The Fredösphere

I am reluctant to say anything about this anniversary of the atrocity (please don't call it a tragedy) of 9/11 for fear that my usual shallow tone will sneak in.  My where-were-you story isn't much; I was driving to work when I heard Bob Edward of NPR announce first the one tower, then the other, was hit.  Of those much closer to the destruction, I suppose I can relate slightly to those who have suffered from survivors guilt because they skipped work or were heading in late and missed it completely, although my lateness was part of my routine schedule and not because of goofing off.

Like so many, my office mates and I didn't work much that day but scraped around for whatever information we could.  (You may remember CNN's homepage was hard to download.)  I do recall staggering backwards while someone in a group of co-workers mentioned a tower had colapsed.  At that moment someone else tittered; it was grossly inappropriate but I don't particularly want to lay blame on them.  My generation (not to mention my profession:  computer programmer) seems unusually ill-equipped to respond with appropriate emotional expressions in such extreme situations.  The laugh was pure fear and akwardness.

At this point I'll simply direct you to Rod Dreher's remembrances, writen minutes after the event, especially this part:

One minute later, the south tower fell in on itself. I nearly fainted. It ... well, I can't describe it now. I'm too shaken. Everybody on the bridge screamed. Some collapsed in tears. A woman started to vomit. My knees went weak, and a huge plume of soot and smoke barrelled toward us. I decided to turn around and go home.

A stout black woman, covered with sweat, screamed to no one in particular, "Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess! It ain't over people!"

There was one person at least who's training gave her a framework for the events, and the means to express it on the spot (however much it may have confused her hearers).  She probably lived her whole life up to that moment having never quoted the book of Revelation to strangers in a crowd.  Yet when the moment came, she was ready.