September 11th (and 10th and 12th)
Where were you on September 11th, the day in 2001 when hijacked planes infiltrated the Pentagon, plowed a field in Pennsylvania, destroyed New York's World Trade Center, and took the lives of thousands of innocent people?
I was in 1-dorm at Marion Correctional Institution, having just started my first ten-month cycle as a resident of the prison's Horizon Interfaith program, sharing one huge living space with 47 other Christian, Muslim and Jewish inmates. I'd loosely labeled myself as Christian to gain entry, and I was a baptized member of the Episcopal Church, although at the time I felt more of an affinity with Buddhism, Taoism and even Wicca. (The program has since loosened its rules to welcome any and all "men of faith.")
The morning of September 11th, I was sitting on my bunk reading Moby Dick (required for a 19th century American literature class I was taking through Ohio University's independent study program) when fellow inmate Chris Bauman breathlessly approached and asked "Did you see that the World Trade Center is on fire?"
"It is?"
"Yeah, they're showing it on TV right now."
So I went back to my friend Najeeullah's bunk (he had his own television set) and sat down to watch with him. That's when we saw the second plane hit the second tower - and knew immediately that this was no accident. Someone speculated that the same "religious nuts" who'd set off a bomb at the World Trade Center in 1993 might be behind this 2001 attack as well, and I became very angry inside thinking about all the horrible things men have done over the centuries thinking "God" was on their side.
Strange, though... you might have expected this to be a very volatile situation. Here I was in prison - with all sorts of felons ranging from drug dealers and repeat drunk drivers to rapists and murderers serving life sentences. We included devout Jews, Muslims, and Christians - as well as many who weren't anywhere near devout. Prison staff were on full alert, ready to deal with any conflicts that might arise. They canceled all programs and kept us locked in our dorms. But for the 48 of us (and the same held true in the prison's other housing areas), the tragic events of that day only made us closer, more compassionate toward one another, and more conscious of our common humanity.
Here's a video created by the NBC news affiliate in Columbus, Ohio, about our dormitory. I've posted it on my blog in the past. But it seems appropriate to repost it in the the context of 9/11. Since I was a bit more bashful than I appear to be today, I avoided being captured by the camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR7UL6PI6g8
Do you remember where you were on that fateful day?
Here's a photo of Najeeullah and me a few years later (April 7th 2005), as free men, speaking about our interfaith and 9/11 experiences at a Presbyterian church near Columbus:
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Fast forward to 2008. Today is September 10th, birthday of H.D., a poet I like so much I honored her in a blog entitled D is for Doolittle (my favorite poets from A to Z - volume 4). That blog includes two excellent H.D. poems ("There is a spell, for instance" and "Sheltered Garden"). And two more of her poems (one added just this morning in honor of her birthday) are available in the Crisis Chronicles Online library. They are Prayer and Hymen.
Tomorrow is September 11th and we will be attending Poetry Night at Cleveland's Literary Cafe. Beginning at 9:30 p.m., Philip Metres and Amy Bracken Sparks will be the event's featured readers - with an open mic and other assorted festivities to follow. I'm thrilled to announce that Philip Metres has agreed to allow me to feature some of his fine work in the Crisis Chronicles Online Library as well. Please check out his amazing poem The Ash Tree (by clicking on the title), come hear him read his work at the Literary Cafe, and get yourself a copy of his prize-winning new poetry collection To See the Earth (Cleveland State University Press, 2008).
Friday is September 12th. Karen Schubert (whose reading in June at Mac's Backs I enjoyed very much) will be Deep Cleveland's featured poet that night at the Borders bookstore in Strongsville at 8:30 p.m. Click here for more information. I feel terrible because computer issues have prevented me from getting the video of Christopher Franke's fantastic reading last month at Borders posted in a timely fashion. But I promise it will be worth the wait, and I'm going to try my darnedest to have at least part of it online before this Friday's Borders reading. Otherwise, I may be ashamed to show my face there... lol. Seriously, though, I don't know whether I'll be able to go to Karen's reading Friday or not because our grandson Marcus is having his orthopedic surgery that day. Might not know until the last second.... But I encourage you to go, and maybe I'll see you there.
Peace love and all of the above,
John
http://poetrypoem.com/cgi-bin/index.pl?poemnumber=770816&sitename=charlax&password=&poemoffset=0&displaypoem=t&item=poetry
eye got this one from the main website eye hope everyone can use the link just copy and past it iff you cant see the hyperlink eye typoed CASKET in my search box at the main website
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Thanks, Charles! You might just be the most prolific poet I know!
