Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Can’t you understand
Oh my little girl

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm

Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And forgettable

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm

Enjoy the silence

The post Moment of Silence appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

The post Moment of Silence appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

We visited the 9/11 Memorial on a rainy Friday evening. After going through security that makes the airports look like a breeze (not complaining!) and walking around a maze to get inside the actual site, we were there.

My first time on the grounds since the towers stood tall.

I broke down and cried like I was John Boehner. And I was the only one because the tourists were too busy taking pictures of their friggin kids smiling in front on the fountains.

We paid our respects to the two people we knew who left us that day. My husband’s firefighter buddy and a wedding photography client of mine. I saw on the computer search that they used what I think was one of my images. It’s good to know they’re getting some use. He died a few days short of their first anniversary.

The fountains are beautiful and the layout is well done. It’s still a work in progress but it’s going to be a peaceful spot to sit and reflect. There were probably more security guards than visitors there, so it’s creating jobs for the city.

During construction, you need to get tickets to visit. They’re available online and they are free.

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I complain about all the 9/11 coverage on this anniversary, but I’m just as bad. Can’t help it. The scab has been torn off. It’s easy for me to say “Time to move on” because I didn’t lose anyone close to me.

I did lose a part of me that day, as every New Yorker did. Don’t get me wrong. I know that it wasn’t only New Yorkers who suffered that Tuesday. It was America. And Muslims. And the world.

The east river kept me at a distance as I watched the towers burn. Lucky for me I didn’t witness people jumping, but it was close enough to violate all five senses. The site of the towers coming down. The burning smell that lingered for weeks. The sirens and crying and screaming around me. The dust in the air. We all felt it and tasted it.

“Never forget!” But where is that getting us? Can we start remembering the victims and the towers with a smile again? Why do the towers have to be about THAT moment? What about the time you went to the top? Or when you ate at Windows on the World? Or picnicked in near the sphere?

How about every time I got off the subway in the city and looked for those towers to figure out which direction I was heading in? Or when I looked across the water from The Brooklyn Promenade and realized how lucky I was that I had grown up with the most magnificent skyline in the world?

The Twin Towers were more than just 9/11. And those victims lived lifetimes before they were cut short. Why do we have to remember them as “gone”? Let’s just remember them.

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Wow. I just found out about this. From comedian Dennis Leary, no less. The first responders of 9/11 will not be able to attend the 10th anniversary memorial ceremony. WTF?

Mayor Bloomberg is saying it’s for family members only. Hello? Hasn’t he ever heard of The Brotherhood among firemen? Why should “family” only mean spouse or blood relative? These men and women worked together saving lives EVERY. DAY. and they are banned from paying tribute to their work families?

After they ran down to those towers that day?

After they watched their buddies die?

After they dug them out of the rubble?

After they got sick from the air down there?

Really?

Not that it’s going to do any good at this point, but here’s a petition to get them down there on FAMILY day. Not the day after and not some other time or place.

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Twin Tower Cameos from Dan Meth on Vimeo.

Cartoonist Dan Meth put together this montage of Twin Towers cameos. It’s a brilliant tribute that had me smiling through the entire video, until the end when I started sobbing uncontrollably.

Thanks to CNN for pointing us to it.

The post Tribute to the Twin Towers appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Now if only their beer didn’t taste like piss water.

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Yup, it’s true. It took nine years for someone to say “Hey, you know what? The September 11th tragedy would make a great musical!”

The film,”Clear Blue Tuesday” opens this Friday at the Quad. I tried to remain open minded while reading the City Room article. The blog comments were mostly negative and even a bit childish. “I was there and you weren’t” kind of thing. Some folks mentioned that art is supposed to deal with uncomfortable subjects…and I get that.

But a musical? I’m sorry, but that’s just bad taste. I refused to see Rent because I didn’t want to hear anyone singing about AIDS. (Ok, that’s not true. I was an East Village chick in the 80’s so my take on it was “Been there, done that. Don’t have to see a performance of it.”)

Anyway, back to my bashing this film without even seeing a clip. Oh wait, I HAVE seen a clip! And it su-ucks! So, not only is it in bad taste. It’s just bad.

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**Reposted from 9/11/2008**

For the entire week of September 11, 2001 I kept a photo and written diary. Some of the images were exhibited in group fund raising shows at the time and I believe a couple got published in books. I never showed the diary to anyone. I stuck the photos and journal in a drawer and haven’t looked at them since.

I’m posting these now because the reason I made the initial effort was to document history. I’m putting this out there today and then they’ll go back in my drawer.

The day the planes struck, I was in shock. I kept thinking everyone was evacuated and I remember wondering why there were no helicopters to pick up people from the roofs of the towers. At times of great sorrow or fear, the one thing that puts a shield between me and the outside world is my camera. You may think it was insensitive of me to grab my camera, but it was my protection.

