September 11th

[Alexander]

I was working a mid-shift (11 - 7:30) at Barnes & Noble, so I was still at home when the attacks happened. I'm not much of a TV watcher, or a radio listener, so I wasn't aware at the time of what had happened. I just got Sammie (who was about 1 1/2 at the time) ready while I finished preparations for work, and we left. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL September morning as we drove over to my in-laws' house. I arrived and my father-in-law answered the door. He asked me if I'd heard what happened. I said that I hadn't. His exact words were "The whole country's under attack." This turned out to be an exaggeration. I remember walking up the stairs while he told me that a plane had crashed into the WTC. I felt relieved (!) because I was sure that it had been a case of pilot error that everyone was blowing out of proportion. Then he told me about the second plane.

We went into the TV room, while my mother-in-law took care of Sam, and I got there just in time to see the second tower fall. I remember looking at my daughter and thinking "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that grown-ups are so fucking stupid."

I went to work and everyone was talking about it. There was a radio on in the back room and we were all ducking back there to get updates. I remember wracking my brain trying to think what the signficance of September 11th could be (knowing that terrorists often choose significant dates or anniversaries when planning attacks). When I mentioned this to a co-worker he said, "I think this day is creating its own significance."

Rumors were flying. People were talking about a truck bomb that had blown up in front of the Pentagon, the Capitol building, or the White House. Dozens of planes were supposed to be missing. When the smoke cleared (figuratively), it turned out that only (!) four planes were involved. That two had hit the WTC and one the Pentagon. The fourth had gone down in Pennsylvania (at the time a lot of us wondered if that one was connected at all). I remember feeling better since many of the rumors had turned out to be false. After all of the hyperbole of that day, reality seemed strangely comforting.

The store closed early, of course. Half the staff ended up leaving anyway and very few customers were coming in. Still, even as we were counting down the tills, I kept fielding calls from customers who were surprised that we were closing. When one person asked me "why" for the tenth time, I said "Because two great big public buildings fell down. Is that good enough for you?"

I don't believe that "everything changed" three years ago today. Human beings were mortal before, and we're still mortal today. The time, date, and manner of our deaths is as uncertain and as inevitable now as it was on September 10, 2001. What happened on 9/11 was a momento mori...a reminder that we must all die and that we don't know how or when it will happen. You don't wake up in the morning on the day you're going to die and get a reminder card in the mail like the one you get from the dentist ("It's time!"). And there's no such thing as an "omen." Death can come out of a beautiful clear blue sky, like the one on that terrible day three years ago, just as it can come out of a black stormy sky (like the one in the south Atlantic right now).

I remember thinking, as I drove into work after hearing about the attacks, that this horrible deed is the legacy of religion. This unreasoning hatred of anything or anyone different from us and the absolute certainty of our own personal salvation. WE are God's chosen people. YOU are not. When we kill you, it is just. When you kill us, it is a sin. And it's not just Bin Laden. It's Pat Robertson. It's Ariel Sharon. It's everybody who ever thought, "I'm going to heaven...and you're not."

As for the question of 9/11's lasting effects...I have to say that I DON'T wake up at night worried that something terrible has happened. I did, at first. And I worried on holidays. But I don't anymore. Honestly, I barely ever think about terrorism. Yes, it is real, just as death is real. And I am going to die, but I can't spend every moment reflecting on that fact. When it happens, it happens. And when another attack comes, we'll deal with it, just as we dealt with 9/11. After all, it isn't the first time something like this has happened. Just ask the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki...

[Dan Gould]

My memories are dominated by:

1. Before the first shots of the Pentagon were available, hearing, I think, Peter Jennings, say, "Oh my" and describing reports of smoke rising from the building. That really brought home the fear over what was happening and what might happen next. And of course at that point the towers stood so the full extent of the destruction wasn't yet realized.

2. Realizing that my sister worked a block and a half away from the WTC (I had known she worked downtown but not exactly where) and beginning to worry about her safety. She still cannot speak about what she saw that day and continues to have nightmares about it.

3. The worries about getting friends and family to our Wedding just eleven days later and the surrealness of sitting at the airport afterwards, US Army personnel at the security checkpoint and the place almost entirely empty. It was later that I realized how much our Wedding had meant to friends and family to see that life goes on and that there can be joy and happiness again.

I was not prepared to watch the 9/11 film that CBS broadcast later, but a friend taped it for me, and I've been thinking that tonite might be the time to sit down and watch. Still not sure if I'm ready, but ...

