9-11 memorial thread

[Pure]

Memories, thoughts, feelings. Much original footage is being shown on TV, accounts of those in WTC and the Pentagon.



It is a very sad day for me.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Memories, thoughts, feelings. Much original footage is being shown on TV, accounts of those in WTC and the Pentagon.



It is a very sad day for me.

I don't want to turn on the TV It's really painful for me to watch it all, still... and it never even touched me, personally... I didn't lose anyone or even know anyone who was there.

I caught something the other night, interviewing a few survivors, and family of those who had received the 911 calls and I was just sitting there with tears streaming down my face when my husband walked in and panicked, asking "what's wrong!?" I just pointed to the TV and cried...

I can't believe it's been 5 years.

 

[poppy1963]

In memory of all those lost on 9/11/01 and in honor of all those who helped in the aftermath and in support of all loved ones who lost someone.

May justice be done as we continue to seek and bring justice for them.

I Did Not Die

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle Autumn’s rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush.
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there;
I did not die
- Anon -​

 

[angela146]

http://k47.pbase.com/u33/mpwheatley/large/21341033.WTC14.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/21341033

 

[cantdog]

I was a firefighter for twenty years; that changes my perspective.

It also makes me react a certain way, detaching and gathering energy, in emergency. One needs to act, and quite strenuously, but one also needs calm, alertness, reason, intuition.

But on that day, I wasn't called to act except to steady down those around me. On that day, a five-year-old from the Dominican Republic was living in my house, having come to have tendon surgery. She and her mother stayed ten weeks here, and so, unlike a great many of their neighbors at home, they saw the television images, narrated in a foreign language, far from home.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

I was a firefighter for twenty years; that changes my perspective.

Thank you for your service, Cant.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

My post in another forum (I really don't feel like coming up with a new response for a half dozen forums)

I was at work listening to Howard Stern. He turned into a normal (above averagre actually) newscaster out of nowhere. He was the best minute to minute coverage of the situation as far as radio was concerned. Very odd for such a screwball to be tthe best radio coverage of a disaster.

I almost vomited.

My grandfather (who just passed away on Thursday) helped design the elevator system in the towers. My mother has been searching for a picture of him standing atop the tower still in cunstruction, but can't seem to locate it. If she finds it I'll upload it.

 

[L_homme]

In Memoriam

.....

 

[Honey123]

So many innocent lives...I watched Channel 2 last night and they had on the documentary by the two French brothers who were with Firefighters of Fire House 7.

Still, after 5 years, it's so unreal. Still so many questions left unanswered. So many hearts broken, lives lost.

 

[Nirvanadragones]

Peace, and Love and Light

 

[Zeb_Carter]

 

[Aurora Black]

My boyfriend and I started watching United 93 the other night, and within 30 minutes I asked him to stop the DVD because my eyes were watering and my hands were shaking. I just couldn't sit through that movie.

Even though I was half a world away when it happened, 9/11 didn't affect me any differently than any other American. I'm not going anywhere near the TV today, because I know they'll show the same footage over and over and I'll cry.

The clip that tears me apart without fail is the one with the WTC jumpers. That image, along with the entire day, was severely fucked up and it breaks my heart every single time I see it.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

There is so much that can be said, so many expressions of grief, but also so many expressions of thanks to those who went into the flames and rubble that day and many days after to clean up and rebuild what was destroyed. Thanks to all the medical staff that gave so much to stabilize the hurt, the volunteers who gave time and support, those who donated goods and money, and those who just said a simple prayer.
We can choose to dwell on the hatred that happened or we can look to see the beauty that rose up from those ashes and give us hope for mankind.

 

[cloudy]

you are still missed, Daniel.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

I've posted this before, but here goes. I live way out west. If I went much farther I'd get wet in the Pacific. Not only that but I'm not that far from Canada. This is the "Stix".

There just isn't that emotional attachment to the 9/11 attack that people have on the east coast. To me it was more like a television event because that's all we got - television replay after replay. Did we have friends killed in the attack? A few did, but no close friends of mine from here. I have one friend in Texas lost her husband, but it could just as well have been an airline crash (which, in fact is what it was) or an auto accident. That's how detached I feel from the attack itself.

Can I hate the attackers or their masters? No. That would require some emotional attachment I don't have.

From an intellectual stand point, I hate it, but, at the same time, surprised it didn't happen before 9/11. Does that make me a bad person? I don't think so. I see the 9/11 attack the same way I see other desasters. To me this could have been occured in India or Paris. I'm not directly affected. I can sit back and think, "How awful," and "Those poor people," but I cannot dwell on this the way those close to the attack can.

