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10 years post 9/11


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I know that for all of us, myself included, the memories and repercussions of that day go too deep for words. In my heart I remember the victims who should still be among us, living out their lives. In my heart I honor all those rescuers who set aside their own personal safety to do something, anything, to help in the aftermath.

 

My children were still children then. My daughter was in kindergarten, my middle boy was in 5th grade, and my oldest son was in his freshman year of high school. Now I have a HS sophomore, a college sophomore, and my oldest is in grad school, doing research, and engaged to be married in Spring. What a difference 10 years makes! I think of this and I realize the true depth of the wound the country suffered that day. All those lives that would've been filled with 10 years' worth of growth and love and learning and memories, all gone to feed a fanatical hatred.

 

It isn't only the dead who need remembering, but ourselves as well, because we all changed when that ground shifted under us. Today I will think of all those I love now, and loved 10 years back, and I will honor that love by trying to head into the next 10 years as a person I can be proud of having been, 10 years from today. This is such a hard world, in so many ways, and there are tripwires every which way. I hope I at least learned from 9/11 to embrace the now, and live it, and give my love readily.

 

If anyone wants to share thoughts or tributes to 9-11, maybe this thread will be an outlet. I hope we can all get through this sad anniversary ok.

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I wandered over to the World Trade Center late last night to pay some respects since i knew it was going to be a zoo today (i was in chinatown with some friends). I found myself to be way more emotional about it than i thought. I didn't know personally anybody who passed away that day, but i grew up around NYC, and don't think I'll ever forget that day.

 

Another part of it is that i realized being 20 years old now, that day was a half a life ago, yet it still feels so immediate. My heart goes out to everyone, living and deceased, whose lives were more affected by this tragedy than mine was.

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Well said, Roadhse ma.

 

Donna, congrats to your son!

 

9/11 touched and continues to touch our communities in many ways. Last week my workplace did a drive for thank-yous for our local fire dept. and police station for the 10 year mark, with beautiful signed banners, cards, etc., etc. It was featured in the local newspaper yesterday, a small but touching tribute.

 

Personally: Since 9/11, I've had 2 kids, which has been a big, positive change in my life. In part it was the resulting anxiety from 9/11 and the realization that life is short and delicate that made my husband and I decide to have kids, after swearing for years that we wouldn't! Now I can't believe we almost didn't have them. What I want to pass on to them is that there is some good in life, and to do good for yourself and, most importantly, others.

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I tried to avoid most of the TV shows yesterday, but caught myself lingering on the NYC scenes of the towers during some channel hopping last night. In a lot of ways it's even more unbelievable today than it was 10 years ago.

 

Also did a full listen to Springsteen's The Rising during the day. I still consider that to be a great record.

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I tried to avoid most of the TV shows yesterday, but caught myself lingering on the NYC scenes of the towers during some channel hopping last night. In a lot of ways it's even more unbelievable today than it was 10 years ago.

 

Also did a full listen to Springsteen's The Rising during the day. I still consider that to be a great record.

 

It's still raw.

 

And Springsteen was the only musical artist who had the courage to tackle 9/11 in a completely unapologetic, non-ironic manner.

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You don't listen to much Sleater-Kinney, do you?

 

Hence the unapologetic, non-ironic caveat.

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It's still raw.

 

And Springsteen was the only musical artist who had the courage to tackle 9/11 in a completely unapologetic, non-ironic manner.

Totally Agree saw the Beginning Of that tour a lot of Open Weeping in Boston during the Touchstone songs Empty Sky and INTO the FIRE

man those were tough Heartfelt Relevant moments...

This why an artist being true has such an awesome responsibility to be a True Chronicler of History. imo

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Unless he qualifies irony as anything under the age of 50.

 

It's poetry vs. polemic.

We can get into this if you really want to, but I'd prefer not to throttle the thoughts about the day and the reflection that the day should have brought.

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Guest Speed Racer

I mean, I think you already throttle them a bit when you remark that Only One Man managed to have an artistic response that was un-apologetic and non-ironic. That's just my two cents. Surely you wouldn't discount the response or recollections of any one person on this board as apolgetic or ironic, so I don't know why 99.9% of artist reactions get painted with that brush.

 

ETA: This from the perspective of someone who appreciated a variety of artistic responses. A lot of them annoyed me, a lot of them seemed gimmicky, but I enjoyed/responded to several, and I don't think their irony or wimpiness is what drew me in. Would you say that's what happened?

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You don't listen to much Sleater-Kinney, do you?

 

I agree. I'd put One Beat up against The Rising any day. I love both artists and own both albums and One Beat certainly qualifies as "a completely unapologetic and non-ironic" tackling of 9/11/2001 themes. I am sure that there are other artists meeting the criteria.

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Guest Speed Racer

Combat Rock was a great bit of foreshadowing re: Iraq, and Faraway is one of the best "in the moment" songs that doesn't have to do with police or firefighters, but with the rest of us. And One Beat itself is just an amazing song.

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Sweet fucking fancy Moses I never meaned totally derail this thread.

 

Shoot me.

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Guest Speed Racer

And lest one deride anyone for having an inane conversation in a thread of rememberance, I'm probably not the only one who spent at least some of that day having serious/inane/panicked/funny conversations on a message board. It was a different one back then, with the bulk of its membership in New York City, and I remember refreshing the page as everyone around that area checked in, thinking for sure that at least one of them had to have died. We didn't refrain from our usually stupid arguments and random posting, as it was a great day to blow off steam, but I do know that each one of us kept returning to the "NY Check-In" thread.

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