After September 11, 2001-
It was Thursday, September 13, 2001 by the time the vigil in Union Square was in full tilt
Friday morning, September 14th it rained and most people left
I wrote that morning: "When the rains came, it chased the vigil people away. I was afraid they would not come back, I would be alone, and the victims forgotten."
But they came back as soon as the rain stopped, more than before:
and that night, people lit up the entire park as well as the street corners adjacent with candles they brought from home:
it was some day after the 18th when they came in the morning and took all the memorials, all the artwork and the posters of the loved ones away, and I don't think I had the heart to take photos of that.
I wondered if the people who cared, the vigil people would ever come back.
And this year, I woke up on September 11 and saw....
Note the shadows of the buildings first casting from the east then the south then the west
There are more and more people coming all day bringing artwork and banners, leaving chalk to mark the ground with peoples feelings. I was watching when a guy turned to me and handed me his chalk and said:
"Now you HAVE to." Nothing else. Just "Now you have to."
So I did. I wrote this:
WE WHO LIVE HERE WILL ALWAYS CARE.
And then I drew the World Trade Center, its basic familiar shape, for the first time and I wrote:
I want them back.
Then the candles started being lit in circles.
And they say there are no sunsets in New York City
And so it was. And will be. A year later, we still care and everyone still cares about the 2819 people who died at the hands of terrorists, the 403 uniformed city service personnel who died saving 26,000 lives the other 2416 who died either doing their job or trying to help others, their families and their survivors. We care about the 22 US soldiers who have died in Project Enduring Freedom, and all the soldiers from every country who serve, we care about the Afghanis and the Pakistanis we didn't even know before, we feel closer to the Israelis and the people of Oklahoma City, we care about the good and decent Palestinians and Arabs and Muslims whose plight and religion have been perverted and twisted to be used against them.
Gone are the flush economic times, the Russian Tea Room, Enron and our ignorance. Back to the caves for the Taliban and Al Queda.
Israel and the Jewish population of the world welcomes in a new year and a new day of atonement in relative peace.
We go on, we remember, we care and we learn.
Most of us now do more with less, appreciate life more.
I have made new friends, learned more about the firefighters that are my neighborhood.
The firehouse that lost the most people (Rescue 3) is on my block, and I didn't know a single one of them.
Selling Ladder 20 t shirts has been a good excuse to meet the firefighters down the street in Soho.
I have also been lucky to "meet" people from all over the world who order the shirts, including firefighters from Scotland and France who reach out over the Internet to their brother (and sister) firefighters. I did not go near the firehouse on September 11 2002, but had good reasons and good news to share on September 13, 2002.
It was Thursday, September 13, 2001 by the time the vigil in Union Square was in full tilt
Friday morning, September 14th it rained and most people left
I wrote that morning: "When the rains came, it chased the vigil people away. I was afraid they would not come back, I would be alone, and the victims forgotten."
But they came back as soon as the rain stopped, more than before:
and that night, people lit up the entire park as well as the street corners adjacent with candles they brought from home:
it was some day after the 18th when they came in the morning and took all the memorials, all the artwork and the posters of the loved ones away, and I don't think I had the heart to take photos of that.
I wondered if the people who cared, the vigil people would ever come back.
And this year, I woke up on September 11 and saw....
Note the shadows of the buildings first casting from the east then the south then the west
There are more and more people coming all day bringing artwork and banners, leaving chalk to mark the ground with peoples feelings. I was watching when a guy turned to me and handed me his chalk and said:
"Now you HAVE to." Nothing else. Just "Now you have to."
So I did. I wrote this:
WE WHO LIVE HERE WILL ALWAYS CARE.
And then I drew the World Trade Center, its basic familiar shape, for the first time and I wrote:
I want them back.
Then the candles started being lit in circles.
And they say there are no sunsets in New York City
And so it was. And will be. A year later, we still care and everyone still cares about the 2819 people who died at the hands of terrorists, the 403 uniformed city service personnel who died saving 26,000 lives the other 2416 who died either doing their job or trying to help others, their families and their survivors. We care about the 22 US soldiers who have died in Project Enduring Freedom, and all the soldiers from every country who serve, we care about the Afghanis and the Pakistanis we didn't even know before, we feel closer to the Israelis and the people of Oklahoma City, we care about the good and decent Palestinians and Arabs and Muslims whose plight and religion have been perverted and twisted to be used against them.
Gone are the flush economic times, the Russian Tea Room, Enron and our ignorance. Back to the caves for the Taliban and Al Queda.
Israel and the Jewish population of the world welcomes in a new year and a new day of atonement in relative peace.
We go on, we remember, we care and we learn.
Most of us now do more with less, appreciate life more.
I have made new friends, learned more about the firefighters that are my neighborhood.
The firehouse that lost the most people (Rescue 3) is on my block, and I didn't know a single one of them.
Selling Ladder 20 t shirts has been a good excuse to meet the firefighters down the street in Soho.
I have also been lucky to "meet" people from all over the world who order the shirts, including firefighters from Scotland and France who reach out over the Internet to their brother (and sister) firefighters. I did not go near the firehouse on September 11 2002, but had good reasons and good news to share on September 13, 2002.
Rachel
Esmerelda's Page
Z3ers.com
Esmerelda's Page
Z3ers.com
