9/11 Recalled
Wow. Eight years since the towers fell. And it’s been a rough eight years all around. (It’s been very tough on our men & women in uniform, and I’m sure it’s been even rougher on Afghanis and Iraqis, and not to diminish the suffering of the innocent in those lands, but that’s a subject for another time.)
I’ve decided to tell my 9/11 stories.
Let’s go back to 2001. The morning of September 10th – the day before. When I walked out the door to go to work that day, I literally (not just a figure of speech here) stopped in my tracks, right on my front walk and said – out loud – “Something is really wrong!”
I stood there for a moment or two, mind in a whirl, looking around and listening, but saw and heard nothing untoward. I shook it off, and went to work, with a feeling of foreboding nevertheless. Next morning, a friend called and woke me up with the awful news.
Next, let’s go back to 1983, when I was visiting New York City. My co-worker and I visited the observation deck of the World Trade Center. As I was looking down at the construction site across from the base of the tower, I saw the beginnings of the secondary buildings that would later be damaged in the 9/11 attack. A wee small voice inside my head said, “Too bad it won’t last.” I thought, “What??” The reply – “That’s right, this won’t last.“ I chalked it up to my usual cheery fatalism and my acute awareness of mortality and entropy.
When we got back to ground level, I stood for a few moments on the sidewalk and looked back up at the facade – that bright, modernistic metal cladding that we all saw jutting out of the smoldering ruins on 9/11, and once again that tiny voice popped up, saying “You’ll never see it like this again”. And I thought it meant I would never return to New York City.
The psychic energy of the 9/11 event was so powerful, I apparently felt it not only the day before, but 18 years before, as well. Yipes.
Ever since then, I’ve listened to that little voice. It tried to warn me about my marriage (failed) but I didn’t heed it. Other times, it’s helped keep me out of trouble. Those little voices have a lot to say.
What Happens To Your Brain When You’re In Love?
Yeah, what the heck happens, anyhow? The rose-colored glasses drop down over our eyes, and we become stupid. We forgive the major character flaws of our beloved as just “endearing quirks”.
What’s up with that?
What’s wrong with my messed-up monkey brain?
My day job – ThoughtOffice – posted a blog this week that tries to answer those questions, and more. We posted a video featuring TEDTalks speaker Helen Fisher, as she tries to explain the chemistry of love.
Glad somebody’s still trying. I haven’t decided yet; whether to give up on figuring out the whole “love” thing, or keep trying. The idea of love – theoretically – still has a lot of attraction. That wonderful, mad feeling of caring so deeply about someone else, longing for her touch and aching to see her face, to hear her voice and slowly, gently kiss her lips… is still captivating. But as you probably know from bitter personal experience, dear reader, the reality can rapidly change from a blissful dream to a horrific nightmare. Disappointment, betrayal, or just plain boredom – all can be fatal to love.
It’s confusing stuff, this love business. Perhaps The Rutles summed it up best.
Enjoy the video. I’m off to bed. Alone. For tonight, at least.