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Later in the day I'll be playing golf with some folks over at the Army/Navy Country Club -- about a mile from the Pentagon -- and I'll certainly think about it when we get to that area of the course that the plane crossed over as it descended toward the Pentagon. My house shook that morning.

[Christiern]

This morning, C-Span carried Bush's reading of a brief 9/11 script from the Oval Office, surrounded by family members of victims.

I think it was quite appropriate for him to say something on this sad anniversary, but he shamelessly turned it into a not-so-thinly-veiled campaign speech. These worms have no shame! I hope Kerry's radio address will be more sincere and dignified.

[Craig23]

As with others my day was very surreal. My band was on a US tour. We had left New York 5 days prior to 9/11 and Washington DC 3 days prior. We had never played outside of the west coast. We were schudeled to play in Lawrence, Kansas on 9/11. After going back and forth we decided not to cancel but to play. The club was surprisingly crowded. The most surreal experience of my life was playing on stage while watching reruns of the planes hitting the towers on the televisions behind the bar. The mix of pleasure (playing) and pain (watching what was clearly going to be a world changing event) was overwhelming.

The show turned out to be one of the most satisfying of the month for us because it was an hour or so break from events of the day.

[RainyDay]

My memories of that day: Half awake, turning on the local news on TV, and as they were updating the first hit the second plane hit. I did something I never do in the AM, I turned off the TV and said out loud to no one, I can't deal with this, even before knowing what was going on. I turned on the TV after brushing my teeth and the story unfolded. I went to work like it was a normal day.

Getting to work and the junior employees freaking out because SF schools had just closed and they needed to get their kids and no sennior managers had arrived yet so I sent them all home.

My boss arriving at 9 AM and stating that the BART stations were jammed with people getting out of SF.

My co-worker arriving and announcing the towers had collapsed.

Leaving the office at 10:30 AM and watching quite disoriented tourists wandering the streets. Arriving at BART to a nearly empty station. Riding through the transbay tube while BART police in riot gear patroled the train, something I'd never seen in all of BART's history. Getting off in downtown Oakland, City Center nearly deserted, the federal building surrounded by Oakland police and federal marshals. Begging a marshall not to make me walk a quarter mile out of my way to get to the parking garage and he relented. Walking into the parking garage that was completely empty when it should be full. It was at that point that I became literally panicked and just wanted to be home.

I remember that following Friday. We had tickets to see Joe Lovano at Yoshi's but he couldn't make it because air travel was still a mess. So we decided to go to Yoshi's anyway and have dinner. Yoshi was personally greeting people at the door and thanking us all for coming. The club was dark.

[GregK]

This morning, C-Span carried Bush's reading of a brief 9/11 script from the Oval Office, surrounded by family members of victims.

I think it was quite appropriate for him to say something on this sad anniversary, but he shamelessly turned it into a not-so-thinly-veiled campaign speech. These worms have no shame! I hope Kerry's radio address will be more sincere and dignified.

I thought we were going to keep politics out of this discussion? Post this comment in the political forum.

[Shrdlu]

It's so frustrating, too, as it doesn't feel like the people who did it will ever be punished here on earth (apart from the ones on the airplanes, of course). What's also so frustrating is the ease with which the culprits did it. They were only armed with box cutters. Even allowing for the fact that this was so unexpected, people are so wimpy and easily intimidated. Two of my kids are high up in Ju Jitsu, and could easily have disarmed the scumbags with the box cutters. At least the passengers on the plane that went down in Pennsylvania fought back.

Hmmm... I wouldn't want to imply that those who perished in the two planes that hit the WTC were "wimps" because they didn't physically challenge the hijackers. Until that day, the traditional wisdom was that you DON'T physically challenge hijackers while a loaded plane is in the air. The only way that fighting back makes sense in that situation (due to the fact that you really don't know if the hijackers have guns, or bombs, and thus could be jeopardizing everyone on the plane) is if you KNOW they're planning to intentionally crash the plane (or kill everyone on board, one way or another). Nobody on those two planes could have known for sure that they were going to crash intentionally. The other situation was different. Due to the time delay, the people on the plane that went down in Pennsylvania had gotten the news of the WTC crashes by phone, and knew they would probably be SAVING lives by taking the risk.

I hope this makes sense... my memory could be foggy after three years...

You have a point, Jim (and ejp626). I think your recollections are correct. How could the passengers and staff on board have known what those awful people were going to do?

