Take a moment to feel bad for the lost on both sides. And move on.
Avoid the TV like the plague, sleep in and read Star Wars books.
I’m sorry, but this memorial thing is being squeazed until it bleeds by so many that I’m really dreading it.
I’ve avoided this thread, because I wasn’t sure what, if anything I would do. I would like to give blood, but I still have a while before I can, because of the travel for the former job. I mean, there was the huge rush to the blood banks just afterward, but I’m sure by now the level of donations are close to the pre-September levels.
So, I think I’ll head down to campus early in the morning (to avoid the parking hell), and spend the day doing work. I won’t participate in any of the formal memorials going on on campus, and because of the class schedule I probably won’t be able to make it to Mass that day - but I’ll go Tuesday evening, and say a prayer in remembrance. And that will probably be it. Basically, a normal day with an air of remembering, but not necessarily mourning or reliving.
I’ll go to classes wearing the American flag-design Chuck Taylors that I’ve worn almost every day for years. I’ll avoid the media. I’ll call a friend who lost his best friend that day to say hello & see if he needs to talk.
For me, it won’t be a day for rememberance, as I’ve never forgotten. We, as a nation, have been remembering for the past six months. That’s why it doesn’t feel to me as though it’s been a year since the attacks; we’ve been in a sort of…“arrested development”, for lack of a better term.
What I mean is that we, as a nation, haven’t been allowed to really move on. We’ve been inundated with fake “news” - when the media ran out of fresh story after the rescue effort turned to one of recovery, it simply repeated the old stories. How can that be helpful?
Perhaps after this manufactured day of mourning, those who were there as well as the families of the deceased will truly be able to continue the healing process. I sure hope so.
I’ll be at work. My company issued a memo saying that we were allowed to wear red, white, and blue on the 11th to be “Patriotic.” (We usually have to wear uniforms.) I plan on wearing solid black in protest. I have no idea what will happen, but I am sick of all this flag-waving nonsense, especially at businesses. I don’t care if they want to write me up or not.
I don’t like the hype that this anniversary is generating, but I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. I think the anniversary is going to represent a lot of closure for people who weren’t directly effected. I mean, I think a lot of the “it’s been XX months since the attack” will be over (from the media) and people will push it further back on their collective conscience after that day. So I see this day as a milestone.
I’ve decided that I will follow the coverage on public radio–I have faith that it will be of decent quality and hey, no images is a bonus in my book, as I still feel sick and creeped out seeing footage from that day.
I may go to some of the scholarly events on campus dedicated to the anniversary. I will think about my classmate who died, the Dopers who were close to the terror, and the nameless and faceless others who died or were hurt or survive the victoms. I’ll think about the soldiers who are in Afghanistan right now. I’ll worry about further attacks, but I think I’ll worry more that Arab-Americans and muslims in the U.S. are going to be hassled that day. I’m sure it will be a somber day.
That night, I will be going out to dinner because it’s the only night available for my family to dine together to celebate my husband’s 40th birthday. I suspect it will be a good thing to be away from the TV.
What’ll I do on 9-11? Simple…
Crack open a crate o’ beer. Get my lawn chair and sit on it in the front of my house. Drink the Beer. Toss Bottle at random people who stare at me. Once it’s around 6-8 o’clock I’ll fold my lawn chair up and go back inside my house. Then I’ll get a big bag of pot and smoke it till I can’t tell time anymore.
Celebrating in my own, unique way.
I’m not really sure. I’ll go to work. Rutgers has a full day of remembrances for the 37 that died. I don’t know if I’ll go. Maybe I’ll go to Liberty State Park, but not if it’s crowded. I went a couple of times to see the Tribute in Lights and it had a very calming effect on me. I’ll probably try to call my sister kiffa in the Congo, my brother in Zambia, and my mom, who is visiting family in Minnesota. I have no family with me here in New Jersey.
