9/11
Hello all. Today is the 8 year anniversary of the 9/11 disaster. I wanted to share a positive story with some of my Canadian friends here. In 2001 I lived about 30 minutes outside NY city. At that time I was very sick with my Crohn's and was not working I was home for almost 6 months. The day of 9/11 and the weeks after I did nothing but watch the news and follow all the events. The days after where filled with all the expected emotions...grief, anger, denial. In many ways that period in my life served as a waking up. Despite never being a traditional patriot there was a sense of brotherhood in the air. People made eye contact when they crossed each other in the street, folks opened doors for others, people would gesture to let you merge ahead of them on the free way. Sadly it didn't take that long for that to pass and till this day I cling to how together everyone felt for just a little while. The bravery that was exhibited by our police, fireman, and many others was more than inspirational and served as a source of inspiration for many of us. But there is a moment that touched me in paticular.
A few days after 9/11 I woke up and went to retrieve my morning paper. Upon going outside there is a fire truck with a Canadian flag on it parked right outside my house. Peering inside I see the fireman sleeping in the truck(this is about 7-8am if memory serves). Without scaring the hell out of them I approach and knock on the window. Hey there guys...tell me you came here all the way from Canada? Toronto as a matter of fact. The fireman informed me. We drove a few days straight to come help out. Completely blown away buy this gesture of bravery and dedication I asked if there was anything I can do to help. Can I make you guys some breakfast or something? anything at all? No thanks we ate before we took our nap. We wouldn't mind some directions though. Wait a minute I said you drove all this way and where not completely sure where or how to get there? Nope we left in a hurry and basically headed south. We figured we would be able to get help once we got close enough. After some more small talk I gave them directions as best I could and waved at them as they departed for ground zero.
I would like to think there was as much bravery and courage exhibited that day as there way tradgedy. It changed alot of us. But seing a small group of men who wanted to do nothing but help their brothers they had never met in their time of need was one of the most inspirational moments of my life.
So yes. Its a time to remember all the bad that happened on that fateful day and mourn for the lost. But try and remember the borders, daily defense mechanisms, predjudices, and more that fell away for just a little while that allowed us to be what we should all be on a day to day basis...Humane to our fellow man.
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