|
Just like most of us, every year on this day I spend a lot of time, particularly in the quiet of the early morning, reflecting on my own memories of this terrible day. But after 23 years of listening to friends, neighbors, and in recent years, constituents, tell their tales, today I find there is so much more to sort through in this morning's meditation on tragedy.
Just a few days ago a dear friend of mine who also does this work that I do, shared her 9/11 story with me. She's one of those friends you've known for only a few years but when you met you instantly felt like you'd known one another forever. But somehow, as much as we share with one another, this was the first time she told me her story. We were talking about the approaching anniversary and she mentioned that she was supposed to be in the towers that day for work, but circumstances changed. And I could hear how that still affects her - of course it does. It got me thinking of multiple people I've known who have told a similar story. I grew up in NY, and lived in Boston at the time of the attack, and over the years have heard from quite a few who were supposed to fly on one of the planes, or work in one of the buildings, but for some fateful reason, whether a dictated schedule change, a shift in employment, an illness, a missed train, or just a changed mind, they were not there when the planes hit. And each one them, over the years, has expressed tremendous guilt mixed in with their relief.
|