Anyway, we now know that conventional wisdom is not always right. It is unlikely that any terrorist will be able to get away with the 9/11 thing again - for one thing, the pilots would be sure to crash the plane in a relatively safe place as a last resort.

I don't think they will do such a thing again. It only has to be done once, and then they leave a legacy of fear in the aftermath, forcing everyone to suffer the inconvenience and expense of tedious security measures.

It is satisfying to know that God will get the culprits, and has already gotten the ones who died in the crashes. Now they know that Islam is a crock.

[Dan Gould]

It is satisfying to know that God will get the culprits, and has already gotten the ones who died in the crashes. Now they know that Islam is a crock.

What a charmless Christian you are.

Guess that's why you referred to them as "camel jockies"-they're non-Christians, they're condemned to hell, who gives a shit, right?

And exactly how do you know that Islam is a crock?

HOW do you KNOW they aren't enjoying their 72 virgins at this very moment????

Oh, that's right, the King James Bible tells you so.

You do more to keep people away from YOUR so-called "saviour" than you've ever done to bring them to "Him", preacher man.

[Christiern]

Shrdlu:"It is satisfying to know that God will get the culprits, and has already gotten the ones who died in the crashes. Now they know that Islam is a crock."

By your reasoning, your "God" got three planeloads of people 3 years ago. There is something wrong with your equation, Shrdlu, because--if we are to follow your way of thinking--"God" took about 3.000 innocent lives and only 19 "culprits" on that day. If that is "God"'s idea of justice, I don't want any of it! Also by your reasoning, the 3,000 innocent people who died should now know that their religion is "a crock." Please, spare us such illogic.

[Free For All]

We're trying to keep it "low key" here, folks. If you want to do otherwise, kindly take it here. Thank you.

[Shrdlu]

Shrdlu:"It is satisfying to know that God will get the culprits, and has already gotten the ones who died in the crashes. Now they know that Islam is a crock."

By your reasoning, your "God" got three planeloads of people 3 years ago. There is something wrong with your equation, Shrdlu, because--if we are to follow your way of thinking--"God" took about 3.000 innocent lives and only 19 "culprits" on that day. If that is "God"'s idea of justice, I don't want any of it! Also by your reasoning, the 3,000 innocent people who died should now know that their religion is "a crock." Please, spare us such illogic.

I did not say that God wished the regular passengers and staff on those planes, and the people on the ground who were killed, to be destroyed. I was referring to the horrible terrorists who perpetrated the evil deeds, as should have been obvious.

But, no-one who isn't saved is "innocent" in God's sight, Chris. There is no lack of logic. God says "There is none righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3:10) He also says "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:36) These did not originate with me, so don't act as if this information is being published for the first time. This is believed by all saved people.

With those scriptures in mind, the conclusions that I made follow directly. Anyone who was killed that day went to heaven if they were already saved, looking at the positive side of it. Obviously, the unsaved terrorists didn't. I derive no pleasure from that tragic fact, and, more importantly, nor does God. God says "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live." (Ezekiel 33:11)

I am a preacher of the gospel, and my job is to publish the truth. There is no intention to offend. Those who oppose the gospel are very vocal about it, so I also have the right to broadcast the scriptures.

[jazzbo]

I remember having someone call me from another of our agency's department to tell my then boss to turn on the tv that was in her office because something terrible had happened. That was a few minutes after the first plane had collided. I told her, and then I dashed to the internet to yahoo news. . . .

I remember the panic I felt as my wife and I tried to reach (separately from our separate working places) my in-laws in Arlington and couldn't for several hours. Finally the relief when we discovered they were okay. . . their house shook a little as well that day.

I remember feeling extreme sorrow for those in NYC and D.C. who had lost family members that day and the days that followed.

(I also have to be honest and say I remember feeling from his first appearance in NYC and beyond that Bush was taking advantage of the situation, I didn't feel sincere remorse from him or feel inspired by leadership. But I already abhorred his political actions).

[Shrdlu]

It is satisfying to know that God will get the culprits, and has already gotten the ones who died in the crashes. Now they know that Islam is a crock.

What a charmless Christian you are.

Guess that's why you referred to them as "camel jockies"-they're non-Christians, they're condemned to hell, who gives a shit, right?

And exactly how do you know that Islam is a crock?

HOW do you KNOW they aren't enjoying their 72 virgins at this very moment????

