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Cape May: Remembering 9/11
September 23rd, 2008 | Dean Arrindell
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On Thursday, September 11, 2008, I was in the middle of my vacation in Cape May. I woke up shortly before 10am and found the cable news channels commemorating 9/11 in various ways. CNN didn't have anything on it for the first few minutes I was watching, Fox had a talking-head saying something about 9/11, and MSNBC was showing the entire NBC broadcast from the morning of 9/11/01. I forgot what I eventually watched, but it wasn't cable news.
Congress Hall
The trip to Cape May was planned far in advance of us going down there. So, I knew I'd be out of town on 9/11 for the first time since the attacks. I figured the trip would be a good opportunity to get a first-hand glimpse of what commemorations outside of NYC would be like. And I wondered how, or even if, my vacation would change on 9/11.
I saw only a few things that were obviously connected to 9/11. On the evening on Sept. 10, I saw a woman put small flags in a grass field, probably for 9/11. And as we walked around Cape May on September 11, there were numerous flags at half staff. But those were the only differences I saw. Why? Because I was enjoying my vacation by the pool for most of September 11. It's not that Holly, her folks and I forgot what day it was. We talked about it, but we didn't set aside the entire day to mourn. We carried on like every other day of our vacation.
The families of those who lost loved ones probably mourn and suffer on a daily basis. But, the wound from 9/11 can't be opened on a national level once a year. We would be paralyzed with grief forever. It can't be healthy to relive the fear, uncertainty and sadness of that day every year.
It will be interesting to see how 9/11 is remembered in the future. There will probably be a lot of remembrances (particularly on television) for the 10th anniversary of 9/11. And certainly there will be ceremonies when the new World Trade Center and Memorial & Museum are unveiled at what is now Ground Zero. But what will happen after that?
What do you think? As we move further away from the attacks on 9/11, how should we mark that day?
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Related Topics: 9/11, Cape May
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Dean Arrindell | Comments Off
Cape May: Remembering 9/11
(via Facebook, MySpace, Digg, email and more)
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