More than a few have asked me how it was spending the 4th abroad. The assumption was that I’d feel a bit like a jack-o-lantern on Christmas Eve. Truth be told, I didn’t think about it much, never really have.
To me the 4th was always about fireworks and foot-long franks. Sure, you pledge allegiance in one-way or another, but more as an afterthought. For the most part, I was always focused on drinking beer, catching up with friends, and publicly shouting “oh and ah” for socially acceptable reasons.
This year however, I spent the holiday at an American Club BBQ held at the local naval base, a surreal setting to be sure. It was like taking a time machine to the 40s only with fewer machine guns and more self-serve ice cream. A welcome change no doubt.
The setting caused me to recall my Grandfather and the many lessons he taught. I pictured his face. Then I didn’t. Crying in public is something I’m still not comfortable with and I do miss the man terribly.
As you know, about a week later I found myself on line to see the Petronas Towers. They call them the twin towers, but you and I know there’s only one of those – gone but not forgotten.
I pictured the shocking scene that is now forever etched in our collective consciousness. Images flashed before me – images of terror and courage, misery and heroics. And so there I was, once again red-eyed in a see of smiling faces.
It’s embarrassing to admit how much that moment affected me. It wasn’t ground zero. It wasn’t even New York. But they called them the "Twin Towers" damn it and right or wrong, silly or not, that really pissed me off. Not for the name, but for the memory it evoked.
I thought that was behind me, but then I realized it never will be, it never should be. And I guess when you break it down, the 4th isn’t a yesterday thing either. It’s very much a now thing and one we have to earn and reaffirm each day.
Buildings may fall, but people - our people stand….towering above what just yesterday we thought impossible. Those towers never tumble – never have, never will.
Keep Dreamin’
RC
Agree, when u lose a friend in the hot burning ash, with no escape from the 77th floor, it tends to stay with you. Some people still do not get this....it is the most baffling concept in my mind. In other words, if someone killed your best friend because of a difference in ideology, what would you do to the murderer ?
ReplyDelete