walked off the boat in 1902, and headed for the CA_NV Silver mines............... He fixed me pizza one time......................No tomato paste, he used a spinich based alfredo sauce, was made on a very thin crust, and Cut in to squares, it was served with a minced garlic dipping sauce...............I have never had Pizza so good since.............I asked him about it...........He just laughed and said the american way was the wrong way to make Pizza......... Americans didnt know how to cook..... He also made a fabulous Onion Fertata

but it is better pizza. Once I was in the midwest--Iowa to be exact--and I had pizza on someone's recommendation, and they cut the pie in squares! Squares! I'm sorry. I'm very open-minded, but squares (and, no, it was not deep dish style) are just wrong.

Here's a Poem. You have to hear the blues when you read it, or better yet make up a blues and sing this as lyrics! (and GG, I do know you are descended from Roman nobility or something so I might be willing to admit you know your pizza )

Better Pizza Blues

Don't call no Domino's,
if you wanna taste my pie.
Thumbs down on Pizza Hut
cause that shit'll make you cry.
Give you a nosebleed baby,
make your tummy crash.
Forget about those places.
This girl don't eat that trash.

Follow me to South Street,
stay close and hold my hand,
walk rough, strut your swagger.
Yeah that's what we understand.
You in my world now honey,
so smile and just act cool.
We're headed for DiDonado's:
Think of it as Pizza School.

There's sausage and pepper
and mushoom black olive
anchovey and onion too
pepperoni cause baby
this ain't no bologna
fly pie with no barbeque!

So take a slice, hold it
open up, fold it, bite it,
and give it a chew, swallow
and breath cause
you my homie now and
garlic is so good for you.

 

[Angeline]

Land?

Mrs. Warwick, my 5th grade teacher and the one person in the world who really does know everything always said "For every rule, an exception."