Remembering 9/11
"The Sphere," by German artist Fritz Koenig, survived 9/11
A lovely Saturday here in Minneapolis. It'd be easy enough to forget what day it is. As usual, Jeff Jarvis is the moral barometer of September 11:
I am angry to be living in the crossfire, angry to be living between the fringes.
I am angry to hear the names of 2,727 who did absolutely nothing to deserve death ... except that they were in America. They were caught in the crossfire of a war that wasn't theirs. They were murdered just for the sake of it by the fascist fringe.
And I am angry at the same time that the political fringes in America are taking over this election. I'm mad because they are distracting us from the real enemy, the one who struck that day, the one who killed those 2,727 whose names are being read right now, the one who turned America into his battleground; they are making us forget the real war. I'm mad because they are distracting us from the real work we should be about in this democracy. I'm mad because they are turning America into their battleground, too.
posted by Chuck Olsen @ 1:06 PM |
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2 Comments:
I took pictures of myself and my partner... reflected in the sphere 22 days before. It was my own silly attempt at picturing something shiny. I never imagined it would survive, or be so damaged. I just cried.
I too remember the sphere and how beautiful it shined when I visited the site a few years before. My friend and I were rushed for time and a picture stop at the World Trade Center was unplanned. Yet we found ourselves there and took a few photos in the courtyard. My favorite photos taken that day are of me posing in front of the sphere. I cooled my aching feet in the flowing waters that surrounded the brilliant sculpture. I remember I wanted to lay on the ground of the courtyard and take a picture of the two majestic towers soaring into the heavens. I would have missed my subway train if I stayed much longer, so instead of taking the desired photo I remember saying to myself that I'd do it the next time I was there. Unfortunately, the next time I visited the site there was nothing to photograph but an empty hole in the ground as big as the hole in my heart from the events that transpired that horrific morning of September 11, 2001. When I first saw the recovered sphere I was momentarily excited that I could recognize something from my visit! That moment was quickly over-shadowed by sadness and anger. I cried then, and from that moment on I have never taken an opportunity for granted. If choosing between rushing for time and stopping to admire a sight of beauty, I'll always choose to be in the moment and rush no more.
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