10 years. 3,652 days.On Sunday morning, I will be Ground Zero for the tenth consecutive year to honor the memory of my friend Joyce Carpeneto and those precious 3,000 lives that were lost there, and in Washington DC and Pennsylvania, a decade ago. (And now it's time to stop calling the site "Ground Zero." With the memorial being dedicated, it is time to call it the World Trade Center again.)
The memorial will be the only place for many of the families to grieve for those loved ones who were never found. It will be an emotional and difficult day for all of us involved. Please say a prayer for all the 9/11 victims and their families on this holy day.
As I have written in the past on this day, it is a sacred day for me. There is no other place in the world I can be but at the site.
There are many things in this life I am proud that I have accomplished, like all the things connected to the Red Sox, my blog, my Trivia Nights and the background acting gigs I have done. I am extremely proud of all of that.
But there is nothing that I am prouder having done than what I have written for my late friend Joyce, especially the poems and memorial. It has touched many lives, and I hope I have made her proud.
This is the sixth consecutive year I have honored the 9/11 victims on this blog. For those of you who would like to read any of the other five, here they are:
2010: 3000
2009: The Most Sacred of All Days
2008: We Can Be The Ones Who Remember
2007: Never Forget. Ever.
2006: Forever Missed. And Forever Loved.
I conclude with a favorite quote I have written on this blog on September 11th on a few occasions. It is from the TV show "Third Watch," and it was said by actor Bruce Weitz, in an episode about the funeral of a 9/11 victim. These words have always resonated with me:
"It's been 233 days since September 11th. I've been to 28 funerals and memorial services and I should have gone to more, but some days I just couldn't face it. 233 days and in a few weeks it's going to be over. Everyone and everything that was going to be found will have been found. Won't be any place to dig. And then we are just going to have to walk away. And there will be a park with a marble monument with names that will slowly stop seeming like real people. Soon enough it will be just us. We will be the ones who remember. That's what we can do to honor the people we loved and lost. We can be the ones who remember."
We love you, Joyce. And we'll always miss you.
Much is written about the inability of Red Sox fans and Yankees fans to not agree (or to agree to disagree). Not on this point. Your words are pitch perfect.
ReplyDeleteIt was thru your blog that I found out about Project 2,996. I have been writing a blog for 3 1/2 years and have annually dealt with September 11 as a subject. This year I was honored to write something for submission on Project 2,996 in honor of the memory of Thomas I. Glasser. But for your work here, I would not have known such a place existed.
Again, well done. And thank you.
Thank you for the kind words, Adam. Glad to hear you were a part of Project 2996, which I was honored to remember my friend Joyce. I hope one day each 9/11 victim will have something written about them there.
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