Seven Years Later

There will, of course, be many perspectives on this and the emotions run boiling hot.  But, strangely, there's a part of me that disagrees with that last statement.  As a New Yorker who was here that day, who gives tours of the site frequently, and who still sometimes sheds tears, there is a part of me that feels that holding on to the pain is indulgent.

The question that is never asked often enough is, "What would the people who were killed have wanted?"  In some cases, we will never know.  In others, there is the conflict of the different individuals.  But, if I lose my life in a terrorist attack, let me state now for the record that, after some time of mourning, I sincerely hope my family and friends will let go.  I shudder to think that my death could provoke the people I love to dwell in the past and lose sight of the future.

Let me share one of my favorite stories from my tours:  After sailing up the river that now bears his name, Captain Henry Hudson first set foot on Manhattan Island on September 11, 1609.  That's right, 399 years ago today.  I sincerely hope that next year, on September 11 2009, we will have a massive city-wide party, celebrating our 400th birthday and TAKE THIS DATE BACK.

What better way to honor those whom we lost than with joy and celebration of the city upon which others chose to impose so much pain and grieving.

Thanks, Robert-that was wonderful.

I'll never forget that day, or the Oklahoma City bombing day, or the first Twin Towers bombing. The hardest thing to think about when you've been hurt, is 'how did I get myself into this situation?' We first want to blame others, then get revenge. Well, we've done that, and shouted down anyone who points out that our foreign policy might be partly the cause of other countries' rage and frustration at us, and that it might bear reassessing.

If you find you have an enemy, one who bears you almost inconceivable ill will, wouldn't you want to know WHY? I don't think envy is an adequate rationale. The history of US foreign policy is not all good. We could do better. So could they.

It's complicated.

I feel about as "safe" as I always have, but I certainly feel less "free".I guess this ays it best;

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve niether liberty nor safety."

Benjamin Franklin

Cheers DPR!  Spot on.   My soon to be eleven year old is talking about this in school.  He ask me "what happened, why?".  I have yet to find a way to answer him.  Maybe because I don't know...but I'm supposed to know everything.  Yes Olivia, it's complicated.

DPR has expressed my feelings so well - after a period of mourning, life must go on, lest we perpetuate a victimhood that transcends any healing.  One of the lessons learned in the treatment world has been that constantly recalling a "bad happening" tends to re-traumatize those who experienced the bad event.  There are other means of working through the event that are therapeutically beneficial and allow the person to move on without carrying a burden of "victimhood" forever.

Yes, we should work to ensure that the "bad events" don't happen again, but all of the negative energy put forth in this country now has produced fear and anger, suspicion and mistrust and resulted in criminalizing people in very harmful ways.  When we lose hope, we lose love, and we lose trust.  I was chagrined to read today that our local airport has received a multi-million dollar award to build better baggage screening equipment.

As I walked barefoot through the scanning/screening maze at that airport this summer and had my breakfast yogurt (unopened) taken away because it might be dangerous, the look on the inspector's face told me that he couldn't understand it all either.

OK, it was worse than any of us want to say, but do you remember the cohesive spirit that lasted for months afterwards? 9/11 brought back the American Flag decal.  People who never would have dreamed of going to New York ( home of the $5 cup of coffee ) began wishing for FDNY caps. That team spirit turned a little ugly, but to borrow a phrase from your pal A J Lerner, DPR, For One Brief Shining Moment, we were America and we cared about each other...

The other thing that always happens on a day like today is that someone will say "I remember where I was."  Anybody got a particularly good memory of that morning? Anything cute, racy, heartwarming?  Do you reckon in that much discussed "Cocooning" time that followed, there was a little baby boom?

I'll bet it would be difficult to explain to a child, Capt Neptune- maybe you could get the attack itself and some of the theoretical reasons for it, but remembering How It Was for days and weeks afterwards, as things gradually slid from Then to Now, that is difficult to explain.

Meanwhile, that day started more or less like this one, so go and hug those you love and be grateful they are near. If they aren't, then as the sticker says, Don't Postpone Joy. 

With all due respect to DRP, there are 3 dates that we should ALWAYS remember: Dec. 7, November 22. and this one. Is it too much to ask to set aside a few minutes and reflect, in your way.

I too live in New York City. And lost a good friend on that day. The only thing we should take back is the Dreaded Pirate's odd notion.

By the way, Hudson claimed the land for Holland.

