September 11, Part II
Today is an altogether more personal anniversary. The atrocities of five years ago today were the catalyst for my lying, cheating, thieving, feckless husband to drop an email on the off chance to an old acquaintance who goes by the name of the Fool from Philadelphia in these parts. Until very recently the chronology of the affair he launched with avowed intent of providing himself with a safe landing should I tell him ever to 'sling his hook' has puzzled me, but Top Buddy has recently confirmed that he and the Fat Bastard really working remotely this day five years ago and all but oblivious to the day's events.
The away trips with Top Buddy segued so pefectly into away trips to be with the Fool from Philadelphia that I struggled to take the evidence from her that he'd only contacted her in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 at face value.
Mea Culpa.
He really did contact you then and not months or years earlier. Not that it makes his behaviour any better. But at least now I do know the timing because I've got it from someone who isn't you and isn't him. You're welcome to him, but that doesn't mean I have to believe a single word either of you says or writes.
On an altogether different note someone asked today how the events had altered me, my life and my perception of the world about and I had this to say:
I was at my desk, at work in the City of London. I had the BBC world service streaming, while another colleague had CNN. We listened in real time through the afternoon as events unfolded. Then I fled to the country and hid out there for a couple of days. I went back into work to learn that the lead partner for one of my clients had been on one of the planes along with his partner and their son - the same age as my daughter; and it is that last fact that makes what happened that day enduringly painful. There was a three year old boy on UA175 which was directed into the south tower. He would be an eight year old now, like my daughter, but he didn’t get the chance.
I don’t expect an act of terrorism ever to envelop those me or those I hold dearest, but on the other hand it might one day happen. In the meantime I’ve given up work in London for a slower pace, a lower salary (and standard of living) and lots more time with my daughter.
I won’t adapt my value system one bit to accommodate or appease the sort of people who perpetrate such acts and moreover I won’t be swayed by the bland protestations of their fellow travellers who with one breath disavow those behind 9/11 but then proceed to insist that somehow the west brought this on itself through its decadence and its ruinous economic policies.
Which is a lot more like what I wanted to write this morning than I managed to achieve before I had to leave off to get ready for work.
The away trips with Top Buddy segued so pefectly into away trips to be with the Fool from Philadelphia that I struggled to take the evidence from her that he'd only contacted her in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 at face value.
Mea Culpa.
He really did contact you then and not months or years earlier. Not that it makes his behaviour any better. But at least now I do know the timing because I've got it from someone who isn't you and isn't him. You're welcome to him, but that doesn't mean I have to believe a single word either of you says or writes.
On an altogether different note someone asked today how the events had altered me, my life and my perception of the world about and I had this to say:
I was at my desk, at work in the City of London. I had the BBC world service streaming, while another colleague had CNN. We listened in real time through the afternoon as events unfolded. Then I fled to the country and hid out there for a couple of days. I went back into work to learn that the lead partner for one of my clients had been on one of the planes along with his partner and their son - the same age as my daughter; and it is that last fact that makes what happened that day enduringly painful. There was a three year old boy on UA175 which was directed into the south tower. He would be an eight year old now, like my daughter, but he didn’t get the chance.
I don’t expect an act of terrorism ever to envelop those me or those I hold dearest, but on the other hand it might one day happen. In the meantime I’ve given up work in London for a slower pace, a lower salary (and standard of living) and lots more time with my daughter.
I won’t adapt my value system one bit to accommodate or appease the sort of people who perpetrate such acts and moreover I won’t be swayed by the bland protestations of their fellow travellers who with one breath disavow those behind 9/11 but then proceed to insist that somehow the west brought this on itself through its decadence and its ruinous economic policies.
Which is a lot more like what I wanted to write this morning than I managed to achieve before I had to leave off to get ready for work.
posted by Enyo @ 10:57 pm
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