Oh, that's right, the King James Bible tells you so.

You do more to keep people away from YOUR so-called "saviour" than you've ever done to bring them to "Him", preacher man.

I object to that, Dan. (And, sorry if there was any misunderstanding.) I am an evangelist, and I wish to see everyone trust Jesus as Saviour, as he is the only way to heaven (John 14:6). I regularly witness to people of all colors, races and ethnic groups. I do care whether people get saved. If I were in Iraq now, I would witness to anyone that I could. I don't speak Arabic, so I would need an interpreter.

I do not use the term "Christian", as it is now meaningless.

Don't be so touchy about light-hearted names. People seem to be searching for things that might offend them these days. Expressions like "Yank", "Pommies", "Limeys" etc. are very common, and, to me at least, harmless. If you are in the Mideast desert, you go around on a camel. Where I live, I use a car. You can call me a "car jockey" if you like. Man, a person can hardly speak anymore without a ton of bricks falling on their head.

Re "charm", there is a saying that the truth sometimes offends. But Paul says "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16) Would you prefer that I lie to you and tell you that Mohammed Atta and his buddies are now being rewarded by God for killing thousands of people. Chris speaks of logic. It is illogical to try to maintain simultaneously that 9/11 was an atrocity and that Islam's teachings are O.K.

[couw]

all stories are true stories

[7/4]

It is satisfying to know that God will get the culprits, and has already gotten the ones who died in the crashes. Now they know that Islam is a crock.

What a charmless Christian you are.

Guess that's why you referred to them as "camel jockies"-they're non-Christians, they're condemned to hell, who gives a shit, right?

And exactly how do you know that Islam is a crock?

HOW do you KNOW they aren't enjoying their 72 virgins at this very moment????

Oh, that's right, the King James Bible tells you so.

You do more to keep people away from YOUR so-called "saviour" than you've ever done to bring them to "Him", preacher man.

I object to that, Dan. (And, sorry if there was any misunderstanding.) I am an evangelist, and I wish to see everyone trust Jesus as Saviour, as he is the only way to heaven (John 14:6). I regularly witness to people of all colors, races and ethnic groups. I do care whether people get saved. If I were in Iraq now, I would witness to anyone that I could. I don't speak Arabic, so I would need an interpreter.

I do not use the term "Christian", as it is now meaningless.

Don't be so touchy about light-hearted names. People seem to be searching for things that might offend them these days. Expressions like "Yank", "Pommies", "Limeys" etc. are very common, and, to me at least, harmless. If you are in the Mideast desert, you go around on a camel. Where I live, I use a car. You can call me a "car jockey" if you like. Man, a person can hardly speak anymore without a ton of bricks falling on their head.

Re "charm", there is a saying that the truth sometimes offends. But Paul says "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16) Would you prefer that I lie to you and tell you that Mohammed Atta and his buddies are now being rewarded by God for killing thousands of people. Chris speaks of logic. It is illogical to try to maintain simultaneously that 9/11 was an atrocity and that Islam's teachings are O.K.

Take it here: Shrdlu

[Free For All]

I expect this thread has for the most part much run its course, so thanks to those who shared some very personal and emotional stories. I hope it wasn't overly maudlin to talk about this; my feeling is that the passage of time tends to temper the pain somewhat, and we can look back and see what we were going through with a bit more of an objective eye.

[Christiern]

Thank you for starting it. You know, we who live in NYC are reminded of 9/11 every time we look at our skyline and see the erasure.

[Tim McG]

I still remember.

Flew my American flag [yeah, Liberals own them, too. OK?]

And...I shed a tear for the innocents who died there.

[maren]

One individual I often think of is a sculptor named Michael Richards (no, not the actor who played Kramer) who had a fellowship for studio space at the top of one of the towers for five months.

A work of his, Tar Baby versus St. Sebastian ("a life-size bronze cast of himself as a Tuskegee Airman, with his body being impaled by many small airplanes") is pictured HERE.

THIS SITE has photos of another work, and an essay that expresses a lot of what I felt when I first saw these pieces:

There is another sculpture by Richards in resin and steel, one I have seen only in photographs. Its title is "Tar Baby vs. St. Sebastian" and its meaning, in light of 9/11, is terrible. Seeing it, it is impossible not to wonder by what compass Richards found his way across this life, or how the needle quivering in that compass could point him to create a work that would foretell his own death. The sculpture, over seven feet tall, is a standing figure of a single Tuskegee airman. The pose is almost Pharaonic. Where in old paintings the body of the martyred St. Sebastian bristles with a thicket of arrows, this figure is impaled instead by a swarm of fighter planes, stuck like darts thrown at an effigy. The irony of this sculpture is obvious even to people oblivious to art. It is oracular and crushing. Looking at it now, there is no escaping a feeling that there are more dimensions to reality than we are able to acknowledge without becoming in some way unhinged.