Trust the Dutchman to know that one...HH was under contract to the Netherlands, if memory serves.

I think Robert was making a distinction between remembering to honor and remembering to refresh the victimization syndrome. That was my understanding, and I think it's a valid point.

We can certainly remember and honor more than one thing on a date. There's my birthday, for example. I'm sure some other important things happened that day, although I can't imagine what, so I'm willing to shoulder the burden of menological precedence.

And, I don't want to spend the day in a funk, either. I am WOMAN, hear me LIGHTEN UP!

9/11 is a bittersweet day for me.  I was at work at a small college when this tragedy occured, and the entire campus virtually stood still!  We all blankly stared at each other...not a sigh.  I think a lot of us were touched on this day in some form but for me I was scared for a relative who worked at the World Bank.  Fortunately, he was late getting to work that am.  Ironic since he had NEVER been late before.  Once I found out that he was fine, I was given the news that my brother was on Air Force One headed to New York.  I was very apprehensive since at that time we were still in the dark about the whole circumstance.  Then the plane went down in D.C.  My adrenaline was out of control.  He wasn't able to contact us at all.  I felt so vulnerable at this point.  Which is very uncharacteristic for me.  The wait was unbearable but he eventually contacted us and he was physically fine.  I felt so relieved, all was well for me and my family but at the same time my heart bled for all of the folks that weren' as fortunate.  I still get a horrific empty feeling on 9/11.  I will say that 9/11 is just another day for the most part because I greive for the lost souls and all of those who were actually affected on this day all of the time.   
These people will forever remain in my thoughts and heart.

I wish everyone a peaceful day.               

When it comes to subjects this raw with emotion, still, I find myself stepping out of my opinions, folding them, and putting them in a bureau. 

It's not that I don't have dogs in the race, it's that I find observation more soothing.

DPR, I did love what you said. I can't imagine having experienced that so closely.

I was driving to the hospital to have Number 8, my first child. They were going to induce me. I sat in the waiting room with that empty infant carseat, tags still on it, watching the television monitor, and sobbing. I wanted to return the seat, drive to Canada, and beg that baby to never come out. All the women in the waiting room were crying, and holding their swollen bellies tightly. 

The thing I remember most about the weeks that followed, like Trask said, was how many people you saw outside, talking. I met many neighbors for the first time. I really needed that. People brought me food. My Albanian neighbor brought me an entire tray of homemade baklava and we talked about her three-year-old son whom she and her husband had left over in Albania with grandparents until they found jobs here. She knew that the attacks would prevent him from coming the next month as she had hoped. He is still in Albania. They are still here.

This is one of my favorite stories about 9/11, and, again, I don't know why. It just speaks to both DPR's and Mr. Peterman's thoughts on the issue of remembering or moving on. I do think both are possible. I think you both do, too. Like Belle, said, it's the type of remembering that matters. Is that what you meant?

This is an excerpt from Don DeLillo's essay on the attacks. It always makes me grin.

"They were covered in
ash when they reached shelter at Pace University, where there was food
and water, and kind and able staff members, and a gas-leak scare, and
more running people.

Workers began pouring water on the group. Stay wet, stay wet. This was the theme of the first half-hour.

Later a line began to form along the food counter.

Someone said, "I don't want cheese on that."

Someone said, "I like it better not so cooked."

Not so incongruous, really, just people alive and hungry, beginning to be themselves again."

Here's the whole essay:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4324579,00.html

It's really stunning, if you have the time.

OLIVIA!!!

Happy fecking birthday, girl. Go get your vanilla ice cream on! 

I feel about as safe as I've ever felt.  We have never been immune to violence whether it is by our citizens or others who wish us harm. 

When I was 7 we were having a family vacation in Hawaii.  It was the first Sunday in December and we were getting ready for church.  My dad was sitting out on the lanai watching boats in the harbor.  Before we could leave for church he called us all outside and pointed to the boats, asking us if we knew why they were out there.  He explained that on that very day, 45 years ago, the Japanese bombed the island.  The boats were patrolling, partly to ensure that someone didn't attach again, but mostly to remind us and to honor the dead.  The rest of that trip my dad spoke more about the war than he ever had and more than he has since.  He spoke about friends lost, valor, the war effort at home, and atrocities committed in the vain attempt to crush the human spirit.

