Remembering
I went to Ground Zero this afternoon to pay my respects and to
remember the tragic losses and epic heroism that the site saw on that
fateful day. It's something I've made a habit of doing.
Based on
the crowds today, the trend towards the observance of
9/11 becoming something approximating a bad parade, a street
fair, or tourist attraction continues.
Since a large
number of Americans (and our visitors from abroad) don't seem to get
the basic concept of remembering the 2,749 people who lost their
lives at Ground Zero that day, I'll share quick list of things
observed today that are probably inappropriate activities:
- A
giant monster truck painted in a 9/11 theme and showing off it's chrome
underbody, suspension, engine and custom interior. Getting your picture
taken in front of said monster truck at the southeast corner of GZ
while making any kind of bodybuilding pose--this is also inappropriate.
- Trying
to sign up petitioners on behalf of Falun Gong or any other cause (I'd
begrudgingly make an exception for anything related to the 9/11
families).
- Protesting NAFTA.
- Playing catch with a football. Actually catch of any kind, even running bases is verboten.
- Riding
by the site on your eardrum rattling late-model motorcycle with several
hundred of your closest biker friends. Appreciate the support, but the
ridiculous exhaust note and traffic blockage is not conducive to
walking down, looking into the site and thinking quietly about that day.
- Riding a unicycle.
- Taking your picture in front of the site with your buds, yukking it up.
- Smoking weed. No, really, not even in the psuedo-context of your blood-for-oil protest efforts.
- Selling t-shirts or anything else off of a folding coffee
table--bootleg DVDs and Nas CDs are particularly bad form. Especially
Nas, I don't care if he really is God's Son.
- Finding the gumption to make today the day you park your italian ice cart at the northeast corner of GZ.
- Juggling. Juggling anything.
Anyway,
I found a quiet stretch along the south side's fence, where I could
stare out into Ground Zero and remember. I remembered the innocent
lives taken, the heroic men and women who are willing to pay the
ultimate price to try and protect us, the effects of the chaotic
aftermath on the city, and the epic way in which the world has
changed in just three years. I prayed for the families and I also
prayed in hope of a day when feelings of peace and safety are the norm
not the exception.