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12:47:00 PM EDT
Recalling 9/11/01
I was working as a freelance writer and photographer in the fall of 2001. I use the term "working" pretty loosely -- they cut my phone off at dawn on 9/11. I had a bunch of potential clients to call, but had learned from experience what the drill was in this situation: Use my credit card to jimmy open my next-door neighbor's window, climb inside, call her at work to let her know what was happening and start planning the thank-you dinner I would cook for her that evening.
"Shut up, Jeff. We don't have any work for you yet. Just turn the TV on."
I caught the smoke pouring out of the first tower. The
second plane hit minutes later. I couldn't believe what was happening. Nobody
could. I saw the people jumping, the smoke pouring -- and then there was an
interruption in the feed.
For a few moments, this stop-motion clip from a Frank Zappa
film started playing -- cotton-wool smoke crept through a psychedelic plastic
graveyard while guitars furiously noodled. Someone at the station must have hit
the wrong button or crossed a wire. But for a little bit, I thought, "Thank God.
This is all just a sick prank, or a weird accident." It
wasn't.
I drove around to my clients' businesses. Everyone
was glued to the TV. Editors and creative directors were glued to their TVs. "We
got nothin'," they all said, never turning from the
sets.
Cars were pulled over in the streets and people
gathered around them, listening to the radios. Jets screamed through the sky,
flying laps from air bases in Virginia up to New York and back, patrolling the
East Coast. They were the only planes in the sky, and then that stopped, too.
The sky went clear and silent, like Scalzi
mentions.
Nobody could bring themselves to work, but nobody could go home
either. Everyone I saw in Richmond that day was just wandering around,
stunned.
I ended up at my friend Kathy's place. We didn't
talk much at all. I don't remember a word either of us said -- all I remember is
the two of us lying on her bed and holding each other, turning the TV
on, turning it off, turning it back on again.
That night we
gathered on my front porch -- my neighbors, roommate, Kathy, even the wino that
hung out in our alley. We just sat there, talking. Someone
said:
My dad told me over the phone that night:Things are never going to be the same. Big football games, big concerts, traveling by plane ... it all just got a lot scarier, man.
Things are going to change. This country's going to get a lot more conservative. Foreigners are going to be treated suspiciously, and a lot of freedoms we think are normal are going to fade away.
He
was right about that.
I can remember thinking that we all had
to band together, put aside our political differences, and stay united. And that
maybe, just maybe, if everyone kept the reality of these attacks and our love of
home in our hearts, and ignored the temptation to spin this situation for
political gain, we'd make it through. We'd be able to conquer our enemies, unify
as a country, and be greater than we've ever been.
I was wrong
about that.
Like Joe, what I remember the most is that
everyone wanted to help.
Here are some links from around the Web, archives, tributes and memorials to the events that terrible day. If you
have more, please leave them in my comments.
Many of these
links will point to content that contains a lot of profanity. Be
forewarned.
*Five Years After 9/11, Nation Pays Solemn Tribute
*Metafilter comment thread from 9/11, as it evolved.
*Choking on the Ashes of the
Dead
*September 11th
Archive
*Minerva: September 11th
Archive
*9/11: the World
Remembers --
CNN
This link is particularly incredible. Photographer Bil
Biggart was killed by debris at the World Trade Center on 9/11, and took photos
until he died. His camera was recovered, and the images are in a gallery at the
link below:
*'Bill Biggart's Final
Exposures'
Many J-landers, either in response to Scalzi's assignment or of their
own volition, are posting their own memories and
tributes:
*Oh, My
Word!
*Our Beloved
Angels
*Rachael Anne Rules the
World
*Aurora Walking
Vacation
*Adventures in Park
Hopping
If there is a link you'd like to add, either to your own creations or
something out on the Web, please leave it in the comments section
...
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hi there,I loved your tribute I didnt hear about the 2996 project until all of the 2996 bloggers were allocated,which is a shame,however I have written a poem,come over to see if you get time,all the best zoe xx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/zoepaul6968/DomesticAbuse/ -
No one will ever forget! Thank you for this entry. I did a tribute to Bill Biggart's Final Exposure in my own journal. It was overwhelming when I clicked on your link and saw that. Your entry was well written and moving as well.
Nelishia
http://journals.aol.com/nelishianatl/WISHINGANDHOPING/ -
I cannot forget that day either. I participated in the 2996 project and posted my tribute to Shiv Shankar one of the victims of 9/11.
Kate.
http://journals.aol.co.uk/bobandkate/AnAnalysisofLife/ -
Thank you for your thoughts for that day and comments. Ann
http://journals.aol.com/a2002v2002/BeautyinArt/
9/15/06 6:42 AM