A moment of silence

Remember the victims of 9/11

I’d like everyone to put down the flags and quiet the dogs of war for a moment, and remember the people who lost their lives six months ago, today.
Thank you.

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41 thoughts on “A moment of silence”

  2. I recall that the reason I started posting here in the first place was because it seemed like the most thoughtful, least flame-inducing message board where people could talk about the subject.
    It’s hard to accept that a half a year has gone by since that morning.
    Thank you, Wil, once again, for allowing us to put our thoughts and feelings here.

  3. I forgot about that. Thanks, Wil, for reminding me. Sometimes we need to remember these things, just to let us know how valuable life really is.

  4. A half a year has passed and the pain and suffering hasn’t ceased. If course, the pain will never truely go away. Let’s all hope that all those affected who haven’t yet found a way to go on will soon find a little peace within themselves.

  7. LET US ALSO TAKE A MOMENT TO REMEBER THOSE WHO ARE CONTINUING TO SUFFER AND DIE, THOSE WHO ARE ALSO INNOCENT VICTIMS. PEACE.

  8. Seems amazing that it’s been six months…I said in my blog earlier today that it feels like it was forever ago, yet, only yesterday.

  9. I’d like to also add that we remember and say a prayer for those who lost loved ones and particularly the children born after the attack who will never know their fathers.

  11. I’m glad you posted that Wil, because it gives me a chance to say what I’ve been feeling. Since September, I’ve had times that I see something on the TV or in the newspaper: a story, a persons face, it could be anything in regards to 9/11 and I’ll just start crying. I haven’t cried more in 6 months since I can remember. You know at the olympics and they carried the WTT flag out? Oh my God, I sobbed. The kind of sobbing that I couldn’t even catch my breath. Then last night, CBS showed that documentary called 9/11. I couldn’t watch most of it, because it made me so sad, but I did watch the last 1/2 hour. I went to bed with the same empty gut feeling that I did the evening of the day it happend. I didn’t know anyone who was in any of the buildings. I live far away from New York, on the opposite coast, but even so, I feel so personally wounded by the whole thing, as if I did loose someone close to me. I just wonder if this feeling will ever go away, or if it will ever get less. In some ways, I don’t think it ever should.
    Elkay

  12. six months already… hard to believe. did anyone watch the special last night? I didn’t, I knew I wasn’t ready to handle it yet.
    amellia

  13. You would think that, not having been bombarded with the images, I’d want to watch more of them to understand how everyone else feels. But I didn’t… I think my memories of waking up on the 3rd day of my honeymoon to the radio stories will be branded in my head forever. And there’s only so many images to see, and I’ve seen most of them… Frankly, I don’t think I could take seeing many more.

  14. It’s kinda funny how one event can so totally change life. Everyone’s life has changed because of this, each in their own way. My life has changed because my boyfriend, who is in the Marines, has been fighting in this war since the get go. He was over in that general vicinity on 9/11 and has been fighting ever since. He’s been home twice since 9/11 – for very short periods of time. He just got back on Thursday, after being gone for 3 months (and he spends most of that time with 3 others in Bumblefuck, Middle East). Guess what? He’s going back very soon. Because of 9/11, I haven’t been able to see or spend any sort of quality time with the man I love for over 6 months now. I’m still angry. I didn’t lose anyone in WTC or any of the flights. I feel lucky for that. I am sad for those people who did. Days like today are for remembering those victims. And we should always remember them. But we can’t forget those of us that continue to suffer for other reasons. Wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, parents, children, friends, relatives of those in our nation’s military fighting on the other side of the world.
    While we mourn for those lost, please keep our soldiers in your prayers for their safe return and a quick end to this.

  15. I had to work that day.. the worst day i’ve ever had.. i had to work without lunch in our hot smelly warehouse on a problem that we never really resolved.. trying to work and with all the crap going on.. it was the worst day of my life.. to set off i dont really remember the rest of the week either.. i didnt come out of it until the next monday… where i dumped my year long girlfriend.. drank mass quantities…..
    I can only imagine what the people who lost someone in it feel like.. hopefully the bombing overseas doesn’t last too much longer either..
    take care all..
    hops

  16. Amen to that. Everyone in our generation knows exactly what they were doing that day when they heard…I remember how life just seemed to stop on my campus and we all came together for a little while. If any good can come from this, I hope that we continue to remember and cherish our common humanity.

  17. I don’t know what to say.
    I couldn’t watch the special last night. I live three miles from NYC over the river, with a diret line of view.
    I remember watching my roommate collapse on the green hill by our dorm as she found out her brothers and cousins had been headed to the WTC that morning.
    I remember the smell in the air, the metallic taste to it, the dust that rose above the Empire State Building.
    I remember becoming addicted to Nickalodeon, because the only thing on every other station were the pictures of the Towers dropping.
    I remember writing the absence notes for my classmates who lost family members, or worse, the notes for those that had died.
    I remember watching the pain on the faces of the fireman on the TV. The family members at the Armory and the Bellvue (I went there to sing with the college choir), the lost vacant pained faces.
    That’s what I remember. I feel for all those fireman and policemen and God/dess give them the strength they need to continue the wonderful bitter sad work they begun that day.
    Thank you, Wil, for giving us a place to remember.

