The Two Towers

Had one of my signature splitting headaches today. I went for a late brunch with my family in Jersey City and then walked around Newport for a bit. If this position works out, I may move into an apartment there as it is such a convenient commute to the city. But then I will have to cook which is probably on par with the commute from home. Hmm.. cook or commute? How about finding employment first?

Walking along the Hudson River, Newport is situated directly across the water from Lower Manhattan; more specifically, directly across from the World Financial Center which was once connected to the World Trade Center. For me, the hole left by the twin towers is still haunting as it is so easy to lose sight of how massive they really were. The buildings of the surroundng financial district are huge skyscrapers by any standard but the twin towers made them look like normal-sized office buildings in comparison. Anyway, the city has never been the same for me or my family. Fortunately, we don't personally know anyone who died in the tragedy but know many people who were able to escape. Fourteen students in my sister's small school lost a parent. My father was speaking to someone in one of the buildings before and while the first plane hit and their conversation was abruptly cut off, leaving him to discover why the phones were cut that morning by watching the events unfold on CNN. There remains a great sense of loss not only in my community, but in the city in general. I don't mean to go into personal accounts and connections to 9.11, mostly because the more I hear people speak about knowing so-and-so who escaped or died or who was in close proximity the more it seems like these are personal glory tales. To me, these exchanges trivialize the lives that were lost and the tragedy itself. I also don't buy into the media tributes with their digitized American flag logos.

It was a tragedy, yes. It devastated many families and communities. People throughout the world are forced to live with this kind of fear and tragedy day in and day out. Events like these don't occur in isolation, and just because certain people want to view history selectively, doesn't make it so. I look at the the space where the twin towers once stood and feel a personal loss because their presence served as a backdrop to most of my life. The magnitude of loss of life is something that remains intangible to me. More than this, I am aware of the massive change that the event catalysed. The changes not only in domestic life here, but throughout the world. I have dealt with death, and continue to do so, and have come to accept it as a part of life. I am only beginning to fathom the complexities of justice.