So as September 11 approaches, the blogosphere is reverberating with various accounts of what people remember of that day ten years ago when the planes came crashing out of the sky into the Twin Towers. I know where I was when I heard the news - I was pushing my almost-two-year-old twins around the grocery store in a doublewide stroller, picking up fixings for dinner. September 11, 2001 was my second wedding anniversary, and I figured I'd cook something special, although for the life of me I can't remember now what it was. I was almost done shopping, and noticed a huge crowd gathered around the customer service desk, with the television turned to CNN. The first tower had just been hit.
My day progressed like that of many other people in America - glued to CNN, watching in horror as the second tower was hit, and staring numbly and in shock at the horrifying aftermath. Eventually I got to a point where I couldn't watch anymore and I turned it off.
Now, ten years later, while the memories are still fresh for many people, the nation has come together somewhat, and everyone is marking this milestone. It's a day that changed the way we felt about our country and our own safety, and possibly even ourselves.
I know there will be a great deal of public fanfare on Sunday. There will be politicians making speeches, a lot of flag-waving, and scenes from all over the country of people gathering together with loved ones to remember those who were lost that day.
I'm not someone who participates in big public displays of stuff. So I won't be attending any rallies or candlelight vigils, no ceremonies or memorial services. There's nothing wrong with those things, they're simply not how I personally best cope with things. Instead, I'll stop what I'm doing at 8:46 in the morning, and I'll light a series of candles on my altar. I'll light one for each of the planes that went down that day - Flight 11, Flight 175, Flight 77, and Flight 93 - and all the people aboard them. I'll light one for each of the buildings that were hit, and the people who lost their lives inside.
I'll light candles for the first responders - the firefighters, the police officers, the paramedics, and the others - who arrived on scene only to find a war zone, and soon after become the next round of victims.
Finally, I'll light candles for all the kids whose parents never came home that day, for the husbands and wives whose spouses never returned, for the parents who watched the news and just knew that their son or daughter was somewhere lost in that battlefield we call Ground Zero.
Once all the candles are burning, I'll put out a call to the gods of my tradition. And while I'm honoring the spirit and memory of all those who died, I'll also be celebrating life. I'll be sending out a prayer for strength for those who must deal, every day, with the losses they experienced ten years ago. I'll be celebrating the resilience of the human spirit, and honoring all of those who were able to walk out of those piles of debris, against impossible odds. And I'll be calling upon any divine force that might choose to listen, and offer a brief thanks for any assistance they've given in helping us find triumph in the midst of tragedy.
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My day progressed like that of many other people in America - glued to CNN, watching in horror as the second tower was hit, and staring numbly and in shock at the horrifying aftermath. Eventually I got to a point where I couldn't watch anymore and I turned it off.
Now, ten years later, while the memories are still fresh for many people, the nation has come together somewhat, and everyone is marking this milestone. It's a day that changed the way we felt about our country and our own safety, and possibly even ourselves.
I know there will be a great deal of public fanfare on Sunday. There will be politicians making speeches, a lot of flag-waving, and scenes from all over the country of people gathering together with loved ones to remember those who were lost that day.
I'm not someone who participates in big public displays of stuff. So I won't be attending any rallies or candlelight vigils, no ceremonies or memorial services. There's nothing wrong with those things, they're simply not how I personally best cope with things. Instead, I'll stop what I'm doing at 8:46 in the morning, and I'll light a series of candles on my altar. I'll light one for each of the planes that went down that day - Flight 11, Flight 175, Flight 77, and Flight 93 - and all the people aboard them. I'll light one for each of the buildings that were hit, and the people who lost their lives inside.
I'll light candles for the first responders - the firefighters, the police officers, the paramedics, and the others - who arrived on scene only to find a war zone, and soon after become the next round of victims.
Finally, I'll light candles for all the kids whose parents never came home that day, for the husbands and wives whose spouses never returned, for the parents who watched the news and just knew that their son or daughter was somewhere lost in that battlefield we call Ground Zero.
Once all the candles are burning, I'll put out a call to the gods of my tradition. And while I'm honoring the spirit and memory of all those who died, I'll also be celebrating life. I'll be sending out a prayer for strength for those who must deal, every day, with the losses they experienced ten years ago. I'll be celebrating the resilience of the human spirit, and honoring all of those who were able to walk out of those piles of debris, against impossible odds. And I'll be calling upon any divine force that might choose to listen, and offer a brief thanks for any assistance they've given in helping us find triumph in the midst of tragedy.
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This sounds like a good alternative to the public occasions. Like you, I am not the kind of person who finds solace in large public gatherings and will spend the day observing the anniversary in my own way.
I still can’t believe that 10 yrs has passed since it’s still raw for my emotions to handle. I will spend the day alone doing something very similar to what Patti will be doing.
Every year at this time I spend time remembering and honoring those who are no longer with their loved ones. Both my daughters lost parents of good friends, their dad was supposed to be there but his guardian protected him and made him late that day. I know people that were there after the fact searching and one who did when he got home said it reminded him of a battlezone he saw in Iran. This was just too much for this country to deal with but deal with it, it has and it made so many people stronger but has also made many fear if they should trust.
I have found personally that my heart still aches for all those lost souls, especially the children that were in the daycare.
I send up brite energy for all those that have suffered, may they find the peace needed to go on.
Blessings, Love and Lite!
S0lvengel
Thank you Patti for sharing with us what you will be doing to mark this important day. Thank you also for giving other Pagans an idea of how to memorialize the dead and celebrate the survivors from the fall of the Twin Towers. However, please do not neglect the Pentagon.
For me personally, the Pentagon damage impacted me the most. Just a couple months before, I had been on vacation in Washington, DC, with my family and stayed in a hotel room that had a view of the Pentagon. I simply couldn’t believe there was a huge hole in it now since I had just seen it whole. (I was 14 or 15 at the time.)
May the God and Goddess continue to protect and give hope to those who survived, and families of those who lost their lives that day. May the God and Goddess also help those lost find new places in the world where they will do nothing but good.
Blessed be to all today, the 10th anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001.
I remember where I was too, it was a hot day and I was busy at work and Peter who ones the pub next door told us about it. We dropped what we were doing and went next door to see the news, it was so grim ….. knowing that those towers were pretty busy most of the time so
I thought of the fathers sons mothers daughters husbands wife’s aunts uncles, all those people. I will never forget, in this life or the next and I hope those who did this or condone it reap the whirlwind 3x over.