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

[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.