The morning of September 11, 2001, I was in my office a few blocks from the the World Trade Center, and I remember it like it was yesterday. And like the rest of the city and much of the country, I spent the next week glued to the news, praying they’d find survivors, hoping for something good to come out of all that pain. I’m certain I would have remembered seeing this story if it had aired.
(If you’re interested, you can read my account in last year’s 9/11 post.)
Anyway, many years too late, here is a lovely story of some ordinary people doing some extraordinary things.
You can read more about it on The Hill.
Late addition: My friend posted this video account of my neighbors talking about their participation in the 9/11 boatlift!
September 10, 2015 at 7:54 am
I’m not embarrassed to admit that I wept watching that. I knew about the boats but had no idea of the scale of their operation. Incredible. And remarkable that 14 years on there could still be an aspect of 9/11 I was not aware of. Like everyone else, it doesn’t take much to transport me back to that day and the shock, horror and panic. Although we were in the UK, we had an intense 48 hours waiting to hear that all my husband’s family and friends (employed at the Pentagon) were accounted for. The scale of the tragedy remains unfathomable, the horror almost incomprehensible but the stories of people like these boat captains are a wonderful reminder that often times the absolute worst of circumstances bring out the best in people, that the worst humanity has to offer will be met with the best it has to offer. Thank you for sharing.
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September 10, 2015 at 11:28 am
Thank you, too. In my typical fashion, I took some time to look at other people’s 9/11 posts this morning, and most of them were personal remembrances, but I really couldn’t abide the angry, vengeful (or dismissive) ones. I’d rather focus on remembering the people who were lost and the incredible acts of kindness and heroism that followed.
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September 10, 2015 at 11:32 am
I quite agree with you. I found the discord over siting a Muslim centre near Ground Zero to be distasteful for just that reason. Healing comes through reconciliation and celebrating the good in people and not through bitterness, recrimination and vengeance. However, it is easy for me to be that dispassionate and logical given I did not lose anyone that day.
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September 10, 2015 at 1:11 pm
I’m glad you didn’t.
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September 19, 2015 at 6:46 am
It is great to hear these stories.
ps. I was born on Broad Channel.
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September 19, 2015 at 12:11 pm
I knew you were from here, but I didn’t realize you were born here. That’s great!
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