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New York, New York
Sep. 11th, 2021 09:06 pmI've always had bittersweet memories and feels about this anniversary. I'm a lifelong New Yorker but a never New York New Yorker, and was safely-in-hindsight 400 miles away from Ground Zero. But who really knew in those first moments? We'd given up morning television by then, so it took a neighbor's call to get it turned on to see that the first "accident" wasn't. All I vividly remember was looking at the smoking towers, surrounded by our then recent rescue of a dog and at least one of the then three kittehs. They were in their usual places doing their usual things, and I remember saying, to Tasha and whichever others may have been in here: You have no idea how lucky you are not to understand what we're seeing right now.
First came irrational anger- mine and lots of peoples'- but as the story moved from the initial terror to the aftermath, the sacrifices for the victims and survivors, and the focus on saving and healing and honoring them, took over. By ten nights later, the political story had begun its diversion from the UNITED WE STAND myth that permeated the time- into a forever war in the wrong place that we only just extracted ourselves from, and into another shorter but even stupider revenge war against a country that had nothing to do with the attacks or the attackers. We can discuss those war crimes some other time, but the tenth night after, relived in New York tonight, was the one thing we WERE united in, and by, and at:
The Mets were back on their home field.
Fox got the game tonight, a delayed ending to the annual Subway Series with the Yankees that was held back to mark this historic 20th anniversary weekend. Their production people did an excellent pregame. They used a lot of the live feed from Citi Field with the anthems and bagpipes and escorts of the living 2001 first responders by living 2001 Mets, many of whom were active, then and after, in rescue and rebuilding efforts for the city and the families.
But they mixed in tributes, from Billy Crystal narration to Mike Piazza recollections of his home run for the ages that won the game and brought hope back to a city in desperate need of it.
The Mets would fall short of the playoffs that year, as it's increasingly looking like they will this year. I stayed with the telecast for about two innings and two two-run Yankee homers. But, as many of the opponent Atlantans said, back then that resonated tonight, that game really didn't turn on who won.
We all did.
And we did it on the most sacred sites of my lifetime- Shea Stadium, the dump built on a dump that was our dump.
Citi Field comes close, and did a good job of hosting, but it will never be a dump.
We will never forget. We played ball.
First came irrational anger- mine and lots of peoples'- but as the story moved from the initial terror to the aftermath, the sacrifices for the victims and survivors, and the focus on saving and healing and honoring them, took over. By ten nights later, the political story had begun its diversion from the UNITED WE STAND myth that permeated the time- into a forever war in the wrong place that we only just extracted ourselves from, and into another shorter but even stupider revenge war against a country that had nothing to do with the attacks or the attackers. We can discuss those war crimes some other time, but the tenth night after, relived in New York tonight, was the one thing we WERE united in, and by, and at:
The Mets were back on their home field.
Fox got the game tonight, a delayed ending to the annual Subway Series with the Yankees that was held back to mark this historic 20th anniversary weekend. Their production people did an excellent pregame. They used a lot of the live feed from Citi Field with the anthems and bagpipes and escorts of the living 2001 first responders by living 2001 Mets, many of whom were active, then and after, in rescue and rebuilding efforts for the city and the families.
But they mixed in tributes, from Billy Crystal narration to Mike Piazza recollections of his home run for the ages that won the game and brought hope back to a city in desperate need of it.
The Mets would fall short of the playoffs that year, as it's increasingly looking like they will this year. I stayed with the telecast for about two innings and two two-run Yankee homers. But, as many of the opponent Atlantans said, back then that resonated tonight, that game really didn't turn on who won.
We all did.
And we did it on the most sacred sites of my lifetime- Shea Stadium, the dump built on a dump that was our dump.
Citi Field comes close, and did a good job of hosting, but it will never be a dump.
We will never forget. We played ball.