September 12th, "Live, from New York"

It is the day after the day before.

Much was said yesterday, about the new designation of September 11th as "a day of service and remembrance" (or is it the other way around?) -- which is great.  But what about today?  Do we serve and remember for one day only? 

The names and faces of so many wove themselves through  my heart and mind yesterday, and to a greater and lesser extent remain there today.  Some are living and some are not.  Some are healthy and some are not.  Some have become impoverished in the last eight years; some have not.  Some have left New York; most have not.  It is their home. 

And that is why I think September 12 needs to be held up as image and metaphor, not just of life "going on," but of how life goes on; of how we treat one another--how we respond to human sorrow, need, and pain.  In 2001, the subways began to run back into Manhattan again on September 12th.  I was on one of them.  It was the day when volunteers, not just first responders, were able make their way downtown, and uptown, and wherever they were needed.  Sometimes there was nothing to do, but just "be" with the eye-witnesses of the day before.  Sometimes, it was just about being together, supporting one another in comprehending what had happened.  Sometimes there were tasks to be done; recovery workers to support; sorrows to be held and griefs to be borne. 

Eight years have passed, and though September 11, 2009 was quite different that its counterpart of 2001, September 12th is much the same -- except for all the construction on the subways, and their failure to run anything close to normally today, and the appalling lack adequate money to help the suffering survivors.  Still we remember, lives lost and found; still we serve, because there is need.

It is always, now, the day after the day before.

Link to photos of Tribute in Light