October 15,
2001 Volume 1,
Issue 3
Our Perspective On America’s
Tragedy
is now typical
of flights. While puzzled at the
time, I realize now that Maslow describes this in his “Hierarchy of
Needs.” His theory states that if
people do not have safety, they want nothing else. Food serves as a distraction from
hyper-vigilance. Washington, D.C. Six
days after the initial attack, Dulles International Airport was largely
empty, even though it was, at the time, the only local D.C. airport
operating. The largest groups
present were made up of security personnel. The familiar security was at hand but a new and radically
different form of security was now supervising them. This new security wore clothing with
large, bright identifying features boldly stating Federal Marshall, State
Police, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, HAZMAT, and Explosives Ordinance Unit. There were also the mysterious men
in black with small microphones placed in their ears.
My last date of travel fell on the first date of the National Guard
deployment to their new mission of
securing our nation’s airports.
While relieved by this new presence, my mind struggled with the
logic in consciously choosing to enter a place where measures such as
these were needed. Washington, D.C. was no
longer familiar. I spent the
majority of my life in this great city’s shadow while growing up some 17
miles away in Northern Virginia.
While my home was physically the same, environmentally it was
vastly different. Located in the
flight path of three commercial airports, airplanes with their familiar
engine roar that routinely eclipsed telephone conversation and ruined
television reception, always at critical moments, were gone. The sky was now empty and silent.
National Airport was closed down. Its bustling terminals vacant and its
brilliantly lit multi-colored runways were now dark. The majority of streets and bridges
leading to the Capitol were closed.
They were barricaded and guarded by some 20,000 uniformed soldiers
from the National Guard.
Our
Perspective Page 2 of 4 constructed
of only very small debris. I was
later told that this was due to the weight, mass, and speed at which these
buildings collapsed pulverizing steel and concrete. My heart aches as I realized that this
means that so many people will never be found. The air in Manhattan contained a
smell somewhat similar to burning tires.
Newspapers said it contained asbestos and other carcinogens. I passed streets lined only by telephone,
electric, and other utility vehicles.
They extended past the horizon.
The majority of local television and radio stations were unable to
broadcast as their communications equipment had been housed on the
towers. Ever after being there, I
cannot imagine the dreadfulness of that September day. Despite all that had so recently happened to both cities
and their residents, both Washington and New York continue on. It is not the typical environment of
“business as usual,” but a new atmosphere in which sadness is realized,
grieving honored, and mourning publicly supported. America, like me, awoke shaken by a
living nightmare, which we are all struggling with believing to be
true. I take comfort in knowing
that I am not alone in struggling with this new reality and that I do not
carry this grief alone. Most understand
and accept that I am sad. Most do
not think of me as silly or ridiculous when I express my wishes that I wish
I could just go back to sleep. Edward B. Thomas,
ACSW reportedly
rubble. Six people from my hometown
perished on hijacked airliners. A
member of my brother-in-law’s rugby league died on United Airlines Flight
93. He is now considered a
hero. While sharing only bonds of
geographical proximity and removed friendships, I deeply mourn their
passing. I also mourn the passing
of my naiveté that the most powerful military command center in the world
could be so easily attacked. My
false perception of security gained from once living so near to this
country’s most powerful and secure institutions was gone. Residing here had now become a risk. New York City, New York My old reality was again questioned
while traveling to New York via United Airlines. My first glimpses of New York were from an airplane while
landing at LaGuardia Airport. At
the end of the runway, I saw the Manhattan skyline as if for the first
time. It had a surreal appearance,
emphasized by clouds of darkly-colored rising smoke. Those authorities securing the
nation’s airports also now maintained checkpoints where all vehicles
entering Manhattan were required to stop.
Vehicle and occupants were searched, purpose and identity
verified. These checkpoints were
again repeated at points in Manhattan close to “Ground Zero.” The professionals present at these were
those who were earlier directly attacked.
Hundreds of their colleagues were missing and assumed dead, but
despite this, they voluntarily remained in the midst of inconceivable
destruction. They were fully aware
that this choice continued to place them in harm’s way. They showed unfathomable kindness and
empathy. Their strength overwhelmed
me, and their action caused my tasks to be reframed as simplistic. New York City frequently houses fire
stations directly beside residences.
Crowded streets do not lend themselves easily to new
construction. These stations are
small but frequent, and seem to be a natural part of every neighborhood.
Their construction is similar to other buildings, and they easily blend
into their surroundings. These were
now easily recognized as they had become shrines decorated with flowers,
candles, and banners, and proudly displaying the names and pictures of the
missing or dead. Many were the
chosen sites for holding memorial services, their large, darkly-dressed
congregations spilling over into the street.
A New World
A glimpse from
the Verazano Bridge where the World Trade Center once stood
Our Perspective Page 4 of 4 Rising smoke from the Manhattan shy line greeted our arrival at La
Guardia Airport in New York
We All Bring
Something to the Table
About Those We
Served…