That's pretty heavy stuff for a little kid to take in, but I never felt "burdened" with the knowledge.  Since then I've always been aware that we can take all the safety measures we want, but someone will always find a way around them.  We have to live and enjoy life inspite of that, or we will be paralyzed by worry. 

Every trip back to Hawaii for me, now includes a stop on Oahu (even if its just for 2 hours) so that I can make the pilgrimage out to the USS Arizona Memorial to leave a lei for the fallen.  Everytime I walk past the memorial commemorating the local men from our valley who have fought and died in wars, I stop to find the name of our friend Lance Corporal Michael J. Allen, a Marine who was killed in a suicide car bombing in Falluja.  Does that ruin the rest of my day?  No.

Remember in reverance but live jubilantly, its what they would have wanted.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVIA!!!  Eat ice cream for lunch, play on the swings at the park, skip down the hall at work, and wear something pretty...it is the Festival of You, and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.

Olivia,

For your birthday I give you this cake...

http://www.hillel.org/NR/rdonlyres/16160C38-8724-43C7-B0D5-A7BBC7A9ABCF/0/CCC_web.jpg

I guess I am sounding a very sour note, but all I can think of today is the rich historical record of how our government's meddling in middle eastern affairs, its seduction-then-abandonment of Osama bin Laden, brought the events of 9/11 upon us. If there is victimhood, it is we who are victims of our government's narcissistic arrogance and dystopian machinations.

By the way, there is no prima facie evidence that bin Laden is on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis.

P.S. As to the first line of today's piece, I respectfully disagree. We should absolutely watch every minute of those horrific images, every year. 

Olivia,

I thought your "B" day was Monday, but just in case, I hope you have a very, very, extremely happy day!, month!,. . . .  awe gosh... have a great life!!!

Sorry Olivia:

I am sorry.  I got caught up in the days subject and forgot to wish you a Happy Birthday. 

Eat all of the cake and ice cream that you want today.  Calories don't count on birthdays.

Okay, it's a busy day so I wasn't going to comment further but I feel I must.

My dear Dutchman,

First of all, please know my heart goes out to you and yours.  I am among the lucky few who did not lose anyone directly but, like so many others, I am only one degree of separation away from two or three dozen.  Virtually everywhere I go, I run into people who lost family and friends.  I've had people on my tour bus from halfway around the world who lost family on that day.  Nevertheless, I appreciate and respect that you are closer to the tragedy than I am.

Once again, though, I must ask:  What do you think your friend would have wanted?  I can only think of those I nearly lost who escaped; my best friend who worked on the 7th floor of Tower 2 (got away), my wife who worked two blocks away (got away) and many others in similar circumstances.  I try to imagine how I would feel if they had been murdered that day.  I find myself remembering that they came to New York with big dreams and a loving zest for life.  To forget the glories of this city would result in all those deaths being for nothing.  I can't imagine that any of them would want that.

Moreover, Dutchman, you are right, of course, that we should always remember the day.  It is one thing to remember these events, to respect them and to learn from them.  It is something quite different to dwell in the past.  If I woke every morning and wept over my father's death as if I were re-experiencing it for the first time, he would rise from his ashes and slap me silly.  But I continue to remember the lessons he taught me, I quote him, I think of him often, and I respect his memory.  But I move on.  That is what he told me to do.

As for the more popular and wide-spread contention that we brought this on ourselves because of our government's foreign policy, I am reminded of the vulgar and disgusting notion that a rape victim who wore a short skirt and a low-cut top had it coming.  I am well aware of our government's faults.  I am also no fan of short skirts.  But no course of action deserves what was visited upon us that day.  Moreover, this was not an attack on our government.  This attack was visited on our wives, our children, our grandparents, on janitors, secretaries, waiters and waitresses, and many others who had no connection to the government.  It was a massacre committed by private citizens against private citizens.

Those who are angry at our government for its multitude of flaws are certainly right, but to contend the rape victim was asking for it is one hell of a jump that I cannot accept and would not if I could.

Today I am going to cut down some branches and trim back some overly aggressive trees, cut some bittersweet, mow the lawn, and see the silent film "Pandora's Box" which is playing at the university. I am so very grateful that I can still do these things, that I am still free, and that I am still not afraid.

Of course I share many of the thoughts and feelings that already have been expressed today. Feelings of sadness, bitterness and especially the frustration in knowing that our species still has a very long, steep, dangerous and improbable climb toward reaching its potential.

As it always has, the climb starts with us.