And I don't appologize for the way I feel about the 9/11 attack. I support a war on terrorists but not "The War On Terror" that is being shoved down out throats for political reasons. Nor do I support the war in Iraq. Not only does that war have nothing to do with the 9/11 attack, it was a foolish idea from the beginning that will never gain anything and lose much.

Just my honest thoughts

JJ

 

[ntsu]

Memories, thoughts, feelings. Much original footage is being shown on TV, accounts of those in WTC and the Pentagon.



It is a very sad day for me.

as for many I'm afraid.

 

[Jagged]

FDNY......343 members lost.

It should be noted that every year some 100 firefighters die in the line of duty nation wide. On that dark day in September a department lost more then the entire country would lose in three...



Lit wouldn't let me post 343 roses....so one will have to do.

 

[Antfarmer77]

And let's pray nothing like this ever happens again

 

[CharleyH]

Memories, thoughts, feelings. Much original footage is being shown on TV, accounts of those in WTC and the Pentagon.



It is a very sad day for me.

I remember that day vividly. I was a PR person at the time, and one of the first to see it on TV and thinking how the fuck does a plane fly that low and crash? I thought it a bizarre accident. As I watched the second plane in real time, I knew the answer. My office became over-crowded. I think it awful, what happened to those people, but I also think of other terrorist attacks, not by Al Q, but of all government factions. I am not sure I quite believe all the docos or the Americain government accounts.) What is sad to me is that we do not really know what happened and worse? We never will in a democracy.

That day though? September 11, In the office and going home on the subway and streetcar? An eery silence I will never forget that lasted three days. I remember, for those office workers like us, and those firemen and policemen and everyday people who tried to save others. WOW. for them, though they deserve more.

 

[Honey123]

I've posted this before, but here goes. I live way out west. If I went much farther I'd get wet in the Pacific. Not only that but I'm not that far from Canada. This is the "Stix".

There just isn't that emotional attachment to the 9/11 attack that people have on the east coast. To me it was more like a television event because that's all we got - television replay after replay. Did we have friends killed in the attack? A few did, but no close friends of mine from here. I have one friend in Texas lost her husband, but it could just as well have been an airline crash (which, in fact is what it was) or an auto accident. That's how detached I feel from the attack itself.

Can I hate the attackers or their masters? No. That would require some emotional attachment I don't have.

From an intellectual stand point, I hate it, but, at the same time, surprised it didn't happen before 9/11. Does that make me a bad person? I don't think so. I see the 9/11 attack the same way I see other desasters. To me this could have been occured in India or Paris. I'm not directly affected. I can sit back and think, "How awful," and "Those poor people," but I cannot dwell on this the way those close to the attack can.

And I don't appologize for the way I feel about the 9/11 attack. I support a war on terrorists but not "The War On Terror" that is being shoved down out throats for political reasons. Nor do I support the war in Iraq. Not only does that war have nothing to do with the 9/11 attack, it was a foolish idea from the beginning that will never gain anything and lose much.

Just my honest thoughts

JJ

Jenny, I understand. I mean, I didn't lose anyone in the 9/11 attacks...my husband was there when it happened, but thank God, he was far away from it. A cousin of mine was late for work that day, and for some unknown reason, she was saved from being murdered that day...yes, I say murder. Do you know why? Because if you kill innocent people...then you murder them.

What was lost that day...was feeling safe. Feeling that the USA was untouchable. Go on...please...say what you will, but I stand by that...I at least felt the USA was untouchable up until that day.

I never feared terrorism. I never thought about it. Freedom was lost. Lives were lost.

That's what I mourn. The lives of so many innocent people...the freedom our forefathers sought to give us. A time when getting on a plane or any other type of transporation, was exciting.

And now what? We have 18 year olds being killed...we have parents, wives, husbands, children still mourning...

You look in the sky and see a low flying plane and think, "Oh no...not again!"

Terror. It's what they wanted us to have...and it's what we have been living with since 9/11.

When I watch the memorials, I feel a certain detachment. But, yet, I still feel pain for those people...I still cry and quite frankly, I am still angry. Angry at a government that became lax. Angry because we still don't know and we live every day wondering when the next big attack will be....terror.


5 years ago, I sat for days agonizing at the pictures my 5 year old drew. Planes crashing into the towers...death, destruction. I agonized over explaining to him what had happened. But I did it...and his dad did it...and then you think about the children whose parent or parents perished...the agony that another person had to explain why their daddy or mommy wasn't coming home that night or ever again.

 

[CharleyH]

Jenny, I understand. I mean, I didn't lose anyone in the 9/11 attacks...my husband was there when it happened, but thank God, he was far away from it. A cousin of mine was late for work that day, and for some unknown reason, she was saved from being murdered that day...yes, I say murder. Do you know why? Because if you kill innocent people...then you murder them.

