flickering |
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Talk to me.
a fire inside
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9.14.2001
I attended a small interfaith service at noon today in a town near where I work, at a simple, quiet Methodist church. Only about 25 people were there, if that. The service was informal. After a general prayer and the singing of Amazing Grace, the minister asked the congregants to offer whatever prayers they had, whatever reasons they had for being there. I was moved by the variety and depth and sincerity of the prayers offered. As best as I can recall from memory, these included prayers:
Amen.
"I mean, if you were going on a suicide mission, why not just leave the car at the airport? But he seemed like a model customer. I wish all my customers were like that. Well, I guess not." posted 2:14 PM by Miriam 9.13.2001
"When in despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been murderers and tyrants, and for a time they can seem invincible. But in the end they always fall. Think of this always." --Mahatma Gandhi Thanks, Holly. I needed that.
Numbness began last night to give way to sadness. I was giving Isaiah a bath and watching him splash and play in the tub, and thought of all the moms and dads who will never get to go home and watch their little ones splash in the tub anymore. This morning, L and I were having a bit of a spat; I said something unfair and was reluctant to apologize. Then ABC News aired a segment showing family members of still-missing Cantor Fitzgerald employees -- nearly all wives weeping for their lost husbands, the fathers of their little ones. I lost it. I apologized. My apology was graciously accepted.
"Five firefighters were pulled out alive today from a vehicle buried under debris. Two were able to walk out unassisted but all were taken to a hospital, Reuters reported. And according to television reports, rescue workers had made contact with another survivor trapped in the basement of the North Tower and who was using a wireless organizer to send e-mails. The reports, which could not immediately be confirmed, said the person had been communicating with them using the device, reportedly a Blackberry, since 4:30 this morning. He was believed to be trapped under mounds of steel, and the reports said rescue workers were cutting through the metal piece by piece to try to reach him."
A list of more than 100 blogs dealing with the events of September 11. Link courtesy of Michele. Michele's father is from Long Island and was a firefighter for more than 20 years. Their family has lost many, many friends. I don't know Michele, but my heart goes out. posted 12:08 PM by Miriam 9.12.2001
ABC just reported that the administration says it has reason to believe that the original target of the plane that hit the Pentagon was actually the White House, and that Air Force One was also a target. posted 2:53 PM by Miriam
Trying to work, but it's hard to focus. I can only imagine how my colleagues are feeling -- Ed and Jenn, who saw the second plane crash into the South Tower from the 23rd floor of our building; Jeff, who got trapped in the building by the debris cloud caused by the collapsing towers; Sean, on crutches, who was stuck in a cab when the towers started collapsing and had to try to hobble to safety on foot; Giles, who has worked quite closely with a number of people at Merrill (who hopefully are all alive and safe); and others whose stories I haven't even heard yet. And my mom, who teaches at an elementary school outside Boston, who was told by school authorities not to discuss this with the kids yesterday and had to ignore questions from some of them when others were picked up early by their parents. And having to answer all of the "why did this happen"s today... I am grateful to have a son young enough to be oblivious. 9.11.2001
Although I live and work in Vermont, my company is based only a couple of blocks from where the Trade Center stood, on the 23rd floor, with a perfect view of the towers. Many of my colleagues witnessed the fireballs. They all evacuated except one, who was taking calls from family members of other employees. He was soon trapped in the building by the soot of the collapsing towers. One of my other colleagues, Ed , was in the Trade Center only 20 minutes before the attack. He said that they all saw the second plane come screaming by and plow into the building.Thank God, everyone is now safe and accounted for, although it took some of them until now to get home. It is quite possible, even likely, however, that people at other companies that we work with have been killed or injured. It is, in fact, very lucky that none of my colleagues were there; we are working closely with some companies that were based there and easily could have had meetings over there this morning. In fact, I myself have been at the World Trade Center twice in the last year, once only a few months ago, at just about the time of morning that this occurred. Our company had its Christmas party there this past December. Only once I'd been inside did I get a sense of the incredible size and scope of those buildings. They were truly massive, dense, full of steel and concrete and seemingly impervious to serious harm. It took a good 10 minutes just to walk from one side through the lobbies to the other. That these structures could just disappear in a pile of rubble and cloud of debris within an hour, and that thousands of people probably died in that short time, is truly beyond my comprehension. It is also a testament to the simple, terrifyingly elegant brilliance of these attacks. Nothing else short of a nuclear bomb could have accomplished these ends. I'm moving in and out of belief and denial. It's hard to absorb something of this magnitude, especially when you're seeing images on TV that look like so many movies we've all seen. That said, I'm surprised something like this hasn't happened sooner.... and it really points out -- as if it needed pointing out -- how ridiculous the notion of a missile defense shield is. The threat is no longer from Russian ballistic missiles. As L pointed out, we'll be lucky if a biological weapons payload was not included in these attacks as well. Prayers for everyone involved in and touched by this day's events.
The clock of U.S. history was reset today. We are at war, although we don't yet know with whom. posted 11:12 AM by Miriam 9.10.2001
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