If anyone recognizes themselves in these photos and doesn’t want to be out there, please contact me and I’ll take them down immediately.

September 11, 2001
September 12, 2001
September 13, 2001
September 14, 2001
Flickr

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*Please read this post first.

As I was getting out of the shower this morning there was an announcement on the radio that a plane went into the WTC. I got dressed and turned on the TV. When the second plane hit, it was clear this was a terrorist attack. I ran up to the roof with my camera. I was obviously running on pure adrenaline since I’m scared to climb the roof ladder normally.

I got some shots and decided I needed to get closer. I wanted to be on the streets with other New Yorkers. I went to Red Hook. I was trying to find parking near the Snapple factory on the pier when a guard told me to move along. In the middle of my U-turn he screamed that the tower was coming down. I left the car running in the middle of the street and ran to the pier. As I watched and took pictures all I could think of was that my lens was too long to get the full skyline. I cursed myself for not being prepared.

There was a cop car sitting on the pier. I couldn’t believe how the two cops just sat there and watched the tower come down with no emotion.

……There was debris coming from 5th Avenue so I went towards it. The street looked like a war zone. People were wearing masks and covering their faces with their shirts. I had masks in the house but ran out without putting one on. I regretted that later.

Went to the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights….Along the way, the second tower came down. The World Trade Center was gone. I couldn’t stop to think about it.

The Promenade was crowded but not like I expected……Some people were taking pictures. Others crying. People were listening to radios. One group of guys were looking at a brochure of the Twin Towers observation deck and pointing across the river to where they once stood.

……Met up with Mia (my neighbor). We stopped for lunch and looked at some of Nostradamus’ predictions. I remembered something about a fire in the sky in the New City and 2 great rocks at war.

……That evening we went upstairs to commiserate with our tenants. S said she was relieved that her daughter was too young to understand what was going on. We watched the President who scared us even more.

The Diaries
September 12, 2001
September 13, 2001
September 14, 2001
Flickr

The post September 11, 2001 appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Blood donation line

Please read this post first.

Woke up to fighter jets at 4:30am today. In my half asleep state, I thought my cat’s purring was bombs.

I woke up today and wanted to do something. The shock and adrenaline of yesterday had worn off. The death toll was starting to come in on the news and this was first becoming real to me.

I found a shelter in Brooklyn that I thought might be able to use volunteers, but I couldn’t reach them on the phone. (Husband) phoned to tell me they were going down there with heavy construction equipment , but they wouldn’t let me in. After sitting in a daze for a few hours I felt the urge to get out and shoot.

…..I walked over to the shelter. The cops treated me like a terrorist. I found myself arguing with them then decided to give it a rest.

……Tried to get over the Brooklyn Bridge. No way.

….I guess the most I can do now is document history.

The Diaries
September 11, 2001
September 13, 2001
September 14, 2001
Flickr

The post September 12, 2001 appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Please read this post first.

….I wanted to go to the city today and get out there with people, see if there’s anything I can do to help.

…..I start out at Union Square where I heard there’s a memorial. There are some people signing big sheets of paper on the ground. The one message that brings tears to my eyes is written in German. It says “I have been here in this country for six years. NY is the greatest city in the world and I’m not leaving. We keep the hope.” It moves me because this is what America is about: the melting pot. I’m also excited that I am able to read the German.

I sign the memorial myself. I write “I’ve never been so proud to be a native New Yorker as this moment in history. Keep the faith.”

I walk to St. Vincents. The volunteers giving food to the doctors turn me down when I ask if they need help. Nobody wants my help!

I go down to another memorial in Washington Square. I check out the views of what used to be the WTC along the way. All there is is smoke.

I want to see how far downtown I can get. How close. They stop me at Houston Street, which is fine because the smoke is getting thick down here and my asthma is starting to bother me. I board the train and come back to Brooklyn.

My walk through Manhattan today took a toll on me. The streets were empty. Like a ghost town. I’ve never seen NY so dead. Not even at 4am. People were walking around in a fog, much like myself. This is really depressing.

The Diaries
September 11, 2001
September 12, 2001
September 14, 2001
Flickr

The post September 13, 2001 appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Please read this post first.

It rained all day and I needed to rest from taking pictures. I found out that I could go to the Javitz if I want to volunteer but I heard that people are lining up for hours just to fill out an application. I don’t feel like standing in the rain for nothing. I just want to rest and forget about this for a few hours.

We went to a vigil in the neighborhood tonight (Park Slope). It was really beautiful. It seems like the whole neighborhood came out. We all lit candles and walked down to the fire station where they lost most of their guys. People were singing. It was very moving and uplifting. Definitely a healing experience. This is a tragic, tragic thing that happened, but what’s come of it is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. No matter what happens….I’m glad I was part of this.

Commercial airlines start flying again on Friday, September 14th.

The Diaries
September 11, 2001
September 12, 2001
September 13, 2001
Flickr

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