Be very well today, all of you.

My Dear DPR: Sure, the pain will lessen over time, and we're all a little raw this day. The block party just struck me to wrong way. Can't we do it on the 12th. I'll be there with the Grolsch. But your heart is in the right place. I certainly agree with  your last point. There was a disquieting article in the NYT the other day about a vast amount of people in the middle east believing the U.S engineered these attacks as an excuse to go into Iraq for the oil. It's really helped the price of gas. How do you combat such ignorance...or people willing to blow themselves up for a cause?

As to Whigged out, I appreciate your passion. But I think the images are ingrained in our mind. At this point, it's too easy, and too exploitive to show them. I always get those behated chain letters this time of year from my friend in Beverly Hills, showing the Twin towers on fire...with the words Remember. Makes them feel better I guess. 

Today is very much like September 11, 2001.  Gorgeous blue sky, crisp autumn breeze, sunny and warm.  My younger sister and I were living acoss the street from our oldest sister and her family.  A little after 7am we heard the phone ring, and like 2 tired people on their day off we ignored it.  A few minutes later our sister was knocking on the front door in her pajamas, she turned on the TV and told us to watch.  We just sat there with the front door wide open, in our pjs, staring at the the tv. 

When the inital shock wore off we all got dressed and walked her kids to school.  So many parents were there with their kids.  Some were crying and didn't want to go, some were confused, and some seemed oblivious.  It was surreal to see something terrible happening so far away and feeling safe but isolated in our happy little valley community.

I went to open my uncle's restaurant and people would just come in and sit in front of the big tv in silence.  We had very few people eat in the restaurant that day, everyone wanted to take the food home and be close to their families.  Everyone and everything was so quiet.  Later that night my nieces and nephews came over and we sat out on the porch in the candle light and just talked with the neighbors passing by or looked at the stars. 

It wasn't until the next day that people began to speculate and be outraged or distraught.  It kind of felt like someone had paused a video tape and then after a while pushed play.  Life resumed, and we all moved on.

7 year later, am I worried about air travel?  Not really, several of my family members are flying today and I don't have any qualms about it.  We can't live in fear or regret.  I wish that everyone remembers the closeness to home and family that they felt that day and keep that feeling alive, make every day count.

Sorry DPR ~ I need to disagree with your last line, from my personal expeirence The Pain of some events never does go away.  This October it will be 20 years since 5 of my friends were killed while standing on a street corner. they were 12 & 13 at the time I'd known 3 of them since about the age of 3. It'll be 20 years & yes on that fateful date I still have a pain. I still have pain when I drive by the corner, or hear certain words or numbers spoken.  It's a part of me, its a part my makeup. Do I take the day off of work & spend it crying, no, but I do buy some roses as little reminder.  The reminder that Lives continue on & that I was lucky enough to have known some very interesting & funny people at such an young age. I & others in the comunnity the families, the friends, & the classmates will always have pain. 

I feel for the families, friends & classmates that are affected by this date.  It may get easier for some & for others it may have become the means to their own endings. Which is even sadder.  You can move on, you can continue to live but the pain, no matter how long ago you were affected by the event will be there on the day that the event happened & even at times when you least expect it. It's all in how you choose to deal with the pain. No you shouldn't wallow in it, but you shouldn't be ignoring it either.....     

I've done my remembrances for the day.  Now I'm hoping to get off work early and take a long drive up the canyon to look for fall color.  It is an absolutely beautiful day here...

http://www.usu.edu/webcam/

I'm not smart enough or wise enough to know how others should be feeling about 9-11 and all of the events surrounding it.  If I had one wish however, it would be that at least today, of all days, each of us be permitted to own our thoughts and feelings and that maybe "persuasion" could be put on pause.

Sounds like I need to get my but back out to the back yard.

"Private opinion is property that no man can seize." I wish I could remember where I heard that quote or who said it, but it seems to fit.

PeterLake ~ Enjoy watching Louise Brooks in one of the best pre-code silent films I have ever seen... Admitting that I am Jealous that you get to see it on a big screen though, where I can only watch it on my old TV set.......

rings90

Thanks, I'm looking forward to it.

