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Thursday, September 11, 2008

Remembering Today, 7 Years Ago

Several blogs are doing amazing remembrances of 9/11/01 today.

Over at Bridges, read the experiences of a variety of people in exactly 100 words each.

Booking Through Thursday is asking if 9/11 affected your reading habits, and there are some interesting answers there.

Mel, A Dramatic Mommy posted an article originally written on 9/13/01 that really brings back the feel of that day.

Trish remembers another infamous day and compares it to this one in a unique way.

There's even a short story complete with ghosts.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are my responses:

In 100 words ...
Heard that a plane hit the towers, didn’t see it. Assumed it was a small plane, bad accident. Then another plane – what’s up with that? More news: it’s a passenger plane full of people! Called home, but hubby was on heavy-duty meds after surgery, wouldn’t wake up. Bosses called from Arizona – they can’t get fly back today, let their families know they’re safe. Called home again and again. Finally – tv is found and turned on … just in time to see the 2nd tower fall. Call home again – break the news: hubby lost several friends. I was 4 months pregnant.


Booking Through Thursday ...

BTT says: Today is the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I know that not all of you who read are in the U.S., but still, it’s vital that none of us who are decent people forget the scope of disaster that a few, evil people can cause–anywhere in the world. It’s not about religion, it’s not about politics, it’s about the acknowledgment that humans should try to work together, not tear each other apart, even when they disagree.

So, feeling my way to a question here … Terrorists aren’t just movie villains any more. Do real-world catastrophes such as 9/11 (and the bombs in Madrid, and the ones in London, and the war in Darfur, and … really, all the human-driven, mass loss-of-life events) affect what you choose to read? Personally, I used to enjoy reading Tom Clancy, but haven’t been able to stomach his fight-terrorist kinds of books since.

And, does the reality of that kind of heartless, vicious attack–which happen on smaller scales ALL the time–change the way you feel about villains in the books you read? Are they scarier? Or more two-dimensional and cookie-cutter in the face of the things you see on the news?


And I say: Immediately after 9/11/01 I couldn't watch violent movies or read books with lots of violence. But over time, that changed ... the violence and horror of that day became part of who I am, part of my collective memories. Today I think I read with a more open mind. Not that I was ever a close-minded reader, but I think I was just unaware of many things. If I read a book on terrorism, it seems very realistic to me even when the plot is far fetched. If I read a book with middle eastern characters or settings or influences, I pay more attention than I would have before.

It's not profound, but that's my answer.

5 comments:

SmilingSally said...

It's a good answer because it's yours. My answer is different. Come visit.

Anonymous said...

I like the way you describe the change from denial to this: "But over time, that changed ... the violence and horror of that day became part of who I am, part of my collective memories." So true.

jlshall said...

Actually, your answer is quite profound. If the 9/11 experience affected you by making you a more thoughtful, open-minded reader, it did indeed change your life substantially.

Anonymous said...

It is not about violence. It is about chilling terror. And we do need to read about that. All of us.

Villainy is not the right word

S. Krishna said...

I'm much more of an escapist reader than I used to be.

Here are my thoughts.

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