hippiechick wrote: 
this is not the day, nor the thread.

Here are some unique views of tower 1 that few people ever saw, and that will never be seen in person again:


Inside the broadcast mast, looking down at the waveguides and cables going up to the antennae.







Thanks to Scott Fybush for capturing these rare and unique views.

 hippiechick wrote:
I agree.  Today I don't feel like America was vindicated; I feel ashamed of what our leaders (We, The People) did.  I don't feel pride; there's nothing to be proud of.  I don't feel fear, but I know that most Americans are still drinking it up like coffee on a Monday morning.

I documented my thoughts of that morning previously.  One thing I didn't mention was the walk to my car.  I lived in a city that was large enough and mean enough that people almost never look a stranger in the eye.  IIRC there was a study in London that concluded that this behavior was a natural reaction to having too little personal space.  Well on that day, everyone was giving each-other a good, long eye-to-eye look.  No doubt some were trying to figure out if their neighbors were terrorists, but for the most part it was this sad, weary look.  An unspoken bond.  A search for reassurance that we're in this together.

I had heard all about WWII growing up.  The men of my parents' generation all fought in The War.  My grandfather, who had fought in WWI, was the local draft board chairman.  Because I lived in predominately Jewish school districts, WWII history was taught more often and I suspect with more emphasis than in many other places.  I had learned of the Battle of Britain, and how the people of London had flat-out refused to allow the German bombs that came every day to alter their chosen daily routine.

I had grown up during the "bad days" of the Vietnam War, had watched it in living color every evening on the news, and had watched the planes taking off from a local Naval air base.  I visited the parents of another only child who had died in Vietnam only a few days prior.  I knew a little about the other side of war too.

On 2001-09-11 I went out into the world confident that my fellow Americans would rise to the occasion and that I would witness the unifying bond that comes only when a grim but necessary job must be done.  I secretly looked forward to witnessing America's "finest hour", a vindication that would shake off the taint of all the mistakes made during the Vietnam war forever.

I was sorely disappointed.

We all know how the rest of the story goes.

 imnotpc wrote: 
Be clear, I am not being disrespectful to the people who lost their lives. But if you don't examine why, then their lives were lost in vain.

 Mugro wrote: 

 hippiechick wrote: 
Sadly, the difference between a memorial thread and a political thread is lost to some.  Discussing humanity in broad terms is part of a memorializing.  Attaching labels to notions changes things.

We have plenty of other places to discuss the labels.

2 ¢

 Mugro wrote: 
I personally think we squandered our friends and allies on the unnecessary war that came out of 9/11. And the decade that has followed has come close to destroying our values, and creating hatred toward others instead of understanding.

On the other hand, there is nothing like a tragedy to wake people up and get the dialog going, and so for that, I think we may be better off.

 hippiechick wrote: 
Perhaps not completely.

I was talking with an Emirati today (you know, a citizen of the United Arab Emirates) as we were walking into our Consulate. He was my guest, and as we walked by our American flag posted at half mast, he remarked "I see you have lowered your flag in honor of those who died as a result of 9/11. A sad day for America." I responded: "A sad day for many countries, as lots of people from many countries died that day." He agreed. He wanted to know how I was feeling and asked me if I felt that things would never be the same. I told him: "Yes, things will never be the same. In some ways, things are worse. But in some ways things are better. Americans before 9/11 did not think we needed Allies or friends. We thought we could do everything on our own. Today, we know better and we know that we must understand other people in other countries in order to live with them and pursue common goals." My Emirati friend agreed.

Perhaps now with this debt and economic crisis we should learn that we have to understand other people with different political views from our own within our own country in order to pull out of this economic downward spiral.

Sometimes the best learned lessons are borne from the most difficult times.

 kurtster wrote: 
Heartless. For 3 months afterward, I read the stories of every person that died and cried all the way to work.

Do you want to forget why this happened? Do you want to think about how this impacts our lives now, including the ridiculous protests to keep the Muslim community from building an activity center on that spot?

