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

[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.