My husband suggested that we commemorate 9/11 by "doing things that would piss bin Laden off." So we had bourbon glazed pork chops for dinner and watched Team America. I drew the line at "wearing a really slutty outfit all day" though.
The internet and television were sad places yesterday. A week ago when I heard some networks were going to rerun their 9/11 coverage, I thought the idea seemed a bit weird. But I must admit that I was glued to MSNBC for hours yesterday morning. First of all, I never saw the real-time coverage five years ago (getting to class on time and all...) Watching the coverage with hindsight was extremely interesting; it was strange to know the exact minute a tower would fall and then wait for Lauer and Couric to notice it. When the second plane hit, all CNN could think was that there must have been a major problem with navigational equipment; no one could even fathom that someone had done this intentionally. So an idea I originally thought was silly turned out to be the best way to mark the anniversary, in my opinion.
I couldn't even begin to read all 2996 tributes; the ones I did read made me too sad to go on. The best part of a tribute I read yesterday? From Uncle Sam Ate My Baby, the blog where I learned about the 2996 project in the first place:
While Mercery Molina hopes that her father’s body will some day be found on the ground, I prefer to think that Manuel didn’t fall to the ground with the World Trade Center but rather that he just stepped up to Heaven from the 110th floor since he was so close anyway and just reached out and took hold of the hand of God.
What a comforting image that is. Also Angie's statement that the color of the sky in New York is "red, white and blue."
But the best 9/11 article ever written still continues to be the one James Lileks wrote in 2002.
And thus as it turns to September 12th, we can forget about 9/11 for another year. Last night my husband remarked how sad it is that people are only patriotic on the 4th of July, in love on Valentine's Day, and mad at terrorists on September 11th. He's right: we should be all of those things every day of the year.
Let's piss Osama off every day.
Posted by Sarah at September 12, 2006 08:07 AM | TrackBackOK, but you DID wear the "really slutty outfit" at least part of the day right?
Posted by: tim at September 12, 2006 11:07 AMI piss off Osama by being as liberal as possible every day.
Posted by: Will at September 12, 2006 02:28 PMThat last paragraph chocked me up something terrible. You hit that one square on the head.
But I love how you all commemorated the day. PERFECT. But I really think you should have gone with the slutty outfit. Icing on the cake and all. ;-)
Posted by: Tammi at September 12, 2006 03:39 PMI watched the MSNBC replay also. I was in Yellowstone when it happened and didn't see TV for a couple of days. But I had NPR on and listened in real time and knew when the first plane went in that we had been attacked. I am almost 70 and I remember Pearl Harbor and it was the same feeling. Even though I was very young in 1941 the enormity of what had happened was clear. Uncles and cousins went to war. I find it hard to believe so many people do not see what we are up against. I feel the politicians who began their immediate drumbeat are responsible for many deaths of our people and the Iraqis.
Posted by: Ruth H at September 12, 2006 03:44 PMRuth--Could WWII have been won if leaders of the opposition party had embraced the 1940s equivalent of Michael Moore?...some guy who talked about how stupid Americans were and how "heroic" our enemies were? If writers and entertainers had continuously talked about what a bad country we were? If professors had interminably preached moral equivalence?
I'm sure that there were more divisions at the time than in romanticized memory, but I can't imagine that they were anything like what is going on now.
Posted by: David Foster at September 12, 2006 04:28 PMIn an ongoing effort to thumb my nose at Osama and his gang of murderers... we had pork bratwurst for dinner tonight and I am not wearing hajib or burqua. I think they consider any woman wearing anything less to be dressed like a slut - so that works. *grin*
Posted by: Teresa at September 12, 2006 09:37 PMExcellent way to observe the day - wish I'd thought of it!
Posted by: Barb at September 13, 2006 11:49 AMThat's awesome! The kids and I all wore red, white and blue, and we had PORK italian sausage for dinner. Can't say that I had a reason to wear anything slutty at any time of the day (or night) though. Don't want to scare off the locals AND bin Laden!
Posted by: AFSister at September 13, 2006 12:19 PMExcellent! I am in agreement with the others--you should have gone with the outfit, too.
Posted by: Molly Pitcher at September 13, 2006 07:17 PMThanks for mentioning my tribute on your blog. Gee, I feel my head growing. My son will be going to Iraq next year, so 9/11 is constantly on my mind. I am proud of the way America honored those that died on this fifth anniversary, but I am WAY proud of the way the blogesphere responded. I guess thats why I like it here online so much. We are a bunch of patriotic people. I've always loved this country and always will. Thanks for the boost.
Posted by: Stoicmom at September 14, 2006 08:06 PMWearing a really slutty outfit all day...I can so see your husband saying that. You want to know how much I'm laughing right now? A lot.
Man, I miss you guys.
Posted by: Erin at September 15, 2006 03:45 PM