My anxiety level has been soaring this past month, and oddly, one thing that seems to calm me has been TV (paradoxically so since both TV and radio has been a constant source of reminders, day in and day out, hourly, by the minute). Today, I watched CBS Sunday Morning, Face the Nation, and Like It Is. Hearing how others reacted like I have has made me feel less alone. Hearing how others view that day and the aftereffects has been good to remind myself that not everyone has the same interpretation. If it doesn’t give me closure, it gives me perspective.
That night I will be watching the 9/11 documentary done by the French brothers. I saw it the first time in an incomprehensible haze. I’ll do what I did last year: light four candles and place them on my porch with a prayer for all who died. And I’ll give thanks for all my friends came away from the WTC relatively unscathed.
[talking to self] It’s not the Pit. Don’t burst. It’s not the Pit…[/talking to self]
I plan on being as ridiculously American as possible:
Breakfast: Eggs, sausage, bacon. Big ol’ glass of orange juice. Maybe I’ll even violate my normal routine and drink some coffee.
Lunch: Something greasy as all get-out from the greasy spoon near work.
Dinner: Cheeseburgers. Glorious cheeseburgers. With beer.
No going to the gym and drinking protein shakes today, folks.
Terrorists hate American excess and decadance. I plan to be excessively decadant (within the law; no offense D2K, just not my thing).
Screw you, terrorists.
If I didn’t work a late shift, I would also try my damnest to watch a baseball game and a couple Simpsons episodes. I will try to avoid CNN as much as humanly possible. (Difficult when you work in the journalism business.)
And at some point I will probably put my greasy hands together in prayer.
At reprise’s suggestion, a few of us Aussies will try to spend as much time as possible in #straightdope, just in case any American Dopers need someone to talk to (about the attacks, or about Marx Bros movies, or anything in between). We’ll also have our ICQ, Yahoo etc on as much as we can (I have to work, but I’ll try to spend some time online). The rant forum on the Aussie and NZ messageboard will be closed from 12 midnight Auckland time, until the following midnight Honolulu time, and a simple, non flag waving memorial will be placed on the front page of the website.
Other than that, I probably will watch a bit of the TV coverage. Not that I need to see the images of last year again, but coverage of memorial services here and there will probably make me feel better. I’ll also be doing lots of everyday stuff - taking the little bloke to kindergarten, etc.
What am I going to do?
Wake up, remember it all, and cry my eyes out.
Then say a prayer, get up, get dressed, and go to work. I’ll live my little American life the way I do every other day, and know that in itself is a small act of defiance.
Teach my classes. Wear red, white and blue. Go to a meeting at a restaurant in the evening. Go home and find something to watch on TV that has nothing to do with Sep. 11.
One question: What do you folks think about sending in a resume for a job on Sept. 11th? I’ve been laid off, so I’ve got to find one, but I don’t want to appear callous.
Oh, and vivalostwages, I’ve checked the TV listings. There isn’t anything! Not on network, anyway, and not much on cable. On the other hand, does watching Magnum P.I. on A&E count as patriotic, hedonistic, or both?
CJ
cjhoworth, how about this: I have a job interview on the morning of Sept. 11.
I’m going to wear black, avoid all media, and spend the evening enjoying what I expect will be the quiet company of a younger friend of mine who lost three relatives there.
OK, so I’ve obviously bought too much media hype. Anyone know where I can go to return it?
CJ
I’m going to try and treat it like every other day. It’s not like I’ve forgotten and need to be reminded. I’ll also be avoiding all TV coverage about it.
My sister, who worked in tower 2, is taking the day off work and going to the beach or doing something else fun.
I worked next to the White House, and had to walk home past the burning Pentagon.
Moment of silence for me, then back to life.
Me, too . . . I want to spend less time thinking about it, but I work in NYC and have to think about it every time I look downtown or see the “Wall of Grief” in the train station or squeeze my way past the concrete barriers in front of buildings or show two passes to get into my office or wonder briefly if a suicide bomber is going to go off when I pass an important site . . .
We’re supposed to be getting together in the office conference room the morning of the 11th (from where we watched it happen), but I don’t approve of public displays of emotion, and none of us much like each other anyway, so this one is particularly distasteful.