10 years...

"The terrorists wanted September 11th to be a day when innocence died. Instead it was a day when heroes were born."

Each year it gets harder to pay the proper respects to all of the beautiful souls who lost their lives 10 years ago today. As a native NYer I find myself at Ground Zero quiet often. I was even at the World Trade Center 2 weeks earlier doing the NYC sites I had never seen. I said to my mom "We already went to the Empire State Building. We can go to the World Trade Center next time" But next time never came and the towers where gone in a matter of days. There are some occasions where I had found myself walking through lower Manhattan and there it is smacking me in the face. It is the final resting place of so many innocent and beautiful people. They did nothing wrong. They just went to work, or boarded a plane on that faithful day. How disgustingly unfair.

 As a 21 year old college kid I remember the pain hitting deep into my core. I had no understanding of how people could hate to such an extreme. Each September I am brought back to those feelings. I continue to watch programs and it hurts just as much as it did back then. The unfairness  and emptiness of it all. The very first time I found myself at ground zero was early December of the same year. It still smelled of fuel and smoke. It was horrendous. The missing posters were everywhere; Port Authority, mailboxes, phone booths, random walls and anything that stickers would adhere too. All of those faces gone forever. I remember the fire houses with the pictures of their missing coworkers. I will never forget that.

I make it a point to watch this post 9/11 speech that John Stewart gave when The Daily Show began programing some days later. It represents the feelings I and many others had back then. I urge you to watch if you have not done so. If you have I urge you to do it again.

We shall never forget you.
We honor your memory and those left behind.

"Why I grieve but I don't despair"

glumbert - Jon Stewart's 9/11 commentary

Fire and Rain
James Taylor

Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone 
Susanne the plans they made put an end to you 
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song 
I just can't remember who to send it to 

I've seen fire and I've seen rain 
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end 
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend 
But I always thought that I'd see you again 

Won't you look down upon me, Jesus 
You've got to help me make a stand 
You've just got to see me through another day 
My body's aching and my time is at hand 
And I won't make it any other way 

Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain 
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end 
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend 
But I always thought that I'd see you again 

Been walking my mind to an easy time my back turned towards the sun 
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around 
Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line to talk about things 
to come 
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground 

Thought I'd see you one more time again 
There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now 
Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you fire and rain, now