Know that their "common people" are the friends of our "common people". Go here to see the results of a grass roots movement afoot, of British businesses large and small taking the time to remember our pain and our dead. We should never forget our friends, and we should not forgive our enemies until we have accomplished what needs to be done. Doubt the French, doubt the Germans, but never, never, ever doubt the English.
Where we attended the September 11th tribute. We saw a "simulcast" of the lighting of the eternal flame in Battery Park, followed by some live music. I kept the program, and will try and put it on-line for those who may be interested. It was an eclectic mix; a little Gershwin (Summertime), some jazz by Wynton Marsalis, and the grand finale by Billy Joel (A New York State of Mind, with a little Wynton in the background)
We also saw a simulcast of President Bush's speech. I will try and post my thoughts on it later, as I am too tired to do it justice right now.
9:57:50 PM
Went down to "ground zero"
But didn't get to see all that much. The area is cordoned off for the day's ceremonies. I am going back tomorrow, to try and get some photos. We did get to see St. Paul's Chapel, a small church in the shadow of the towers. It is amazing that it survived, and it has become an unoffical shrine to those lost on September 11th, 2001. I saw a Baton Rouge police department hat, so someone from my current home town had stopped to pay their respects. My wife's hometown, Calgary, was also represented by a Calgary Fire Department shirt that had been left.
There were thousands of people around St. Paul's, many of them family and friends of those lost in the WTC attack. One lady was sitting in front of the Chapel, playing a tape of original music from a friend she lost that day. She was teary eyed, but determined that the world hear her friend's voice; so she came to St. Paul's and spent the day playing her dead friend's music. I thought this was both beautifully caring and terribly sad. Looking at the picture of the dead singer, seeing a lady with red hair and a smile on her face, one can only wonder what she did to deserve such a fate.
9:49:13 PM
Sirens at 3am
Woke up at 3am to the sound of sirens. Now, anyone who has lived in the city can tell you that this is not an uncommon event. However, the sound of firetruck sirens wailing at 3am scared the crap out of me (it was, after all, now September 11th, 2002). But there was only one set that I heard, and a quick check of CNN didn't have any of their "breaking news" alerts, so I went back to bed.
Speaking of CNN, we were camped out in the Memphis airport, waiting for our NYC bound plane to be given the once over by mechanics because of a "pressurization problem", when CNN broadcast their breaking news alert, with Ascroft's news conference. It was really strange to see everyone in an already empty airport cluster around the TVs, anxiously hanging on Ascroft's every word. There were a couple of young ladies with tears in their eyes, and you could tell it was taking every ounce of resolve they had to be flying yesterday. I briefly considered renting a car and driving back to Baton Rouge, but in the end there wasn't enough specific information to make that a worthwhile decision. Plus, we had really good Italian food last night. Advantage: Nukevet!! (with apologies to Instapundit)
