On Waking Up

[in_the_blue]

A very loud fighter-jet flew low over my house just after 9:00 this morning. And through my barely-awake confusion, my very first thought was well, of course, it's September 11.

I was born in Manhattan. I grew up in and around NYC; I'm a transplant to the west. I went to the WTC site in November of 2001. Dust and smoke and solemn people, and crying people and laughing people, and tourists with street maps, and workers. New Yorkers who were taking their first daring steps back there still in shock. People going about their everyday business, but all in hushed voices and all respectful and polite. Typically brusque New Yorker behavior had no place there. Didn't want to get as close as I could because I felt like a voyeur but at the same time it was something I had to see.

The enormity of it was overwhelming; we walked away across the Brooklyn Bridge and looked at the gap in lower Manhattan. Empty.

Comments

[acusa-dora.livejournal.com]

I was there in November 2001 too. I was there when the airliner crashed in Queens. I felt so bad for the people of New York because they seemed so panicked and frightened. I just wanted to shake their hands and tell them it was okay. It was upsetting to see them be so afraid.

I have friends on the faculty at NYU, and they were definitely scarred. Not only that, but our friend was actually wondering if NY would ever recover.

It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

Did you see Fahrenheit 9/11? I wept.

People tend to compartmentalize the things that make sense to them. Very few can compartmentalize what happened on 9/11 because it's so far outside the scope of anything we know how to deal with.

I got a lot of phone calls that morning. Two sisters and their assorted significant others and kids working and attending schools in Manhattan. I know a lot of people whose ability (or inability) to cope got stretched that day.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

I remember driving south from Vermont in August, crossing a bridge out of NYC in the late afternoon. The light was already going golden between the air quality and the time of day. I looked off to my left, looking to spot the Towers from my last possible vantage point before losing the view to the road. I caught a quick look at them in the sunlight before returning my attention to driving.

I had no idea at the time it was the last time I could ever see them.

Every time I hub through EWR Airport, I remember the view you'd have of Manhattan in the morning, with the sun rising right between the Towers. For free, even, all you had to do was look out the windows of C-2 Concourse.

I keep seeing a hole now.

We should remember, I think, how lucky a disaster it was -- odd to say. Many people died (not just Americans of course) but the Towers were nowhere near as full as they could have been at, say, 10 or 11. Most people managed to make it all the way down the stairs and out to safety. The buildings imploded instead of toppling.

[erised1810.livejournal.com]

did you two ever hear the story aboutthe gude-dog that wasguiding his blind master al thewa yform the 9i0th?0 floor to a subway tunnel=safety? it really touched me.
I've also 8heard8 teh sound and i stil know whatit soudns like too. I've als owatched one doc later of two frenchemn who'd planend to do some amateur filmign of new york and ended up filmign over there and geting sort of invovled in al lof it. that had lto offootage actually ,stuff that scared the hell out of me too.
I know its' very easy for media/politics to play onthese emotions and play with them, which is wh yi purposley skip tv coverage today. i think oru own thoguths are the bestto share ,adn not soem dumb-ass repeating speech or the ten thousandth clechay sentense ofsomethign we jsut wont' be able to fulfill in a ninstant.

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

I saw that documentary by the two brothers. It was unbelievable. There was some material in it that was so disturbing I had to turn it off and process and pick it up again later on. But it was honest and amazing, and yes, I did hear about the guide dog.

The 911 Commission still has a hell of a lot of explaining to do.

[erised1810.livejournal.com]

I know. Our commercial statiosn have fieldday when
there's disaster-footage like that but there was some other
powerful stuff too that just shows strength and unition and
willpower and whatnot.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

That documentary was the essence of documentary filmmaking. I'm glad they were there even if they both got awful scares out of it. And it's amazing their whole firehouse survived the experience.

There's one sound that I think has been burned into my memory. One piece of footage I saw - only once, mind you, I don't know why - was from someone in Battery Park with a video camera. Battery Park is at the very tip of Manhattan, so the United 767 overflew it, very close... and the footage shows a perfect view of this WHOLE airplane VANISHING into the side of the Tower.

The engines were revved at a particular pitch that I don't think I'll ever forget, that will ever not make me twitch. It took me months to stop staring at 767s and 757s on approach to MIA without dread.

[erised1810.livejournal.com]

I still feel liek that when there's plains zoomign overhead. it's very werid perhaps but icna't help it. I coudln't see things of course and all I knwo by now is that it just feel somewhat liek this familiar thing/person not beign there anymore and you'll stil hve to grow used to it whenver yo ugo there.

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

It could have been a lot worse, yes. But no more or less shocking.

I know people who still haven't been back to the site and won't go.

Still love New York? You bet.

[erised1810.livejournal.com]

this was somethign profound. i can onl ysay i heard NOTHING of the newsu ntil the evening tv news because the firstthing idid when icame home form my third work day ever..well i sat down and continued readign fotr. :P yo uknow the parti nmoria so i'l spare you the raveo nhow utterly...intense and suspensefu land hardtoputdown it was. utni lwe had our hosue meeting and then someoen turendo nthe news and i was hvering between doign the dishes ad listenign. and hada friend ona study trip to washington who'd plenendto spend some etra days in new york..and had planendto fly off that day. i. had. to. call. her. parents.
wel needless to sya my thoguths have bene over there for most of today.

[kait2289.livejournal.com]

The only time I've ever been to NYC in October 2002. By that time Ground Zero was pretty much cleared out, and several small memorials were up. (Signs with names, murals.)

The worst thing was the ventors on the street leading to Ground Zero selling 9/11 memorabilia. They seemed so disrespectful.

I'm going back to NYC this December, and the final memorial might be up, so I hope there will be less vendors. We need a nice, quiet, peaceful place to remember.

I'm so glad you were okay that day! *hugs*

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

The worst thing was the ventors on the street leading to Ground Zero selling 9/11 memorabilia.

Now that's the New York I know and love. Honestly opportunistic and tacky.

The only danger I was in that day was driving off the road because I was concentrating too hard on the news instead of on getting my daughter to school. And running up my phone bill calling and calling and calling people. Parents. Siblings. In-laws. Siblings' exes. I was glad for three-way calling, because my parents in Connecticut couldn't get through to my sisters in New York... but I could. So I conferenced everybody together. That was a tiny blessing.

Or maybe there were terrorists in the blackberry bushes outside my house waiting to slit my throat because I'm such a threat. But if there were, I blithely ignored them.