Science is embarrassed by what it can’t explain…it falls off a cliff. Faced with Michael Richards’s prophetic depiction of his own death, it can do little more than mumble, "It was a random thing, the clicking-past of numbers…the shrapnel of blind fate." This work and the death of Michael Richards are a manifestation of a realm we are now for the most part closed off from, a realm not taken seriously (if it is even acknowledged by a modern to exist.) It is occult, a mystery we cannot penetrate. We cannot make our way into it with stethoscopes and rubble-sniffing dogs.

Heaviest of all is to look at photos from a 1996 show of his at theStudio Museum in Harlem.

Edited September 13, 2004 by maren

[7/4]

One individual I often think of is a sculptor named Michael Richards (no, not the actor who played Kramer) who had a fellowship for studio space at the top of one of the towers for five months.

A work of his, Tar Baby versus St. Sebastian ("a life-size bronze cast of himself as a Tuskegee Airman, with his body being impaled by many small airplanes") is pictured HERE.

THIS SITE has photos of another work, and an essay that expresses a lot of what I felt when I first saw these pieces:

There is another sculpture by Richards in resin and steel, one I have seen only in photographs. Its title is "Tar Baby vs. St. Sebastian" and its meaning, in light of 9/11, is terrible. Seeing it, it is impossible not to wonder by what compass Richards found his way across this life, or how the needle quivering in that compass could point him to create a work that would foretell his own death. The sculpture, over seven feet tall, is a standing figure of a single Tuskegee airman. The pose is almost Pharaonic. Where in old paintings the body of the martyred St. Sebastian bristles with a thicket of arrows, this figure is impaled instead by a swarm of fighter planes, stuck like darts thrown at an effigy. The irony of this sculpture is obvious even to people oblivious to art. It is oracular and crushing. Looking at it now, there is no escaping a feeling that there are more dimensions to reality than we are able to acknowledge without becoming in some way unhinged.

Science is embarrassed by what it can’t explain…it falls off a cliff. Faced with Michael Richards’s prophetic depiction of his own death, it can do little more than mumble, "It was a random thing, the clicking-past of numbers…the shrapnel of blind fate." This work and the death of Michael Richards are a manifestation of a realm we are now for the most part closed off from, a realm not taken seriously (if it is even acknowledged by a modern to exist.) It is occult, a mystery we cannot penetrate. We cannot make our way into it with stethoscopes and rubble-sniffing dogs.

Heaviest of all is to look at photos from a 1996 show of his at theStudio Museum in Harlem.

Woah!

I met someone else (can't think of his name) who had a space in one of the WTC towers. He placed contact microphones on the walls and recorded the sounds of the building moving in the wind.

Later, after it all fell down, he made the recordings part of an installation at a mid-town gallery. Pretty creepy, all that moanin' and groanin'.

[chuckyd4]

I had a 9:30 class at NYU that morning. I always took the C train from my apt in Fort Greene, Brooklyn to the W. 4th stop in Greenwich Village - for you non-New Yorkers, that train went directly underneath the WTC.

I was running a little late that morning, didn't have time to turn on the TV. By the time my bus got to the train station, the trains had stopped running. None of the transit workers knew why yet. Walked to the next station on the line. Same thing. Tried a third in Downtown Brooklyn, on a different line - still nobody knew exactly what was up.

Got out of the station and thought about walking over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. Heard somebody say something about a plane flying into one of the twin towers. Somebody else looked at the guy and said "What the fuck are you talking about? People don't just fly planes into the World Trade Center." I have to admit, I felt about the same at the moment - just one of those crazy rumors that gets started.

Was about a four or five minute walk from the Brooklyn Promenade - which has probably the best view of the Manhattan skyline in all of New York. On the walk, there was this weird white stuff (looked like little bits of dust or paper or something) floating all over the air.