We must pay attention to the why as well, so it doesn't happen again.

Just like the Holocaust.

Let there be peace today and everyday, amen.

 hippiechick wrote: 

You are heartless. 

You are behaving the same way those protestors do at the funerals of our fallen servicemen.

There is a time and a place for everything.  This is not the time or the place for vulgarity.

 imnotpc wrote: 
This isn't a CT, and a lot of people feel the same way about this. 9/11/01 changed our country, and not for good. We should remember this, as well as the people who died.

 hippiechick wrote: 


Low rent. Even for Krugman.

Paul Krugman blogs today:

Is it just me, or are the 9/11 commemorations oddly subdued?

Actually, I don’t think it’s me, and it’s not really that odd.

What happened after 9/11 — and I think even people on the right know this, whether they admit it or not — was deeply shameful. The atrocity should have been a unifying event, but instead it became a wedge issue. Fake heroes like Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani, and, yes, George W. Bush raced to cash in on the horror. And then the attack was used to justify an unrelated war the neocons wanted to fight, for all the wrong reasons.

A lot of other people behaved badly. How many of our professional pundits — people who should have understood very well what was happening — took the easy way out, turning a blind eye to the corruption and lending their support to the hijacking of the atrocity?

The memory of 9/11 has been irrevocably poisoned; it has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it.

Today we put aside politics.

 

It was a Tuesday, my regular day off at the time.  A bright, beautiful cloudless day.  I was still sleeping when Patty came in and woke me up with the news that a plane had crashed into one of the towers at the World Trade Center.  I got to the TV in time to see the second plane hit.   We sat stunned and mesmerized by what was unfolding.  Being in Cleveland, it was a distant surreal experience that turned life into slow motion.

Then the Pentagon and the crash in Pennsylvania.  Suddenly, Cleveland was not faraway and removed from what was happening.  It was revealed that the flight that crashed in Pa. had turned around over Cleveland and became unresponsive as it changed course.   Buildings were being evacuated downtown, the order was given that all planes currently in flight must land within 3 hours and unresponsive planes would be shot down IIRC.

We then sat out on the porch and watched all the planes come into Hopkins to land and remain grounded for the duration.  Our house was directly under the approach to Hopkins, only a couple of miles west and we would sit outside on many occasions and just watch the planes land.  By the time they went over the house, they were close enough where details were available to the naked eye, you could actually read the logos on the planes.

We sat and watched the planes come in all at once, a steady stream, and then it slowed down to a trickle.  We saw the logos of many unfamiliar planes that would not have normally landed in Cleveland.  Then the sky was quiet.  It would remain that way for the next three days.  We thought that the events of the day were finally over.

Then news broke that a plane that landed at Hopkins had been isolated with the possibility of a bomb on board, potentially a nuclear device.  We looked at each other, grabbed clothes, Patty grabbed pictures and loaded the car and were gone in 15 minutes.  Our first stop was a nearby BP station where we went to fill up the car.  Chaos was in full gear there as credit cards were not working, at all.  The networks went down when the Trade Centers collapsed.  It was really pitiful to see people yelling at the attendants because their cards were not working.  No one was thinking clearly.  There was no understanding of what was clearly going on with the ripple effects of the events in NY.  Just a whirlwind of self centered anger because of the inconvenience of everyday life being disrupted.  I don't know why other people were filling up their cars, but we were headed out of town to the parents house some 25 miles SE of the airport, and the area where we presently live, to wait for the all clear at Hopkins.  We figured it was far enough away from a potential nuclear explosion. 

These are the events of the day I remember.  The most striking was the scene at the gas station where patience, logic and understanding had clearly left the building.  The scene of frustration, of being caught unprepared for a potential emergency which had actually happened.  The interruption of a lifestyle where things that were taken for granted no longer worked.  It was all about money.  Not having actual cash on hand.  This display I keep in the back of my mind to this day.  A breakdown of civility and common sense during a tragedy. 