What was lost that day...was feeling safe. Feeling that the USA was untouchable. Go on...please...say what you will, but I stand by that...I at least felt the USA was untouchable up until that day.

I never feared terrorism. I never thought about it. Freedom was lost. Lives were lost.

That's what I mourn. The lives of so many innocent people...the freedom our forefathers sought to give us. A time when getting on a plane or any other type of transporation, was exciting.

And now what? We have 18 year olds being killed...we have parents, wives, husbands, children still mourning...

You look in the sky and see a low flying plane and think, "Oh no...not again!"

Terror. It's what they wanted us to have...and it's what we have been living with since 9/11.

When I watch the memorials, I feel a certain detachment. But, yet, I still feel pain for those people...I still cry and quite frankly, I am still angry. Angry at a government that became lax. Angry because we still don't know and we live every day wondering when the next big attack will be....terror.


5 years ago, I sat for days agonizing at the pictures my 5 year old drew. Planes crashing into the towers...death, destruction. I agonized over explaining to him what had happened. But I did it...and his dad did it...and then you think about the children whose parent or parents perished...the agony that another person had to explain why their daddy or mommy wasn't coming home that night or ever again.

I feel pain for those people also, but I must ask why we only pain over the big Americain things? Do We pain over anything or anyone else in the world? Their children? Their mothers or fathers? Do we North Americains even know what happens in the rest of the world?

 

[Liar]

I feel pain for those people also, but I must ask why we only pain over the big Americain things?

You're looking at it from the wrong perspective. Of course an American will feel strongly for a disaster in America. It's closer to home. No suprise there. I live far off, so I have other events that mean more to me. And the only reasons the twin towers are alive in my mind too is because of the strong images that were instantly broadcasted all around the globe. It's the most televised moment in history. Cameras are usually in place only for the aftermath.

 

[Pure]

i think that 9-11, as a peacetime, manmade, short-term*, violent event where there's no prior war is right up there on the tragedy list, in world terms. the only other recent one i can think of is the tragedy at Beslan (school). (*I.e. not like a famine).

of course, all these terms have become very fuzzy: as you know Osama declared war on the US sometime before 9-11, hit other US targets, and made other dire threats. hardly anyone listened. indeed, there is the big question: is US at war? oddly, it doesn't look like it or feel like it, where you walk around the cities; people don't have that feeling, I think, except in the small towns where soldiers come from. who is 'the enemy.'

9-11 does have some parallels to Pearl Harbor; that must have hit US citizens pretty hard, although now people say, "Surely everyone knew war with Japan was coming." it was a comparable number, but mostly navy and military personnel.

another issue is that the US is young, and hasn't lost people in its homeland being invaded, or bombed, for some time. it was innocent and feeling invulnerable--like a teen. Londoners know about the Blitz, for example, and the last subway terror was not too different from IRA events of the past.
==

on such a day, "heroism" is hard to define; getting burned up doesn't seem like it. but i view the following as heroes: firstly, people in the buildings, like Rick Rescorla, and others we don't even know about, who helped people to safety; secondly, the active folks of flight 93--most astounding; thirdly and not least, the firemen and policemen of New York.

 

[Lisa Denton]

I live about as far as you can get from New York, visited once, and stood on the observation tower of the WTC, less than a year before it all came crashing down, and thousands murdered.

Them fuckers.

So I don't think a whole lot about what the terrorists got, a (to them) stroke of luck beyond thier wildest imaginations. Instead of hundreds killed in massive hard to reach fires the towers came down and killed thousands.

I think of the heroes we all know and those we don't. I wonder at the thoughts of a US military pilot, for the first time in history, flying Combat Air Patrol over the US mainland and wondering if he will get an order to shoot down a plane of innocent men, women, and children, to save more. I know his logic would tell him it had to be done, but he wouldn't sleep that night, or probably ever again, with the sound sleep of a person who saved lives.

I wrote in a post then, that I hoped we could forget some of the pain, without ever forgetting the lost.

Perhaps that has happened for some.

God bless the lost ................ and those who were touched by this in countless ways and lived, forever changed.

 

[Belegon]

I'll never forget...

because I do not frequent the political threads and because I usually do well at holding my temper, many here might think me a peaceful man. I am not. I simply won't resort to violence without being properly motivated.

I am still saddened and infuriated by what happened that day. And were I to be given the opportunity to prevent it from happening to others by violence? I wouldn't hesitate.

The problem of course, is that the men responsible are either dead by their own hands or very well hidden. So I do what I can.

I remember, and I live my life as best I can by trying not to walk in fear and by trying to hold myself to values I believe to be in opposition to theirs.