Arrived at the Promenade a couple of minutes later. By this time, both towers had been hit. Said to my girlfriend of the time - "What's the date today? The 11th? I bet this date will become well known. Holy shit - we're here to see what happened on September 11th" (before that date meant anything). Lots of rumors flying around, very little hard information. Both towers collapsed. Just an incredibly numb feeling. All the anxiety would come later. I remember wondering about the air - wondering if there was some kind of chemical in it. Thought that I could well be dead within hours. At that point it wasn't even a question of if another attack might happen, it was where is the next plane coming.

If I remember right, that was the beginning of the anxiety.

* * *

On the walk back to my apartment, a young man (probably early 20s) collapsed into the arms of my girlfriend, bawling and repeating one word: "Why?" Walked alongside a black woman in her 40s who was covered in white debris - forgive the allusion, but she looked like a ghost... completely white.

When I got home, tried to call anybody from my family I could think of. Couldn't get a line out. Finally, about an hour later, got my grandmother (who died only a year later)... she said "this is worse than Pearl Harbor". Seemed appropriate to me.

Walked around, stunned, all day... just to get out of the house, and turn off the TV. Military and police everywhere... nobody talking. Spent the evening and early night on the roof of my brownstone, watching the column of smoke slowly trail off across Brooklyn and Queens. Took some pictures on a disposible camera. Sometime that night (probably around 1 or 2 in the morning, my girlfriend broke down and started crying hysterically. Mine came the next afternoon.

* * *

Since then, I've developed serious anxiety problems and a healthy alcohol problem to go with it. I'm not proud, but that is the truth. After the death of my grandmother, I drank excessively for three or four months, ended up with a new girlfriend and in Atlanta.

I also can not talk about it in real life - I guess that is why I feel the need to tell the story here, in relative anonymity. Three years later, and this is the first time I've

described my experience in this much detail. I'm glad I had the opportunity, hopefully it will help with some of the buried pain.

I also fully identify with those who regularly expect to turn on CNN or any news station, and expect to hear the news of the latest catastrophe. There is always a weird, relieved let down when all the local stations are still on regular programming.

Shrdlu.... I am a Christian myself, and I find your comments offensive and completely inappropriate.

Edited September 14, 2004 by chuckyd4

[Free For All]

Thanks for sharing that, chuckyd4. Really eloquent and poignant post. I'm sorry you're having problems, although I sure can understand why (as much as someone who wasn't actually there can) and I hope things soon get better for you. I hope you've got someone to talk to, either friend or professional, I would think it would helpful to talk about it. I remember going out with friends for drinks shortly afterwards (just to get out of the house)and starting to laugh about some stupid thing, and it kept escalating but kind of crossed the line almost to crying, you know, kind of an emotional "purge". Man, I felt better after that. I think the worst thing would be to keep it bottled up. But I'm no professional, so....

I do know this- always know you're among friends here!

Edited September 14, 2004 by Free For All

[White Lightning]

I am a preacher of the gospel, and my job is to publish the truth. There is no intention to offend. Those who oppose the gospel are very vocal about it, so I also have the right to broadcast the scriptures.

Shrdlu,

I too find your posts in this thread offensive.

As a believer you must know that practicing humility is essential. MUCH more essential than preaching it. Your "Truth" is not God's truth - it's YOURS. Don't even start to presume to know and/or understand what God thinks.

As a preacher and an educator you have a much heavier responsibility considering what you preach and teach - people listen to you. Be careful!

Let me conclude with the words of a great scholar and rabbi recorded in the section of the Talmud known as "Ethics of the Fathers." Avtalyon said, "Sages, watch your word, lest you be punished by exile to a place of bad waters, and lest your students, who follow after you, drink and die and, as a result, cause the name of Heaven to be profaned." (Pirkei Avot 1:11)

Shalom and Shana Tova!

[Guy Berger]

It was in the beginning of my 2nd year of grad school. We had a class at 9 am in the morning and I'm not sure about the exact sequence of events, but one of the other students ran in and said that a plane had crashed into the WTC. At the time I thought it must have just been a small plane. Anyway, the truth gradually unfolded during the day. All of our classes were cancelled. I watched much of the coverage at the Hall of Graduate Studies (they had a big screen TV), then later on my neighbor's tv. I was sure I'd wake up the next day to find out there'd been more attacks. It was an awful day, though I can't imagine it being nearly as horrible as for anyone who spent it in NYC.

It's odd -- I haven't spent much time thinking about 9/11 over the past two anniversaries. Thanks for letting me share.

p.s. I liked Belle Waring's reflections on 9/11.