Remembering 9-11

I'm sitting here in my basement, after just being a little snarky to my husband, "working on" my hair for the first time in 2 weeks, perusing facebook, and waiting for midnight so I can watch a "non-Sunday" movie.  I just watched a few too many hours of "Remembering 9-11" programs on TV.  A friend who lives in Brooklyn posted this picture on facebook, I hope he doesn't mind that I'm using it.  I think its really beautiful.

We all remember where we were, but unless you were in lower Manhattan, I don't think its really relevant.  I really love the interactive map on the New York Times website, where anyone can post a dot and give a blurb about where they were that day.  The hundreds of dots that cluster around the Trade Towers on that map are quite overwhelming to read.  I get lost in them and have to snap myself out.  I feel this way at the Holocaust Museum in DC; I want to sink into the reality of the tragedy and loss, out of respect for those who have actually suffered.  If I skim over it, or turn my face, or change the channel because its too hard to comprehend, I feel like I'm...I don't know, disrespecting them in some way.  I know that's not really true, and nothing can be accomplished for them by my indulgence in intense emotions.  I can feel compassion for them, and strengthen my resolve to be a better person and a better American.  I can pray to my Father for the Savior's merciful atonement to heal and comfort those who suffer.  I can love better, and make sure those I love know that I love them.

And now, after seeing all the harrowing images again (some for the first time), listening to all the stories of loss and hope, and thinking of my place in this swirling universe, I feel a pull to revisit New York.  New York and the people who inhabit it, are truly unique, and I can't help but be a little jealous of the identity and pride that binds them together.  Millions of strangers with at least one thing in common--they're New Yorkers--gritty, tough, hard working people who love and own their city.   I'll take in a Broadway show, jam in Washington Square, eat bagels and pizza from street cafes, walk until my feet are blistered, and gawk at the parade of humanity that is totally unique to NYC.  If I want to be a complete tourist, I might buy an "I heart NY" t-shirt.

I'll visit the WTC 9-11 Memorial.  How could we forget?