On a brilliant, cloudless late-summer morning eerily reminiscent of the one two decades before, a memorial ceremony for those who died on September 11, 2001, was held at Ground Zero in Manhattan. The ceremony consisted mostly of the reading of the names, recited by relatives of the dead. Bruce Springsteen, strumming an acoustic guitar, performed "I'll See You in My Dreams." See updates from throughout the day here.
President Biden was in attendance with the first lady, Jill Biden, as were Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Barack and Michelle Obama. Donald Trump did not attend. He visited a police station near Trump Tower, where he delivered campaign-style remarks. Biden and former President George W. Bush spoke at the United Flight 93 memorial near Shanksville, Pa.
Later, the Biden administration released a 16-page document about connections the F.B.I. examined between the hijackers and the Saudi government. The document contained no major revelations about whether the kingdom played a role in the attacks. Abroad, the war on terror grinds on, largely in the shadows and out of the headlines. In Kabul, several hundred women held a pro-Taliban demonstration, many wearing full-length burqas, a sharp rebuke of the U.S. and its allies.
The "smoky spirits' - as I call them - who died on 9/11 - or as a result of the attacks - are returning for a 20 year reunion. Whenever they stop by to chat with me or my clients - my house smells like smoke ... so many returning this year. A spirit named Bob told me to go out on the terrace to catch these pics of the sunset. I wonder what it looks like from his vantage point.
My best friend Pat died of cancer two years ago on 9/11/19. Here we are at the top on One World Trade Center enjoying the view and having dinner on 9/11 at the time of Yom Kippur. Pat was afraid of heights but she trusted me and really enjoyed the view of the city. At this time we honor her memory and what an amazing person she was. Pat on Facebook
Life is about remembering ... sometimes emotions, sometimes facts, but mostly about destiny.
Years ago my friend Ron sent me these pics of him with several business associates during a Christmas party at Windows on the World months before 9/11. He often wondered if this was an omen of things to come for the Twin Towers and the world. Streaming lights are actually movement of the camera but it's always interesting to denote meaning when they show up.
On the 20th anniversary of 9/11 my neighbor Joanne Capestro appeared on a History Channel Special,
the MSNBC documentary Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11, and the Today Show.
There is a "window" that opens every year as the shofar (ram's horn) is blown on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This year the dates are September 6 and September 16.
Centered in the middle is the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America which opened the window for a twenty-year war that continues even after American withdrawal from Afghanistan one week ago today. Interpretations of this conflict and its exit - are forever part of the human journey that could rear its ugly head once again on American soil further adding to the endgame chaos and conflicts we face today ... covid, climate, more.
There are warrior souls, peacemakers, and record keepers.
There are those who remember celebrating the 2001 High Holy Days (September 17 and September 27) in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn with the acrid smell of smoke wafting through the neighborhoods while wondering what the New Year, 5762 would bring.
We play our games differently than we did 20 years ago but the theme or algorithm remains the same ... the battle for freedom and equality.
Every year many of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and its resulting aftermath - can be felt at Ground Zero in Manhattan, just "around the bend" from my home in Brooklyn - this year no different. I can "see' many spirits returning now joined by those who have more recently crossed over due to illness.
9/11 was a marker in the grid that lingers until the end of the simulation - 9=ending and 11 representing human DNA and the twin towers imploding into ash and rubble.
As you try to figure out your purpose - that feeling you have about something you have to do here
one fine nite (finite) under the stars you will discover it's right in front of you.