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http://www.flight93crash.com/
this is a link to a great website indepth study
eye was in UTAH working for an ATUOMOTIVE shop shovelling snow in the parking lot in 2001 just a string of bad days no poems even made back then that all came later after sober up
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There was a Church (Pentacostal) eye visited you would not have liked them much the Preacher believed in eating fruit a lot he tried to get me to eat apples for my health as iff eye was a horse and then they had this false doctrine that said they were THE only Church of GOD (PENTACOSTAL) the only people going to Heaven was THIS CHURCH they numbered only about a hundred ??? so narrow of a path was not the way at all eye still have no church home but keep looking at religion with not much hope
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Thank you, Charles! I'm very glad you found poetry, it found you, and you found my site. Peace....
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http://poetrypoem.com/cgi-bin/index.pl?poemnumber=938614&sitename=charlaxici&password=&poemoffset=0&displaypoem=t&item=poetry
By Whom It Come
9112001
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Quite a story. I hope to blog and link to it...
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Thanks, Philip!
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Actually, if everyone, including our political "leaders", were reading MOBY DICK, as you were, the war on terror would be conducted a lot more intelligently. Bush is the lesser brother of Ahab.
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Yeah, but as we all know, Bush never got to finish "The Pet Goat" by Siegfried Engelmann and Elaine C. Bruner.
Hmmm... Really, though, the 48 hours after the attacks were the only time he showed himself to be able to lead. He was obviously in a situation way over his head, and it showed when he spoke to the press on the 11th and 12th. But he was able to say the right words to keep the country from panicking. It is just unfortunate that once his puppeteers had him on strings again, they had him lead this country down such a wrong path.
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Excellent analogy.... You've got my imagination off and running this morning. The Pequod could be either the war on terror, a ship that might be described (borrowing from another author) as "neither good nor bad but [the captaining] makes it so." Scott McClellan could be one of many Ishmaels. But who would be our Queequeg?
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Thanks for the update on all.. I can only make a brief comment at the moment...will be back later in the day.
my best to all..
peace.. chris
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If you recall I left a blog on my profile in May concerning where I was on 9/11. From about 9:30 a.m. until noon that day I started a four week course at LCCC called A Panorama of Spanish Civilization and during the last hour was discussing Islamic Civilization in Spain. What a shock to learn that the World Trade Center Towers were falling while I was showing slides of the Alhambra and the Mosque at Cordoba. It was a terrible shock!! I discuss what I was teaching that day on my blog. You made some comments as I recall. Also the talk you gave to Spectrum included the video you posted today. I recall that in the Horizon Dorm that day the inmates of different religions all got together and prayed for those who were in the Towers. I found that most touching.
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Thank you, Elena! Folks who'd like to read your 9/11 blog may click here.
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Good morning, Chris!
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Thank you for sharing your memories of that time. I doubt that any of us will forget where we were then; it is burnt into our memories with acid and ash.
I was at work, of course, and oddly enough the Bookstore had a TV of its own to show study videos that we were carrying at the time and we were able to watch it all throughout the day.
I went to college with many people from the NYC/NJ/Long Island area and I wondered if any of them might have been in the twin towers that day. It was over a month later that I found that a friend, the guy I sat next to at graduation and worked with on the school newspaper, was working for the port authority in security and died in the second tower. And seven months after 9/11 his wife had a baby. And he had even been wounded in the 1993 attack and gone back to the Port Authority and his job. There was a true hero.
The very enormity of what happened brought everyone together and the randomness of the attack on civilians demanded a response. Too bad the one we got promoted the agenda of big business and party politics and conservative brainwashing.
And heroes keep dying...
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Thank you for sharing your experiences of that time, P. The heroes keep dying indeed - and many ordinary innocents as well.
I neglected to mention one thing. After the second crash, we heard that a third plane had apparently been hijacked. It was supposed to be going west but had been turned around near Cleveland. The last report they had at that time was that the plane was over Elyria (where my mom and most of my friends lived). That was a bit scary. The next I heard about it, the news reported that the plane had crashed in Pennsylvania.
My job at the time was administrative clerk in the prison library. But work was cancelled that day. That week, I believe I watched more television than ever before or since - all news all the time.
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Sept. 11 I was in my cubicle, trying to catch news of what was going on all day via internet & TV, with my boss not really letting me talk to him about it.
