Patriotic display covers the Peoria Heights home of Henry and Mary Reiter, each a reminder of the 6th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Photo by A. Gerik, Journal Star
Let me start by saying that I have no particularly strong memory of Sept. 11, 2001. I was a freshman in college and I probably overslept a class or two. Some students were visibly upset, but I remember a feeling of amazement at the scope of the attack rather than a feeling of intense sorrow. Obviously, I have no known ties to anyone who died in the attacks. But in these past six years, people who have taken a similarly phlegmatic attitude are vilified as “unpatriotic” or even “inhuman.” Bull, I say! And then I read this in the New York Times:
The Thing About These 9/11 Stories, a personal account by NYT’s Joyce Wadler. Make special note of the comments, some proclaiming it the best tribute they’ve ever read while others lambast it as snarky.
Ahead of the Times: How We Lived the News A PDF from the New York Times published a few days after, with accounts from various staffers on how it affected them in their work.
A comment thread on the NYT’s City Room blog on 9-11 fatigue
Magnum presents a 9-11 photo gallery These are some seriously good photographs.
Six years ago, while still in high school, at about 12pm Emilio and I are heading towards lunch when our English teacher (Emilio’s mom) delivers the news. I remember exactly where in school I was, what I said, how I felt. It seemed impossible for something like that to be actually going on. We all rushed to find a TV that might give us some visuals, a better understanding of the magnitude of this tragedy. There was a lot of crying (people that had loved ones in NYC), lots of worries, praying and thorough thinking.
And surely, the day when the United States started bombing Iraq was a very sad day too.