9/11/2002

[elSicomoro]

I went to work yesterday knowing good and well that it would not be a normal day...yet I figured that the workday would be generally normal.

However, the best way to sum up yesterday is "bizarre." As evidence:

--Firefighters and policemen marched in a parade along Market Street, heading towards Dilworth Plaza. While they marched on the north side of the street, traffic went about as normal on the south side of the street.

--The city-wide moment of silence at 10am. No one on our block (which is our building and the First Union Building across the street) seemed to know just when it started. I heard a bell ringing in the distance, and people started quieting down, though many did not arrive until afterwards. We all stood outside for several minutes, then slowly made our way back in.

--We had very little work to do yesterday. Nothing was coming in. That was odd...it seemed like a lot of people did go to work yesterday. Although...

--The subway ride in was incredibly packed...busiest I've seen in well over a month. But the ride home at 5pm was nearly deserted.

--The strong winds that were blowing in both NYC and Philadelphia yesterday. Up to 30 MPH here. Being somewhat spiritual, I'd like to think that God was letting us know that he was keeping tabs on things yesterday. Maybe it was the spirits of the victims letting us know that they were with us. *shrugs*

As a whole, I spent most of the day posting to the Cellar, reading MSNBC, and listening to some of the coverage on NBC. Last night, I watched NBC until 9, then switched over to TLC. NBC's coverage wasn't too bad...about what I expected. I didn't watch Bush's speech...completely forgot about it.

The most haunting part of the day for me was during coverage at Ground Zero yesterday morning (I think...I was listening to NBC on a TV walkman...it was around 10:30 or 11am). A string group played the national anthem...and it just sounded incredibly sad, yet creepy.

Even if your day was fairly normal, I hope everyone took a moment yesterday to reflect on the events of a year ago. We seem to be moving forward as a nation, although hesitantly. I believe we can move forward at full speed, while remaining cautious of the world around us. Hopefully that time is not too far away.