     I still say 9/11 was an inside job.  Have any of you folks heard of Stanley Hilton?  He was Bob Dole's Chief of Staff in 2001.  He's now back to having a private practice as an attorney, and he's representing the families of victims and injured survivors themselves in a law suit against GWB.  He has presented affidavits to the federal courts stating that he has first hand knowledge that GWB signed the order for 9/11.  WHY?  The best way to control people is through fear.  It's the same thing Hitler did when he torched the main government building of Germany in the 1930s.  "Look!  We're being attacked."  The next thing Hitler did was to convince the German people that Poland represented a military threat. 

As some of you might suspect, I was in the water swimming laps when the towers were hit.  The news came and the pool cleared to the locker rooms and the tv's.  Our son and his wife were living in NYC then and we had a time getting through to them.  We were concerned because the main office of the graphics house for whom he worked was near the WTC.  They were safely way up town but those offices were taken over by the homeland security or some such entity.  We went up and visited at Thanksgiving and made a "pilgrimage" to the site.  A very moving and enlightening moment as all those around were so very reverant and obviously, deeply moved, as we were.

Fast forward to 9/11/08.  This evening, we will be going to a program put on by the high school marching band of which I was a member some 50+ years ago.  I am conciously looking at it as a symbol of the fact that life does go on, tradition does continue, new generations do pick up the torch, even when tragedy has occured.  Yes, we should pause and remember, but we should not let that tragedy change the very fabric of our lives.  If we do, then the terrorists have won.  Yes, DPR, here is another place in which we agree, and agree completely. 

Miss Ive:

Check your site soon!

It appears that we have a charter member of the Keepers Of Odd Knowledge among us.  I won't dignify such BS with a rebuttal!

Rings90,

So sorry for your loss. Am also glad they are a part of who you are. You are quite lovely, which is a wonderful tribute to them.

 Nachista,

Your webcam has captured almost the exact image I see outside my window today. I will take your advice, go get Number 8 and his junior brother, and go for a drive into the hills.

 PeterLake,

Love that you are picking bittersweet today, of all days. So poetic and apropos.

And, in my humble opinion, you should dry it. It would look just perfect in this:

http://jpeterman.com/product~cat~120203~sku~NCL%20C236.asp

Thanksgiving centerpiece? En memorium? Beautiful. 

Rings90 is absolutely right that ignoring pain is as foolish as wallowing in it and, fundamentally, for the same reason.  Spinner said it better than I could have:  we pause to remember, but we do not let tragedy change the fabric of our lives.

DPR, 'way to go.  Let's take this day back and, while we're at it, let's take May 1 back as well.  Taking back a date doesn't mean we somehow will ourselves to forget.  Just because the date recalls a very tough time for all of us, we will surely profit from the knowledge that there were other 9/11s that were very different.

A long time ago, our family donated a fire house to our NYC neighborhood so we feel a special bond with the people who work there.  That company lost one man on 9/11(I am so thankful it wasn't more) and I always take a minute to say a prayer for his family on these anniversaries.

rings90, What a dreadful experience to have to carry with you.  Losing contemporaries at an early age is a very tough thing to deal with.  Thank you so much for sharing the experience with us.

Happy birthday Olivia.  Go out and do something you've never done before.

Lawn: mowed, Bittersweet: pickcked, Tree trimming: called off on account of rain; will be rescheduled when dry.

Miss Ive,

Thanks for the suggestion.  I grow and pick the bitttersweet and my fiance dries it and uses it thoughout her shop; and yes indeed, it is appropriate.

I should have known I wouldn't be able to stay away from this site today.  I'm really supposed to be doing research for a Grand Central Terminal tour.  But I want to thank everyone for their beautiful insights.

Happy birthday, Olivia!  Burn your candle gloriously at both ends!

As I suspected when I posted my first comment just after midnight last night, there are many perspectives on today's topic and emotions run boiling hot.  Peter was right in the notion that, today of all days, "persuasion should be put on hold".  Like Olivia has said in some of our more tenacious debates, my main concern is to make sure I am not misunderstood.

Blessings to everyone.  (now, back to my studies!)

I don't know how I could grow up on the streets and alleys of the South-Side of Chicago and still be so naive as to say something like "let's express our thoughts and feelings and put the need to persuade on "pause"" and think that I could not speak out.

What happens? We get an opinion from Big Foot's roommate sent to us from their secret hideaway in Roswell's Area 51.

My tongue is bleeding profusely. I'd better go back out and trim the trees.

DPR,

I'd love to take that GCT tour. It was featured in my favorite novel.

Whig1776:  (Great name by the way)  Thank you for your post.  I will read it to my son this afternoon.  For now, its off to baseball practice.  Baseball, America,...awesome. 