  18. Wil:
    I used to wonder when I was a kid just exactly what “war” was/is. Growing up in a household surrounded by brothers, I erroneously came to the conclusion that it was sometimes more than a “piss in the sand” competition — a need to out-do, out-number, out-shine, out-power — and for what, to be in control? To be the undisputed king of the world? To suck the rest of humanity into the depths of despair and madness?
    The horrific images of 09.11 remain as visible and prominent in my heart of hearts and the pain and suffering and agony and confusion and questions for many people continue…
    …and yet, i’m struck by the fact that wherever one finds violence, one can just as easily find peace — the goodness of man, his very humanity.
    I’m comforted by the fact that many ordinary individuals lost their lives on 09.11 while in the act of rescusing others, going to their aid at the risk of their own safety. I’m comforted by how many individuals found the strength to listen to their own instincts, to continue to seek safety. I’m comforted that my fellow union brothers and sisters answered the call for help, assembled at the site and continued with their actions, fighting their own fears to save many many more lives than what was lost, and selflessly paid the ultimate price for their courage and dedication.
    Six months today, another six make a year, and each day we are no closer to understanding evil than we are in stopping it. It is late, but everything comes next.

  19. I’ll never forget getting the morning of 9/11. I had been up all night, and when I went to cnn.com, as I often do, I received an error that the server was busy. I got in my car to drive to school, and instead of hearing the KRBE morning show on the radio I heard the voice of some newsman, reporting that there had been an explosion at the WTC. Soon after, he reported that a plane had flown into the second building. I spent hours on the phone with friends and family that day, listening to them cry and worry. “It’s worse than Pearl Harbor” is what my 86-year-old aunt kept saying.
    In the days and nights that followed, people kept posting messages on my high school’s messageboard, “Has anyone heard from so-and-so, class of some year.” There were pictures posted on all the news sites of who was missing. Slowly, people would check in to say that they were okay, while others did not.
    Watching the documentary “9/11” last night brought so many feelings back about that day when people have said my generation lost its innocence. It still seems surreal.

  20. I’m not in Afghanistan shooting and being shot at — but I could have been.
    I wasn’t in NYC on September 11 — but I could have been.
    None of my family was killed or injured — but they could have been.
    September 11 made life both surreal and too real in so very many ways. My heart
    breaks for the survivors, and everyone who has lost loved ones, friends, family, lovers.
    My heart weeps for everyone who will lose their loved ones in the future.
    Peace. Pray for peace.
    ~sigh~

  21. Has it already been six months?
    In a way, I guess its good that we dont realize the passage of time, because that means that we have moved on, in a healthy way.
    This is my column I wrote on this subject. You dont have to agree with it, but if it gets you thinking, then thats all I aim for.
    http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=858&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=717769&om=1
    I do think we should stop and think about how the world has changed however, and give a moment of silence not only for those that have died 6 months ago, but for all those that are still dying for us in the Mid-East. To those brave men and women who are fighting on behalf of freedom from terror, I give my support and my respect.

  22. 6 months. Wow has it really been that long already.
    As a resident of New York City and a person who has spent a good portion of her life walking through the now fallen halls of the WTC, I still have a hard time believing everything that has happened, eventhough I have gone down to the site and seen it with my own eyes, it is still unbelievable to me.
    My prayers go out to all those who lost a loved one and to the men and women who now continue to protect our freedoms oversees and here at home.
    And also to the men and women who were responsible for this terrible tragedy. Though I think prayers will do little for them now.

  23. I’ll keep a candle burning for all those who were affected by the tragedy.
    Stretching a hand across the miles to you all!
    Love,
    Courtney

  24. I can’t believe it’s been six months already. I was sitting in my Psychology class and the teacher came in to tell us what had happened- and I thought she was just trying to do some sort of weird psychology test on us or something. It was only as I left the classroom (the school was dismissed early) that I realized the full implication of what was happening.
    One of my friends worked at the trade center, and for the whole day I didn’t know what had happened to her. Luckily, she hadn’t arrived at work yet- she came out of the subway just after the attacks.
    Another friend of mine has kids who went to a school nearby, and she had just dropped them off, only to have to flee from her car because of the flying debris. Later that night she saw her car on fire in the news. I remember how sick I was with worry not knowing where these two friends of mine were for that single day- I can’t begin to imagine what it was like for people who had to wait for weeks to find out one way or another. My hubby used to work in the WTC, and I can’t begin to fathom how I would have handled the news if he still worked there. 🙁
    Our community was hit particularly hard, too… I’m in Massachusetts, and one of the pilots was from the town I live in. Another pilot was from my home town, and yet another was from a town in Colorado where I used to live. Drving through town for the first few days was surreal, to say the least.
    My point in all my rambling is that so many of us have been touched by the WTC tragedy. It’s unfortunate that it would take such a horrible event to bring our nation together, but I hope we can all continue to support each other.
    >^..^

  25. I do not mourn for those who died. A tradgedy, it may have been, and their deaths untimely, but I say celebrate the dead. To me, it is the beginning of the next adventure. Some people think they go to heaven, others think they are reborn, I guess the only reason to mourn them would be if you believed that existence ended with death.
    I feel bad for those who lost loved ones, but I will not pretend that I share their pain. I wish all of them peace in their hearts and minds, and for their pain to fade.

