I don’t know what his religious leanings are, if he has any.
We made light plans to sit down over lunch in the next month or two. I’ll post back into here if he’s inclined to write out what he did back then, and/or join.
Excellent. Here’s hoping for another member. 
… I’ve not spoken to Omar very much since the conversations I posted about. It seems to me that because I had moved on from my initial response and he had capitalized on his inertia and drive to participate MUCH longer than I did at the Ground Zero recover site and that catapulted him into a military service career, we didn’t have a lot to talk about moving forward. And I get that, and respect it to boot.
It doesn’t make him a hero ( the much-dreaded “H” word ) and it doesn’t make me less of a person or First Responder. Each according to their own needs, each does what they can.
I’ll be in Church on Sunday morning the 11th of September this year. There is a special service planned and the ( since retired ) Rector at the time has been invited back to preach, so those who attend St. Bart’s Church on Park Avenue at 51st St. this Sunday morning will have a moving treat and will be most welcomed. Church is at 9 am and 11 am and Forum is at 10 am in between, and that looks to be quite moving and thought-provoking as well.
I’m basically fine, but at work today we did a show that discussed some of the un-answered questions about the event. ( Prosecution of those responsible, etc ) and as the images of the day appeared on the huge monitor a few feet from me, I did start to feel pretty awful. I was unfocused for a while after that segment, and that’s okay too. It’s all part of the process and the truth is that I’m quite aware of how incredibly fortunate I am to have lived through that day by simple dumb luck.
It’s still kind of a stunning number when you think about it. The next time you’re out somewhere in a large crowd and look around and someone says, " Jeeez- there are at least two thousand people here, may be three !! "… imagine all of them dead. Decimated by fire, by collapsing lengths of steel and iron hundreds of feet long. All of the people around you killed all at once.
It’s a lot of death. When I am most sad and drawn back to those feelings in the days and weeks after the event, I think quite a bit about all of those dead people.
Note the passing of the day in your way, but please make sure your kids, if they are young enough to not remember it, have an age-appropriate understanding of what happened.
Never forget.
I would be remiss as a long-time Doper if I did not once again thank the people who called and emailed me that day, trying hard to see if I was all right. We were and are indeed a caring and vibrant community.
A few folks have asked if I’ve visited the 9/11 Memorial at the site of the World Trade Centers. I cannot and won’t make myself go to the museum.
I have gone twice to the memorial outside. The 9/11 Memorial Fountains are evocative and painful. And honest. And IMHO appropriate as heck for the site and event.
The first time was very very hard. My Dearly Beloved’s parents wanted to go and so we took them. I’d not walked that ground since September 12, 2001. It did stir my head and heart badly.
The second time I went with my cousin the photographer. We both shot images and so I got to hide behind the lens. Something I’ve done my whole life.
The third time I was asked to go I declined.
Enough.
Thank you for posting this.
Thank you for sharing this.
Like the mayor of NYC said, this could not have happened in a city better prepared to handle it. Like when you mentioned there just happened to be a surgeon convention in town.
Many thanks, Cartooniverse, for the update.
I visited the 9/11 Memorial just a few weeks before the museum opened. The fountains themselves, and the inscribed names, were quite moving. It is hallowed ground.
This seems as good a thread as any to post this to:
This morning was hazy, hot & humid. It’s also the day of annual training, which means a very early morning trip up the NJ turnpike, somewhere north of Exit 14 I got to see a huge orange ball in the sky, literally alongside of the upper floors of the new 1WTC. It’s the second year I’ve been lucky enough to see it & my thoughts were the same both times:
“Yeah, you may have destroyed our buildings & taken almost 3000 lives & affected many, many more, but we’ve rebuilt, & the sun still comes up making it a beautiful view. You see, this country is strong; you didn’t break us you fuckin’ bastards!”
I’m not particularly jingoistic or especially patriotic, but Damn, what an awesome metaphor!
Cartooniverse, I admire you, i hope that each anniversary gets a little bit easier. Thank you for sharing your writing and for being a top shelf human being