My coworker said that the America I knew was going to change. He was so so right.
Hope you guys have a most lovely time at the Lit tomorrow. Cheers.
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Thanks, Lady! It's amazing how much has changed since then.
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September 11, when the towers fell, well I was laying in bed (it is my b-day so hubby got up to take kids to school and let me sleep in) the teenager that was living with us at the time came in my room, saying you gotta see this you gotta see this. I didn't believe him at first, then the entire morning of my 29th b-day was sitting in front of the TV with a cup of coffee and tears in my eyes. Then I had to go to work that night.
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Thank you for stopping by and sharing, Sid. I bet it's strange sharing your birthday with such an an anniversary. I imagine it makes it hard to celebrate sometimes. Sorry I didn't see your comment until after, but I hope you had a pretty good birthday and I wish you a fantastic weekend....
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I finally have an opportunity to comment here....
I was at the tennis club at the time the attack happened... and everyone stopped what they were doing headed up to the lounge and gathered round the TV... and that is where we stayed for the next two hours plus... before we went home in shock to follow developments.
I remember feeling absolute disbelief as my first feelings watching what was happening.. it gradually changing to horror and feeling sick to my stomach when I realized what we were watching was real and horrific.
I think everyone there immediately thought of their own families and wondered if they were safe and what would happen next...
It's amazing to think about the changes that it has caused... not always the ones we assumed would be permanent. Not always the ones we have needed to see... Thanks for the look back.
By the way I had trouble getting the video link you have posted here to work properly... but was able to watch it finally on You Tube.
One thing that interested me was how would I find out about community based prison programs in my area.. if I wanted to volunteer. Any ideas on the kind of agency I might contact here in Michigan? Thanks...
Oh.. and have an awesome time at the Lit Tonight... one of these days... months.. I'll see ya all there.
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I appreciate you sharing, Chris. It's interesting how we were all in such different places that day, and yet, in a way, we are all in the same place now (though also different). There's a poem in that.
I was having an issue with the video briefly as well - but whatever the problem was, it seems to have fixed itself.
As far as community based prison programs, your best bet is probably to contact a facility near you. The institutions themselves have the best idea as far as where their needs lie and how you can help. For religious/spiritual/meditation programs, I'd contact the place's chaplain directly. For other programs, probably the recreation or activities therapist. At a place like Marion, there was a Deputy Warden of Special Services who oversaw such things and could guide you to the proper person.
We had an amazing time at the Lit! Phil Metres' work (his name, by the way, is pronounced almost as though it rhymes with Tetris) was even more impressive in person. And he was very poised and well prepared, in addition to being a fine human being and all around nice fellow. Amy Bracken Sparks is a fine woman and a very good poet as well. But I'll be blogging about the event in the near future....
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It is quite humbling to speak of the events of September 11th as an American but also as someone who was not directly affected, yet at the same time feeling so directly affected. I cannot claim that my loss on that day is equal to the loss of the families that were involved. I can only say that I have the deepest sympathy for their loss. I am very glad that we have this discussion. We promised to never forget, and we are keeping the promise.
I remember September 11 in great detail as I'm sure we all do. It was just over nine months after my Mom and my Sons died, so I was deep in my own grief and I didn't think there was anything left to happen in the world that would be a shock to me. I was getting ready for work and watching the Today show when it happened, as it happened. I was devastated. An accident is tragic, but such a deliberate act is unconscionable. I remembered that I had been thinking in the past months that the only thing that could make losing a child worse would be if that child were murdered or if that child were missing. Now, we were seeing the beginning of thousands of families who lost a mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter in the most horrible way that I could imagine. I was working in a Christian bookstore at the time and when I got to work, the store was filled with people commiserating over what was happening. They were looking for guidance and answers and I had to tell them that I didn't have the kind of answers they were longing for and probably never would. That did not go over well with my Christian employers, but I felt in my heart that I was telling the truth.
I loved the video you included about the interfaith program in the prison. These people demonstrate so perfectly that different faiths can not only co-exist, but that we can all learn from each other. There is not a single path to righteousness. This was an idea that I claim that was not appreciated in the "Christian" bookstore. In fact, shortly after 9/11 I quit that job. The people were all well intentioned but they could not see that their own strident views were so exclusive that they were shutting so many decent people out.
Over these years, we have come to realize that we have suffered many devastating tragedies as a nation and that asking that question, "Where were you .." helps us to bond with each other in a very profound way. Thank you for starting this conversation.
