Given the import of the date, a compendium of posts expressing Lex’ thoughts on the anniversary:
September 11, 2005 – Four Years
September 11, 2006 – Two posts
September 11, 2007 – Four posts
September 11, 2008 – Two posts
September 11, 2009 – Remember
September 11, 2010 – This Day
September 11, 2011 – Remember
My heart aches that hizzoner isn’t here to write today’s post in his own inimitable way. Nevertheless, we who remain press on with our memories intact.
Godspeed, Lex.
I would like to call special attention to the second post in the 2006 cycle. Lex wrote that as a favor to me; in the days before I had my own blog I wanted to honor the memory of someone we loved who perished on Flight 11 – Heather Lee Smith. So I asked the only person I knew who could do justice to her memory – Lex. And boy did he deliver – of course. It remains, to me, one of his finest pieces of writing. He honored a beautiful woman whose life was cut short and he honored a friendship with someone he’d never met.
I feel the losses of today more keenly this year – my memories of 9/11 are wrapped up in discovering Lex’s blog a few years later and navigating my way thru a new world and what turned out to be a new set of beliefs. Lex helped me do that and not having him here on 9/11 this year makes the pain of his loss that much more pronounced.
I think everyone remembers that day in their own way. For me, I was driving to work – we of course get the East Coast news a bit later – I am hearing this news on the freeway of the WTC and think it is an anniversary of the ’93 bombing – then it started to sink in.
I would hope that I would have the same courage facing those terrorists as the passengers of Flight 93 did.
The next day was eerie – I am walking the dog – and I know something is different – but what?
Then it hit me.
The silence.
Eerie silence.
While I live about 1t miles south of the airport I am under the north south flyway – Southwest 737s from Los Angeles and San Diego at about 3,000 feet coming in for the final approach.
For Lex it was a day that changed his life. I will have to read more of his posts here today but I guess it was the pivitol time where he changed his path from airline pilot to more years of service – Iraq to….well, we all know.
I am uploading some pictures I took of Manhattan in 2003 I uploaded to the Facebook page – hopefully by the time I have walked the dog they will be up for those wanting to see them.
Kris – Heather Lee Smith was a sp[special young woman – as they all were – lives full of hope – living their lives on that normal morning.
Have a friend in Philadelphia who had an invitation that day at one of the top floors of the WTC for a financial conference – in one of those mysteries of life he didn’t go – forget the reason.
Life had some ironies that day – I think of John O’Neil, retired FBI agent, who tried to interest the Bureau in the upcoming danger – died that September day as head of security for the WTC
I always looked forward to Lex’s 9/11 postings. It is an odd feeling to not have one this year or ever again.
Mongo, thanks for compiling the links. Think I’ll add a link to this post to my personal “Favorite Lex Posts” file.
Kris, I hadn’t read this when I posted to your Facebook page. What a special remembrance of (now) 2 friends.
Sigh…