I always thought that being in New York City on September 11th would be an obvious thing. When it's Easter or Valentine's Day or even Memorial Day, there are little traditions that are symbolic of that day that most people uphold. So in a city that was so dramatically affected by such an awful event I would expect them to have a moment of silence or wear blue ribbons or do something to mark the day in remembrance. It really just seems like most people go about their day as usual. A handful of people gather at the World Trade Center and recite the names of the people who were lost, and there are a few other small events. But considering that I've seen more people at a bar on Saturday night than I did at the lantern lighting ceremony I went to, it's surprising. Perhaps the grief is still to fresh for people to really do anything about it, but it seems a little sad in it's own way that people are so noncholant about it. Perhaps it's good, the terrorists didn't slow us down, but it seems un New York. I wonder if part of the problem is also the squabbling that goes on among surviving family members. They go back and forth about who can be on the list, because there are lots of people who died years later from working in the asbestos filled dust and some people think they shouldn't be on the list and some people think they should be. So perhaps the net result is that there is no strong leader who does things that incorporate everyone. I know there are people who are working on raising money for the memorial, but that's different than grass roots organization.
An interesting side note, the Tribute in Lights, are a beautiful temporary memorial, but this is the last year they are contracted to be there. Everyone thought a memorial would have been built by now. I still ride the Path train into the cavernous hole at the WTC and see people at work, but nothing near completion. The Tribute in Lights is also not located directly at the World Trade Center, because I was there last night when I took the picture and it was definitely coming from further downtown. I could even see it from our house in Jersey.
Recap Defined
ri•cap 1 (rē-kāp') Pronunciation Key tr.v. ri•capped, ri•cap•ping, ri•caps
1. a summary at the end that repeats the substance of a longer discussion
2. To replace a cap or caplike covering on: recapped the camera lens.
3. Ri - a female given name: derived from Adrienne.
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