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Thank you very much for sharing your experiences and insights, Tara! I find it interesting how such tragedies bring certain folks "closer to God" (at least from their perspectives), while causing other folks to feel farther or more estranged "from God." I suspect someone has written a book about that.
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I was off work that day and at my apartment. I learned of the tragedy from the internet and TV. I was in shock for that whole day. I couldn't wrap my mind around something like that. It changed the way I look at everything now.
It was one of the many times in this country that I felt that many drastic changes were to follow.
When JFK was shot, and I was in the 6th grade at Eugene Field school, I felt such grief and sorrow and knew in my 12 year old mind that things would never be the same.
When John Lennon was shot, I was in nursing school, and again felt that sinking, totally at a loss feeling. There are some things that you just remember forever and the moment is etched in your mind.
I felt horror and sympathy for all those 3,000 people and their families. I still feel it today. So many senseless tragedies, so hard to understand and grasp it all. This is why I have such difficulty with religions. I find no comfort in them. There is no way for me to understand this type of loss or suffering.
These are the times that really stick out in my mind:
1. When John F. Kennedy was shot (11/22/1963)
2. When Mt. St. Helen's blew (5/18/1980)
3. When John Lennon was shot (12/8/81)
4. When the space shuttle Challenger exploded (1/28/1986)
5. When the Gulf War began (1/16/1991)
6. When OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco (6/17/1994)
7. When the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City was bombed (4/19/1995)
8. When Princess Di was killed (8/31/1997)
9. When Bush II was first announced President (11/7/2000)
11. 9/11/2001
I enjoyed your video. If people have an open mind then there can be peace and understanding. We are all different and we are all the same.
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Thank you for sharing this, Susan!
I was about 13 when Lennon was shot. That was the first I time I saw him as more than a singer/musician. I became obsessed with learning everything I could about him, clipped every article I could find out of newspapers and magazines and plastered the walls of closet with them (Mom wouldn't let me do it to the walls of my bedroom). The closet became my Lennon sanctuary until we moved a year or so later.
When OJ was in the Bronco, I was in prison and all the inmates were watching him on TV and cheering, hoping he'd get away, as though their freedom was wrapped up in his.
JFK died about three years before I was born. Diana's death hit me harder than I ever would have expected - as did Kurt Cobain's and Freddie Mercury's.
The re-election victory of Bush in 2004 crushed a lot of the idealistic optimism I'd emerged from prison with in June of that year. I still haven't recovered it.
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Thank you John for putting a link to my blog on 9/11 and what I was doing when the towers fell. When I came home from giving the class that morning at LCCC I passed by the FAA facility here in Oberlin. All the cars were lined up outside with the doors open. I later understood that the person tracking the plane that finally crashed in PA after turning around over Elyria was under such stress that morning taking down over 700 square miles of planes that had to be landed that he was off work for a long time with a stressed out condition.
I have spent the morning today watching MSNBC that replayed this historical event from about 9:00 a.m. till noon. I once worked for an insurance company in a building near the Trade Center and remember well that area of New York City. So remembering this horrible event through the replay this morning brought tears to my eyes realizing the horrible deaths and losses to so many people from this terrorist treachery. We all have to wonder about the history of the human race and where it is going in the future with sick fanatics loose all over the world believing in their fanatical beliefs telling them to wreck havoc on the rest of mankind. It is imperative that we all know more about the world we live in, its history, geography and where we are going in this country. So if anyone has time read the blog I put on a blog in May about 9/11 what I was telling a college class the morning the towers fell in New York and the Pentagon was hit. It still greatly affects me to watch the re-run of the events of that dreadful day.
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I appreciated reading this. Thank you John.
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Thank you for stopping by, Maven. I appreciate your comment.
Looking forward to checking out your new blog as well....
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I was at work on 9/11. We have a tv in the break room, and would run in there between cases to see what was happening. I was totally stunned by it, as James and I had just been there in NYC, attending a convention, only 20 days earlier. We actually stayed in the hotel that was at the base of the Twin Towers. We ate at the Towers, took the subway from the Towers, literally lived at the Towers for four days. It's chilling and horrifying to think that so many of the people that we encountered while we were there died only three weeks later. It's a tragedy beyond measure. All of the people that we met while in NYC were wonderful, friendly, helpful people. I still weep for them.
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That's a hell of a story, Dianne. I appreciate you sharing it... makes my eyes watery.
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