I'm going to say a couple things of levity. Forgive me, but I have to get out of this office, at least mentally, for an instant. People keep YouTubing clips from
9/11 and playing them at full volume. All I can hear is screaming and
crying. It's too much. Really. 

PeterLake said:

"Miss Ive,

Thanks for the suggestion.  I grow and pick the
bitttersweet and my fiance dries it and uses it thoughout her shop; and
yes indeed, it is appropriate."

Seriously sounds like a Nora Ephron movie. Very nice. What type of shop?

MackDaddy,

I did get your note! All has been cleared up. We just had a laugh about it, actually. You are wonderful. Please read today's post and tell me if you're 'coming with me.'

DPR,

Glad you kept coming back. Lovely posts. You have a humble and gracious spirit that comes across even when you are at your most bold. And blessings to you, too.

Olivia, 

Nachista's gift to me inspired me to pass it on. This is my virtual birthday gift to you. I think it suits you well. If you would like, I can bring the hem up to more 'interesting' lengths.

http://jpeterman.com/product~cat~110201~sku~WDR%203104.asp 

Mr. Peterman,

As always, love the copy.

"People inevitably make assumptions about you based on how you dress, so
why not wear things that nudge them in interesting directions?"

Whig1776 WOW, that's all I can say, WOW, what a grand way to explain & start such a hard thing for adults to understand let alone the children. I still to this day can't even imagine how I would explain it to any children if they would ask....

I msut admit a few months after the attacks the book "Let's Roll" was released by one of the Flight 93 widows, I bought the book, but have never read it, I can't bring myself to read it, or watch the flight 93 film or any of the others.  I had to turn off the TV this AM as I couldn't stand to hear it all again... I guess maybe I still just want to run away from that feeling of helplessness that I know I had.  The 1 image that stays with me though is when they started yelling 2 ALIVE, 2 ALIVE... I was in the stations feed room & the reaw video from it was harrowing at the same time relieveing in its own strange way....       

I agree Fumeygator ....

“We had extensive talks with law enforcement agencies post-September 11, and the FBI have been aware of people who have gone through our program,”

~ Mark Yates

... and Happy Birthday from me too, Olivia!  (Did ya'll know it was her who recruited me here? The power of a woman!)

Now to the serious stuff....  Maybe because I read a lot of history and maybe because I spent 7-1/2 years in the military, I don't quite see 9-11 in the same light as do a lot of folks... I feel for the victims and for the families, but -- for better or worse -- I feel for the forgotten victims of other disasters, wars, famines, and so on.... Perhaps because I have seen human beings under stress and perhaps because I've spent years dealing with the public, I'm not very surprised that an attack targeted 'soft targets' (Twin Towers) as well as a military headquarters (the Pentagon).  It's all part of basic assymetrical warfare, and the targeting of civilians isn't anything new.  Frankly, in addition to the heartache of those who lost friends in the attacks, I suspect (wish I didn't....) that a lot of the shock and indignation was over the destruction of symbols of power.  I (unfortunately) suspect that -- unlike the 14,000 folks who die on America's highways every year -- the deaths of 3,000 people was and is taken as 'an affront'.  

Consider this:  Many words and an outpouring of feeling has been made over 3,000 deaths (in addition to the impact of televised coverage).  In the  Second Congo War (August2, 1998 - July 2003) an estimated 3,500,000-4,400,000 people died.... and nobody particularly seems to give a dang.  And then there were the 54,000 American troops who died in the Vietnamese War, occassionally given a few (mostly insincere) 'words of praise'.  And let us not forget the bombing of Dresden in February, 1945, in which 'Bomber Harris' was responsible for the deaths of tens and possibly hundreds of thousand... I could go on and on, but my point is simple: 9-11 was simply one more example of the horrors of warfare, and mankind's addiction to violence.

The response of the American government to 9-11 was typical: disproportionate and (mostly) misplaced.  

Misplaced?  Driving down totally unprotected Highway 225 in Pasadena, Deer Park, and La Porte, Texas, anyone with a military background can see dozens and dozens of places where a three man mortar crew (or a couple of guys with RPGs) could cripple the nation's petrochemical industry and bring the US to its knees.  No restricted access badges; no checkpoints; no concentric barriers -- just another highway waiting for a small group of fanatical idiots to wreck 'the hearland'.  Somehow I'm not really very surprised that bored guys are making little old ladies throw their yoghurt away in airports while the petrochem industry sits like an ostrich egg in a shooting gallery.

