I don't know what to day for today as I have my second cup of coffee, feeding my dogs and thinking about making breakfast. It's 8:50 a.m., no school called or teacher booked me for work this morning so I can clean, do laundry, and sell some of my collectibles on craigslist locally.
It's the anniversary of the tragedy of 09/11 and I'm unsure how to feel about it.
I'm saddened because some of my students have traveled overseas in the last decade, their smiles now faded, their demeanor grim, optimism in check and an uncertainty of why we're still there now that Osama Bin-Laden has been dispatched. There's even a book about his death/murder/assignation, call-it-what-you-wish, being released today.
I don't know what to think: we sent boys overseas to stem the flow of mayhem and eliminate the creation of chaos and bring to justice the mastermind of this horror, the attacks on American soil. Isn't it done? Can't we bring them home and spend money on caring for these boys and their jarred memories and educate for tolerance instead of refitting airplanes with hot-and-cold running death?
In the past I have heard voice shouting that we need to rebuild the Twin Towers, akin to Hiroshima & Nagasaki being rebuilt after their atomic devastation. But, when that occurred, it ended the war and began a way of creating a future with new life for our societies. Shouldn't that have happened?
Maybe this is a test of rhetoric or specious logic to myself as a writer, or just to push out what I am feeling. I saw a commercial recently that said, "Tomorrow I will ... " and people added things like shake the hand of a serviceman, police or fireworker, donate blood, help build a house.
Shouldn't we do these things every day? Shouldn't we appreciate all our people do in any uniform they put on, weapon in hand, to care for our welfare? Shouldn't we help the devastated, the unfortunate, the downtrodden, the sad, the less fortunate on a daily basis? I don't have a lot, and sometimes I'm down to my last dollar, but that'll go away from my grip if someone ask me on the street.
Maybe I'm just full of shit today and every day, just like these guys.
But if you think I'm an asshole today I can understand.
Remember the loss, do good, hope for the best of tomorrow.
Guess that's all.
Bye for today; watch for tomorrow.
I'm saddened because some of my students have traveled overseas in the last decade, their smiles now faded, their demeanor grim, optimism in check and an uncertainty of why we're still there now that Osama Bin-Laden has been dispatched. There's even a book about his death/murder/assignation, call-it-what-you-wish, being released today.
I don't know what to think: we sent boys overseas to stem the flow of mayhem and eliminate the creation of chaos and bring to justice the mastermind of this horror, the attacks on American soil. Isn't it done? Can't we bring them home and spend money on caring for these boys and their jarred memories and educate for tolerance instead of refitting airplanes with hot-and-cold running death?
In the past I have heard voice shouting that we need to rebuild the Twin Towers, akin to Hiroshima & Nagasaki being rebuilt after their atomic devastation. But, when that occurred, it ended the war and began a way of creating a future with new life for our societies. Shouldn't that have happened?
Maybe this is a test of rhetoric or specious logic to myself as a writer, or just to push out what I am feeling. I saw a commercial recently that said, "Tomorrow I will ... " and people added things like shake the hand of a serviceman, police or fireworker, donate blood, help build a house.
Shouldn't we do these things every day? Shouldn't we appreciate all our people do in any uniform they put on, weapon in hand, to care for our welfare? Shouldn't we help the devastated, the unfortunate, the downtrodden, the sad, the less fortunate on a daily basis? I don't have a lot, and sometimes I'm down to my last dollar, but that'll go away from my grip if someone ask me on the street.Maybe I'm just full of shit today and every day, just like these guys.
But if you think I'm an asshole today I can understand.
Remember the loss, do good, hope for the best of tomorrow.
Guess that's all.
Bye for today; watch for tomorrow.
4 comments:
We should do all those things you list. Even more. It saddens me deeply there are so many Americans that don't believe in that every day but will for sure say they do on days like today.
I remembered today and reflected on that horrific day we all watched America be so violently violated.
I also am deeply angry that there are so many Americans that struggle to survive each and every day and get lost, overlooked and dismissed.
Thank you for the thoughtful post Julian.
Thank you for your wonderful comments on both my blogs and for all your support. You can't imagine how much it means to me.
Bless you.
Last night my daughter asked me where I was on 9/11 and I told her the mundane truth, that I was at the gym and everyone stood still for an hour as we watched, transfixed, as our world changed.
She asked what changed (she's a young one) and I told her that we are more careful, more angry, more scared, that we don't trust strangers anymore and that we all worry about the future. She asked if anything good came out of it, and I said that we are reaching out to others more, we talk about it more, we've redefined heros and we remember the countless acts of bravery here and abroad. I struggled to answer because sometimes I'm not sure what to say, even when I look in the mirror.
Some of my students were born that year and as time passes, it's harder to explain where loved ones are, or why they're there.
Thank you & welcome.
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