remembering 9/11

Cort and I were new in Boston when it happened. Ethan was just one and a half, playing and watching Sesame Street. Patty called me and asked me if I was watching the TV. I said, "Yes, what's up?" She said, "You don't know? A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center. Turn the TV to anything besides PBSKids." As I turned to it, Cort, who had been getting ready to go to work, just sat down stunned -- half ready for the day, and we both sat, barely spoke for about five hours that way. The planes left Boston, so that signified to the world that the terrorists had been here, living, working, plotting -- it signified to us that many of the people that were on those planes were Bostonians. So we didn't treat every stranger like a terrorist, but instead, like someone who had lost a loved one on those planes. As you may know, Boston and New York love each other like brothers that don't agree on very many things, so there was a real tangible feeling of shock and sadness for all the lives lost and a very protective feeling toward NYC. It renewed our love of New York, renewed our faith in bipartisanship and democracy, and made us realize what an extraordinary thing it is to rebuild. For the week after 9/11, the debris from the twin towers blew into Boston (about a four hour drive from NYC), and a fine dust settled onto our cars and the sidewalks. It was such a jarring reminder that this wasn't some Hollywood movie we'd seen on TV -- this had really happened. A year later we went to New York, and we like thousands of others said a silent prayer and wept at the site of Ground Zero. We have great friends that spent that year in NYC -- one told us that a full year after 9/11 the subway walls were still covered with missing persons notices. Each person that died was missed by someone, left a hole in the world that wasn't meant to be left. Now we still grieve for those that have had to move on without their loved ones, and also for the fact that despite what our founders hoped, New York which is arguably our most beautiful alabaster city has been 'dimmed by human tears.'

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.