And the future?  Well, I've talked Olivia into reading Nassem Taleb's 'The Black Swan' -- and I extend the invitation to do likewise to all of you.... How can we be 'safe'?  The long and the short is only fools think anything they do can make them safe... (there are lots of fools around, unfortunately, waiting for some demagogue to promise to 'make them safe'.  Ain't gonna happen!)  

In a world of recombinant DNA, germ warfare research, ever improved nerve agents and delivery systems, integrated (and therefore vulnerable) systems, and a political system organized around the central principal of 'popularity', 'celebrity', 'horse race', 'charisma', and so on, it's only a matter of time before something dwarfing 9-11 makes it a tiny footnote in history.  And if the 'Black Swan' is as massive as human technology promises to make possible, there may not be many historians to record the results... And that is why Stalin's extermination was such a great 'success'... He not only exterminated his victims, but also their entire families, (almost) all the witnesses, and anyone foolhardy enough to even discuss the possible fate of 'the missing'.  

Yes, a bit somber... but then again the Spring does always seem to come after every winter!  9-11 has come and gone... nothing can reverse it... and we all claw our ways into the future, hoping our kids will forget it.  Oblivion is the salve that makes horror bearable.  Memories and waking up in the middle of the night having nightmares is called PTSD.

P.S.  My apologies to any offended by my comments... I greive for many people in my life, and so do we all.  That is both good and human.   But silent remembrance of our loved ones should be a private matter, and grieving for total strangers is both unseemly and insincere IMHO.  I respect those who disagree with me in this regard.  And frankly, that's what being a civilized human being is... again simply my opinion.....

OMG OMG WHAT A DAY. I didn't mean to mislead anyone about my birthday-it's still Monday, the 15th, and I'll be a glorious 55 years young and crazy as hell, almost grown up! Still THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for your wonderful wishes and virtual gifts and warmth-I can't overstate how much your good karma means to me. I will hold it all in my heart through Monday and ever after, turning it/them over and over as a miser gloats over his gold.

When I walked in the door, a few minutes ago, there was an envelope in the mailbox, telling me the Circuit Court had granted my petition to change my name back to my real name, my maiden name that I love, and for some reason this caused me to boohoo uncontrollably for a ridiculous amount of time. I startled the hell out of my best gf, calling her in tears. Then I called some more friends, then I wanted to come here and tell my other group of good friends. So here I am, reading all your well wishes and moving comments about the day and crying more. I'm a mess. Thank you all.

Oh, and to top it off, the Born bitch boots I ordered came in the mail too. I'm going to a private member thingy for a new art installation at our arts center tonight, then a talk at the Clinton School for Public Service, and I am SO gonna strut it!

Off to hoke in my closet for a killer skirt-thanks again all!

Well put Doc.  Does it seem like today in America if something horrific happens in a third-world country that its just not as important and can never compare to our problems and issues?  American selfishness isn't just material in nature, we want to be the victims, we want to own the world's sympathy as well.  The victim mentality does get tiring after a while.

Doc, you said you were in the military?  Were you by chance a corpsman?  Just wondering because of your moniker.

Miss Ive,

Easiest way to explain the shop. http://www.myspace.com/crackerjaxdekalb  It's a chic shop.

Every day is new, and so am I, in everything I do.

What glory and fortune is a sense of wonder!

To bathe in marvels and wear the warm weft of life, awareness, friends,

My multicoloured, confetti-clouded, private public precious world.

Every day I wake up and begin again, the wide-eyed girl.

Olivia, sounds just like you!

Peterlake ~ OMG ~ so here's a PRIME Example at how small this little Petermans' Eye world really is ~ I've been to that store, in the late 90's. I had a roomate who lived in Dekalb & would go & to see her every August..... She introduced me to that shop, cause she KNEW I'd LOVE it....