  27. I watched the special last night, and it brought tears to my eyes…again. I watched that stuff happen six months ago, and it still hurts just as bad to see the news footage now. My heart goes out to the victims families, but mostly to the children who will never see their parents again.

  31. I guess I’m still in shock about the whole thing.
    but, Frank is right.
    Vengeance is God’s, not ours.
    Our justice system is flanked by a blindfolded woman with scales. (Lady Justice being blind)I also can’t pretend and say that I feel their pain,
    but I have recently lost an uncle and aunt to a fire, so I do understand what loss is like.
    I woke up to a televised memorial that was happening in New York.
    Oh, yeah…I happen to live in NC, where it’s about 10 hours away.
    That’s scary, in my view.
    I will shut up now, yes.
    Thanks, man, for the commentary.
    (ps. saw a nice article of you in People.)

  32. Well, I was going to post here that I can’t believe its been six months already, but it seems that everyone is feeling the same way. It seems like yesterday, but I guess thats because we all have those awful images and stories burned into our memories forever, and rightly so. I may sound like an idealist (though I’m sure that there are much worse things to be) when I say that I hope that soon all the suffering caused by this event all over the world can be over, though I don’t know how.

  34. Six months. It struck me about 2 weeks ago when my sister’s boyfriend came home from Afghanistan that we were approaching that 6 month mark since those horrible events back in September. Several times over the years before 9/11 I listened to the stories my grandparents told me about Pearl Harbor. Those stories made me so sad. But I believed nothing like that would happen here again. I would learn from newspapers & TV news of horrible things happening in other places. Hearing my grandparents’ stories put a face to those “nameless” people overseas -made it more than just a news story. Still I felt it wouldn’t happen here again. But it did. I have a new understanding for my grandparents & what they’ve told me and also for those people in another country I hear about in the news. I feel I have so much more to say & explain how I felt before, on and 6 months after 9/11 but I’m just about ready to cry again.

  35. I can never forget this atrocity. I was born and raised in Staten Island New York, although I live in a lesser place at the moment. The Twin Towers were always there all my life (I’m 32) especially when I went to High School and College. I saw them just about every day. I knew people there, both those who worked there and those amongst the fallen heroes who gave their lives saving others. I don’t know how to put my feelings over this into words without sounding like a lunatic so I won’t even try. I had anger issues when I was a kid and I finally laid my demons to rest. 9-11 comes along and I lost control again. It’s almost like I’m 16 again (in a bad way). I’m starting to find some sense of peace again, but it’s always there, always eating at me in some way or another. I went home for Christmas for the first time in years. I had to be told that I was looking at the New York Skyline when I first saw it. I couldn’t accept it. I still haven’t. I have a snow globe on my desk with the skyline pre 9-11 and I get angry when someone makes a comment like “Hey, that’s out of date!” or “That’s gonna be worth something someday.” Wow. Thanks people. That sure was nice of you to point those out to me. Mind if I back over you with a pickup truck?
    Good lord people can just really suck sometimes. I couldn’t even respond to half of the stupid and insensitive things I’ve heard come from some people over this. I had a co worker upset that they cancelled all the games that weekend because it “screwed up the season”. Or the schmuck that watched the second tower fall live on TV and said “Awesome!”. Or my boss who told me not to let it detract from my job and to leave my feelings home. “I’m not letting it get to me.” Well, I’m sorry that I was desperately trying to find out who I lost and who survived. If I responded the way my gut told me to during these situations I would be unemployed and in jail.
    Now I shall wait for the job market to turn around so I can put myself in a place better suited for someone like me, or at the very least someplace not overrun with morons.

  37. There are still no words that can cover the
    range of emotions and feelings when you say
    “9-11”. Thank you for reminding us Wil. Peace
    and Blessings to all

  39. If I lose my life due to a terrorist action, I hope I’m remembered for the good things I tried to do in my life, and not as a statistic or as a symbol of nationalistic pride.
    and btw, I wear the american flag, literally, every day, so don’t tell me I’m being unpatriotic by stating the above. I’m proud to be an american. But this tragedy goes beyond national boundries and nationalistic pride. It is a huge tragedy for all of humanity.

  40. I am wondering if the (seemingly) endless round of memorials is really a good idea. Everyone is aware that the attack took place and do not need reminding every few months.
    Constantly reminding oneself of atrocities causes hatred and resentment to continue on the attacked side (and reminds the attacking side what they achieved).
    Just look at the situation in Ireland which is inflamed every year on the anniversary of a battle that took place about 300 years ago.

  41. Violence begets violence…
    God save us from ourselves. This is my prayer every time I read the news these days.

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