I wonder if this crack has been repaired or is the crack expanding.

 

A few years ago our Rescue Squad had their annual installation of officers banquet, and the keynote speaker was LTC (Ret) Brian Birdwell and his wife Mel Birdwell. He was the most seriously injured person from the Pentagon attack that lived. He had written a book (and gave all of us a copy) about the experience. It's quite religious and not exactly great literature, but it has some excellent parts. I can't find anything I can quote so I'm going to type a passage for you and hope the copyright police don't hunt me down. A passage from Mel:

"She waited a moment, then turned her head toward the door. 'I said I brought someone to see you, Colonel Birdwell.' At that the President walked into the room. He looked haggard. His eyes were bloodshot, and you could tell this visit was gut-wrenchingly difficult for him. He walked to the foot of Brian's bed, which was cranked up so Brian could 'sit up' for the visit. Brian saw the President and his eyes were huge, so wide-eyed taking it all in.

The President said, 'Colonel Birdwell' and saluted Brian. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was surprised that the President, as the commander-in-chief, subordinated himself to Brian, a junior officer. I thought, He's showing respect for my husband. My eyes filled with tears.

When the President dropped his hand, he noticed that Brian was trying to return the salute.

Before President and Mrs. Bush arrived, the nurses had prepped Brian for the tank and surgery, so they had removed all his bandages. Only sterile towels were draped over him. As Brian tried to raise his arm, all we could see was bright red muscle - no skin. The skin had burned off and the staff had debrided the rest.

The President stood still, with huge tears in his eyes, holding his salute while Brian tried desperately and agonizingly to return it. Brian struggled to lift his hand to a proper salute but was able to get only about three-quarters of the way up before he had to drop it because of the pain. President Bush continued to hold his salute until Brian's arm came back down.

——-

We were all crying. Finally President Bush dropped his salute and told Brian 'Colonel Birdwell, you are a great American, a hero, and we are going to get the guys who did this. This will not go unanswered.' Brian seemed to take it all in with his huge eyes. Then the President turned to me, still with tears in his eyes, gave me a hug and a kiss, and asked how I was doing. I felt horrible because here was the President of the United States giving me a hug and a kiss - and I hadn't showered or washed my hair in three days! I had on no makeup. And my shirt had Brian's blood all over it because every time I would do something with Brian, such as help a nurse readjust his position, I would get his blood on me. I'm making quite an impression, I kept thinking. But President Bush didn't seem to notice...."

One more, then I'm done with this. This is the photo I associate most with that day.
 
damn no hotlinky.
 
Go here to see it and for an update on her. 

I was teaching class when word spread throughout the school what was happening.  TV's were turned on and everyone sat and stared. As I looked up at the TV and saw the  WTC my knees began to shake and I had to sit down. Just the day before I had received an email from my sister, her husband Bill (not his real name) was to begin his first first day on the job with the (US gov agency), at the World Trade Center.  NO way this was really happening, I thought. He is not really there, I misunderstood the email.  NO I did not, I knew it was real, he was there, and I felt so hollow inside. I began the tortuous task of trying to reach my sister, across the harbor in New Jersey.   At the collapse of the first tower I put the phone down, now afraid to keep calling. But maybe he stayed home. I begin dialing again. The principal comes in the room and asks  if I need to go home. NO, I need to stay busy. For the rest of the day each class watches as we do book work. Absolutely no luck reaching my sister.

I head home after school.

At about 7pm I get through. Bill made it home, after hitching a ride on a small boat to get back over to NJ.  

I can't tell you his story of what happened that day, but the terror and pain is still in his eyes.

He went on to play a KEY role in the investigations that took place afterwards, and today is still very active chasing terrorists around the globe.  (stay tuned for the book and movie)

He is but one of many, but there are not enough of him, and we are at risk for more attacks each and every day. It is the way the world is, and will be, for many years to come. 

Here's hoping we all stay safe when it happens again. 

Kestrel