Nope, nachista... in fact I was an 'information specialist'... sometimes writing bombastic speeches, but mostly writing for and editing the 'base newspaper' -- a very cool gig because I knew EVERYTHING.  Sometimes I was told, 'Don't dare write anything about [topic forbidden]'.  Other times it was, 'I thought you would be interested in ....'  I had a lot of fun!  Even got warned one time to stop running a series of articles in the Sawadee Flyer on STDs (as I recall I was up to the letter 'G' when the directive came down...)  On a less humorous note I was there when the debriefings (classified) were taking place of F-4 pilots who either made it back in their planes, or -- less happily -- were shot down and had to be plucked off of mountainsides by search and rescue teams.  Hair raising stories!  Ah, and then there were the 'human interest' stories like the rescuer and the rescued who -- as their rescue elicopter waist gunner 'suppressed' enemy small arms fire from the ground suddenly recognized each other as acquaintances from the same small town in Oklahoma! Eventually I got 'transferred' to a do-nothing job as 'historian' (a boring job as a simple collector of trivial documents, more of an 'archiver' than anything else).  The only highpoint of that job was -- on especially boring days -- going through ancient classified documents.  My favorite was the pair of VERY upset U.S. Army Corps pilots who took off from their base in England in the last months of World War II and proceeded to Belgium where they proceeded to strafe their own higher headquarters!  They were both shot down and killed, so no one knows what their beef was with the generals... (Small wonder it was classified 'Confidential'!)

I have known and chatted with a number of guys who saw serious combat, however.  The most interesting was a Marine Corps gunney sergeant with three (3!) Vietnam tours whose father was the Canadian ambassador to Italy.  He was a machine gun instructor, too, and worked at Paris Island... I vividly remember walking along with him and a Navy guy to a topless club off post (Glenda, whatever happened to you?)... A car backfired and I looked down to see Dave in the ditch alongside the road.  I then realized what 'training' really meant -- and also how significant the changes combat makes in a person's outlook.  Dave was also the fellow who taught me to always sit with my back to a wall in a bar with a clear view of the front door.  He was a great guy!  Gruff, but under all the 'tough guy' exterior a really nice person.  I was there when (after a couple of beers in one of our haunts) he phoned his girlfriend back in the Carolinas to propose.  She accepted.  I hope they made it.  He deserved a good life.

And that, dear Doc, is why we all love "Gunnys".

You would love the Bluebird Coffee Club.  Its at a local restaurant here called The Bluebird (saw that one coming, didn't ya), and it is basically about a dozen WWII vets who sit around and talk for about an hour every morning.  I love when I have to take a stack of cheques or docs for my dad to sign because I get to sit and listen to the guys bitching and moaning about getting old, or reminiscing about the good old days.  One of the guys was a bomber pilot and he buzzed General MacArthur's HQ on V-J day...he reasoning was "What were they going to do to me?  Kick me out?  The war was over darling."

Rings90,

I sure didn't see that one coming. That is so cool. We were ships passing in the corn fields in Augusts. There have been many changes to the shop since then, we basically gutted it down to bare brick where we could, but kept its soul. The DeKalb downtown has changed quite a bit too. I hope you enjoyed it.

BTW, Louise Brooks was awesome in the movie. I couldn't imagine Lulu being played by anyone else.

Peter and Rings90,

Technically, Pandora's Box doesn't count as "pre-code" (although the time period is right) because the Code only applied to movies produced in the Hollywood studio system and Pandora was filmed in Germany by G.W. Pabst.  Louise Brooks was a goddess of the highest order and simply too smart for the female roles being written in Hollywood so she was lured away to work on the cutting edge of the Weimar Berlin performing arts scene.  Fascinating stunner of a lady!

About ten years ago, when a bunch of 20-something history geeks got together over a late night of too much liquor, a friend of mine posed the question, "If you could go back in time and sleep with a historical figure, whom would you pick?"  The lady who presented the question picked Lord Byron.  I picked Louise Brooks.

I have never been to DeKalb IL but do you guys know who Johann De Kalb was?  We have an avenue in Brooklyn named after him too.  He was actually just Baron Johann Kalb.  The "De" was an affectation he adopted in an effort to sound more French.  If I remember correctly, he was actually Swedish (I could be wrong about that) but he lived in France and came across the Atlantic with Lafayette to fight in the American Revolution.  He was killed in battle here and was hailed as a great hero who died for a cause that was not his own.

Kalb is calf in German. Reminded me of yesterday's topic...

Still buzzing from my lovely night.

Everybody send good vibes Doc's way-he's right in Ike's path...

DPR,

All I know of the Baron DeKalb is that DeKalb County's in Illinois and Georgia are both named after him. You probably know more about him than 99% of the population here: including me.

Doc Nolan,

Be well, be safe, stay dry. We're rooting for you!