Dear Fellow Joni-Lovers,
Like everyone else, I am still recoiling from Tuesday's events. Heartfelt prayers
to all whose family and loved ones may have been affected.
Being six hours behind the East Coast, I awoke at my usual time, groggy and in dire
need of caffeine, when I turned on the television. Expecting to learn of the day's
weather outlook and morning traffic conditions, I was instead greeted by the image
of the first tower collapsing. I hate to admit it, but my initial thought was that
I had the TV on HBO or one of those other stations, and I was watching a
sci-fi/horror mock-doc(umentary), ala Blair Witch Project. In my hazy,
half-conscious state, I wondered how they got the newscast to look so real. After
switching the channel, and confronted with the same images, it took but a
millisecond to realize that indeed, this really was happening.
Total disbelief, first of all. Shock. Then tears. My heart aching for those lost,
missing and suffering. The acute feeling that, for the first time in my life (I'm
47), our country was perilously close to war on a global scale, something I thought
would never happen again in this lifetime. I was scared. I still am. Still
trying to comprehend this seemingly incomprehensible chain of events.
Everyone here has stated it more eloquently, gracefully and movingly, but I, too,
share in the pain and sorrow and grief. The outpouring of love from throughout the
country and the world, and the courage, bravery and valor of rescue personnel,
medical assistance and volunteers provide comfort and solace and hope in the belief
that people are basically good.
At first I couldn't understand why I was so shaken. I'm 5000 miles away. I have no
personal connection to the place or the people, except in the most peripheral way.
("I was just there in April!" "How will this affect my travel plans to Greece and
Turkey next month?" "I have reservations for that exact United Airlines flight from
Boston to Los Angeles exactly two months from today!" And later learning that one
of the passengers on one of those flights lived in my community, though I did not
know her.) I realized then that the people responsible for this seemed intent on
targeting people just like you and me, not some nameless, faceless government or
big, bad militia. People who get up every morning, go to work, pay their bills,
love their families. They are our spouses and lovers, fathers and mothers, brothers
and sisters. If their intent was to take down a little bit of each of us, I think
they succeeded.
I may be a hopeless romantic, or a cockeyed optimist, or just plain stupid, but it
is my hope that we can find answers and solutions peacefully. Weren't we, after
all, the ones that were going to make a difference, to "give peace a chance," to
learn from history's lessons in order to avoid repeating them? It is my hope, too,
that understandable as people's need for swift and decisive action is, we seek
justice, not retaliation. Truth, not revenge. And that we not use this occasion to
"take it out" on someone based on his/her race, national origin or religion.
I know I've gone on long enough, but one final thought regarding the slings and
arrows between members here. Is it just me, or does anyone else see here a
microcosm of life at large: words exchanged between two people, perhaps misconstrued
or ill chosen, certainly misunderstood by the other, creating a chasm between them.
It grows larger, until it becomes two groups, then two factions, then two
communities, until it grows and grows to two governments. I hope that we can build
a bridge over this chasm so that we all may share the same space, peacefully and
respectfully.
Warmest Regards
(And going back to lurkdom again),
Bill
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Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help?
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