Yes, it is true. I don't post on the Sabbath. This post has been pre-reviewed and will appear, specifically to observe the 20th anniversary of 9-11.
I am a child of the 1960s. Voting Rights for Blacks. The VietNam War. Those two are key factors in my outlook- and my feelings about the USA. I should also mention the Port Huron Statement– the manifesto with which my generation hoped to change the world.
My youngest child’s defining moment was 9-11. Twenty years ago today. His two older siblings were also affected- Shosh was in Washington Heights at the time. Shira was in school in DC and had to maneuver her way to get home. (My son was dragged out of school by me- over the protests of the administration. Once I arrived home from celebrating my 50th in Manhattan, saw the plane hit the Pentagon and then heard about NYC- not to mention being unable to reach my daughters, I zoomed to Fairfax County to retrieve my son from the only Jewish Day School in Northern Virginia. At that early stage, it looked like another likely target to me.)
But, to some degree, it was our governments that entitled 9-11. I’m not talking about the incompetence of the agencies handling of the 19 terrorists. (Really? No one thought it bizarre that these non-citizens were attending flight school, with no desire to learn how to land a plane?)
Or, that when the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993, we analyzed the situation and published key factors allowing anyone to learn how to bring down these towers.
(Let us not forget that we New Yorkers had no love for these Port of Authority boondoggles- to allow them to keep charging us tolls on all the bridges around the area. Or, that they allowed deficient designs [of course, cheaper and less safe- think of the Champlain Towers in Surfside, FL], affording higher rental area per floor than ever existed before, cutting down on evacuation and exit needs, meaning those in the Towers on 9-11 had little chance of escape to be employed.)
Compare that to the Pentagon, which was undergoing a massive reconstruction, piece by piece. Thankfully, the facet the terrorists chose was the one side that was renovated and reinforced- and virtually unoccupied. Instead of eradicating 5000 citizens, less than 200 succumbed. (It still would have been better for that number to have been zero.)
Or, that fourth flight, UA (United Airlines) 93. Which, instead of replete with techies or students, was carrying a bunch of athletic types. Who also did the most American thing. (One that unfortunately is no longer in vogue, thanks to political divisiveness and TheDonald.) Once they recognized their hijacking- and the fate of the other three planes- they VOTED to rush the terrorists and retake the plane, knowing they would not survive the attack. So, the second attack on the Pentagon or an attack on the White House or the Capitol was averted. (Yet, they, too, all succumbed to the terrorists.)
My bookend to 9-11 occurred years later.
I (and then my then significant other) were engrossed in a Phillies game. The game was tied in the 9th inning. And, for the past five minutes, I could no longer get any signal on my cell phone. I asked around- and everyone else responded alike. Until the Phils came up to bat.
My phone lit up. Osama Bin Laden is dead.
Within seconds, the more than 45000 (way over capacity) folks began chanting, “USA, USA, USA”. The Mets outfield (and any other team that had the “opportunity” to play in Philly) was used to screams and yells from the fans. But, USA?
Until the Jumbotron lit up, the announcers announced a halt to the game and President Obama was being beamed to the attendees.
This was the largest single assemblage of folks across the US that early morn (the game started on Sunday, but ended early Monday morning with the Phillies loss in the 14th inning [2-1, Mets]).
And, although my beloved Phils lost the game, it was a most satisfying drive home to Virginia.
Remember those 2997 souls. And, don’t forget those first responders who have died since, suffered severe maladies for their acts of justice and kindness for those victims.
