remembering in the rain

"We continue the search for our brothers and sisters." Mayor Rudy Giuliani

"The smoke - in it, their spirits are rising to heaven." An onlooker at Ground Zero

sept 11 2001 - the nine o'clock hour: the towers are falling

sept 12 2001 - it happened: 24 hours later

sept 13 2001 - and on the third day: no rest

sept 14 2001 - finding one, while others still search

sept 14 2001 - what now then: looking forward

sept 14 2001 - enter the president

Noon, September 15, 2001

“It rained like everyone was crying all at once, and it seemed to me that New York had never been more beautiful.” Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times.

Friday was another day for tears, as the chill of mid-September began to descend on the city.

It was a national day of prayer and remembrance, but it really was no different than any other day since Tuesday, since it seems that all we can do is remember.

A service was held at the mosque on Atlantic Avenue around the corner, the sound of their prayers was exceptionally poignant. "We are Americans," they said. "Just like everyone else. We are willing to help, and will do whatever we can."

Two miles away, our Prez stood amid the rubble, shouting through a megaphone, his arm around a fire fighter.

New York's Finest, Bravest and other men and women of the hour chanted, over and over again - "USA! USA!" It was like some latter day sporting event, complete with hooting and gutteral noises.

They did us proud.

I stayed home and tried to be quiet and stop talking for the first time in days, they told us not to bother volunteering until next week. My neighbors went to work and tried to concentrate, Jennifer went to the Catskills for the weekend, she calls me to say that the thunder and lightning of the night before sent her into a panic and thoughts of more planes coming - she headed north to be in nature and see the trees turning colors.

This was the day when everyone started to get in the swing of it - Crunch Fitness opened their showers to the rescue workers, a day spa in SoHo was asking families of victims to drop by for free massages and days of beauty, Benihana and God knows who all was making gourmet dinners and yellow cabs were giving free rides to and from all hospitals.

Park Slope was a wonderful place to be, even if it was a little disturbing to see life carrying on as usual - the everyday parade of horns and shouts and people laughing and carrying shopping bags. A candlelight vigil was about to begin on Seventh Avenue, the Brooklyn Tabernacle had the largest flag in Brooklyn, it seemed. I walked down Carroll Street and saw them hanging a gorgeous antique Old Glory over the plate glass window of the Blue Ribbon, Brooklyn's own trendoid magnet.

At Ozzie's Coffee on Fifth Avenue, an earnest young writer who was journaling in a composition book answered his cellphone and found himself embroiled in a heated discussion about terrorism. I was looking at the paper again, and looking into the eyes of the weeping woman on the front cover of the Post, the sun was beginning to set, a beautiful red-orange glow.

Out in the street, a father was carrying his son high on his strong shoulders, the fighter jets were flying low, as they had been, circling, all afternoon. Daddy, the child said. Planes!

"Two of them, son - they're protecting our skies."

Bernie Kerik and his NYPD finally got to make an example of one of the 100 threat callers that registered their idiocy today - one Junior Brideson, who is in his late 30's and ought to know better, who lives on Springfield Boulevard in Queens, who was caught with his pants down at a pay phone on the corner. Federal charges have been pressed, and he faces a possible 10-year sentence and a $250,000 fine.

Too bad we can't catch the terrorists at payphones - the fact that this witless wonder was caught makes everyone feel a lot better, and hopefully will put a stop to the endless building evacuations.

So in the question and answer portion of the show, a reporter is being exceptionally slow and repeating her question and the mayor is being nice, which is not something one sees more than twice in a lifetime.

How do you know that the people walking around east of Broadway tomorrow are supposed to be there? Is it just Wall Street professionals?

The mayor laughed. I don't know how you'd figure that out, he said. What am I going to do, give them a quiz? Ask them if they can define 'junk bond'?

Laughter. Everyone in that room desperately needed something to laugh about, considering that moments before, they'd been talking about how Loved Ones can help with the identification process by bringing hair and toenails and toothbrushes to the Javits Center to be evaluated and tagged by the team of DNA people that has been assembled.

4700 people are still missing. The search continues.

At sundown in Union Square, a silent vigil was interrupted by a roving band of protesters, chanting war is not the answer, peace will prevail. Along the romantic Brooklyn Promenade, where you can stand and all but hold the skyline in your hand, there was a silent gathering of thousands, people stood with candles and looked out over the water.

This morning, the sky is once again blue, the smoke no longer rises, and it is all of a sudden very cold.

 

Email: davidr@lifeingotham.com

Next Update: 20 September

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