Thursday, November 17, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
The 9/11 Diaries, Part 1
I've been reading my journal entries from the days following September 11, 2001. At that time, I was a stay-at-home mom in Cambridge, MA, taking care of my two young children who were just 2 1/2 and 6 months old. When I read these entries, the sense of fear, loss, anger and sadness come flooding back. I was writing them to Beatrice, my daughter, who was just a baby, trying to explain to her what happened, and to address the answer that was paralyzing everyone: why? Below are the first two entries from that journal. More to come....
September 15, 2001
Dear Beatrice,
I wish I didn't feel the need to write to you tonight. You see, this week, one of the worst events in human history occurred, but you are too young to know or remember.
On Tuesday, a group of terrorists hijacked planes (2 of them right from here in Boston) and flew one into the Pentagon and the other two into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The towers subsequently collapsed, killing what they estimate to be over 5000 people.
This is truly one of the darkest chapters in the story of humankind. Such a disregard for life is unfathomable, and it makes me shudder to think that it could only be the start of a new dawn of terror and hatred on Earth.
September 16, 2001
Dear Beatrice,
I can't help but fear that when you are old enough to study history, you will read about the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, and it will only register as another date to memorize, like the Battle of Hastings or the Defeat of the Spanish Armada. No matter how dull the blades becomes through years of re-interpretation, know that in my life, there has never been an event so traumatic to the public community. It's all anyone can think about or talk about.
Even the international community seems to be frozen in a state of shock over what happened. This past Friday, all over the world, people observed 3 minutes of silence - no cars on the road, no music playing. And at a service in Buckingham Palace, for the first time ever, they played The Star Spangled Banner. Clearly, there is a groundswell of solidarity.
But there are also people who are in some ways just as hateful as the terrorists themselves. Jerry Falwell, a fanatical, right-wing (calls-himself-a-) Christian blames gays, lesbians, feminists, and the pro-choice movement for the attack, because they "made God angry".
Beatrice, this attack was fueled by human rage and fear. God would never do something so hateful; only humans possess that capability. And people who claim that God does act out of rage and vengeance are only using God as a front for racism, bigotry, homophobia, and fear of people who live, look, and love differently than themselves. Never forget that.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Caption Contest
Nearly 6 years ago, but still one of my favorite photos evar. Not staged, mind you; it's just what she chose for toilet time reading.
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