Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
-“Try to Remember,” from The Fantasticks.
It’s hard to believe that it will be 19 years from one of the darkest days in our history. It’s hard to believe that we’re going to make our annual observation of this day during a pandemic that has taken so many lives. It’s hard to believe that our country is so divided, when the most hopeful and strangest feeling from the early days after September 11, 2001, came from seeing how we tried to come together to save lives or to do what we can to keep going with our lives. It’s still so strange to think how that blue sky on that day could be so horrible.
There are tensions and changes to how we make our observations, as WABC Eyewitness News reported. I hope we let our better selves prevail.
I’ll also share the link to Eyewitness News anchor Bill Ritter’s post on his thoughts about how this year’s observations of September 11 really is not like the other years. I don’t think that means we forget; I think that it means we try something different, to be mindful of our current circumstances.
On a lighter note, I share this link about how ex-NY Mets players Al Leiter, John Franco, Robin Ventura, and Todd Zeile still make an annual visit to a firehouse since 9/11 (even if it means doing it via Zoom). There’s something heart-warming about hearing that story, as we again head into a time of sad and hopeful memories.
I keep sharing Eyewitness News links since I happen to come upon them through Facebook. What’s odder is remembering WABC was where I had most of my coverage on that September 11, 2001, and watching Peter Jennings that night, when that eerie smell from the remains of Ground Zero even permeated my end of South Brooklyn. I was in my 3L year of law school, and we were right across the East River. I suppose that 9/11 really is my generation’s version of how you remember where you were when JFK died moment.
Some photos of memorials. They’re not new photos, but I still like them anyway.
The above is a photo of the World Trade Center Memorial that either my brother or I had taken some years ago.
Take a moment to pause and reflect, and thanks for being here. — ssw15