You can tell it is early September. The clues are there; a slight chill to the evening air, a certain brownness to the grass and dusk can be seen marching forward to the late afternoons rather than at it's summer situation at supper time.We also have those yearly 9/11 memorials on the documentary channels on tv to remind us that it is autumn, and time and time again I get moved to tears when those stories of ordinary people who experienced the extraordinary events of eight years ago are recalled.
One of the most moving of these documentaries has to be James Kent's 9/11 Phonecalls from the Towers. It chronicles the double edged legacy of mobile phone messages left for the loved ones of victims of 9/11. In their last few minutes on earth, the technology of the cell phone allowed them to leave everlasting messages of love and affection for their families and friends, and even though many didn't get the chance to "speak" personally, at least they had the opportunity to leave some sort of memorial of themselves to the people that really counted.
'It's me, I just wanted to let
you know I love you and I'm stuck in this building in New York. A plane hit the building& there's lots of smoke and I just wanted you to know I love you...'Melissa
Harrington-Hughes, 31, 101st floor, North
Tower
if we are lucky, all of us should have someone we would turn to at times of catastrophe and more importantly have some means by which to share those things that for so many of us are never properly verbalised .
Those little objects of technology, chips and plastic , that can be so irritating in our loud, impersonal and intrusive modern world gave a few hundred people some solace and warmth in their left few seconds on earth. Their phones gave them that amazing opportunity to reach out and gave them a sense,one that we all need, that they were not alone.
Thanks John dear for this touching and lovely tribute. I just read it to Patrick and I've got tears in my foggy brown eyes. I have never heard of that documentary but now will keep my eye open for it on our PBS station.
ReplyDeleteWhere was I on 9/11 8 years ago when our U.S. was changed forever? Had gotten off work at Alaska Airlines at 5am Pacific time and went home and called my friend in California to chit chat knowing she would be getting ready for work. As we spoke she had her tv on and said, "Cassie! Turn on your tv! Something terrible is happening!" We both were silent as we listened to the breaking news. Unbelieving that such a thing was happening. It still breaks my heart. I got called back in to work because all our planes had to cancel flights and it was my job. That whole week is a blur now. God bless America. x-c