IN REMEMBRANCE - SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 - PART 2

For remembrances from those closer to the scene:

Tobias Haller's poem at In a Godward Direction

Doug's post at Counterlight's Peculiars

Fran's three-part account of the day at There Will Be Bread:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

UPDATE: And Elizabeth Kaeton's post at Telling Secrets.

IN REMEMBRANCE - SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

I have not forgotten. Once again, I find that I have no words, only thoughts and emotions which I cannot express. I offer these words from The Book of Common Prayer:

I am Resurrection and I am Life, says the Lord.
Whoever has faith in me shall have life,
even though he die.
And everyone who has life,
and has committed himself to me in faith,
shall not die for ever.

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.
After my awaking, he will raise me up;
and in my body I shall see God.
I myself shall see, and my eyes behold him
who is my friend and not a stranger.

For none of us has life in himself,
and none becomes his own master when he dies.
For if we have life, we are alive in the Lord,
and if we die, we die in the Lord.
So, then, whether we live or die,
we are the Lord's possession.

Happy from now on
are those who die in the Lord!
So it is, says the Spirit,
for they rest from their labors.

(Book of Common Prayer - p. 491)

Below is the interior of St. Paul's Chapel near the World Trade Center, which I still consider the miracle church. However did the chapel come out relatively unscathed from the destruction all around it? When Grandpère and I were in New York a year or so after September 11, 2001, we attended a brief noonday service at St. Paul's. I was quite moved just to be inside the building which seemed even more hallowed because of its service as a place of rest and refreshment for those who worked at the site of the destruction. On an earlier visit, while the workers were still using the chapel, my sister and I cried as we walked around the perimeter of the fence when the memorials still covered every surface.



This post is mostly recycled from last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. I remember and note the day with deep sadness, but I have few words.

Images from Wiki here and here.

HOW TWINS ARE MADE...

So this is how they do it...
One of life's great mysteries solved.

 

(Only twenty years ago, no one would have understood this joke!)

Awwww... Thanks to Doug.

PLEASE PRAY FOR JCF'S FRIEND CATHY

JCF said...

I think of my friend Cathy, fighting her Stage 4 Cancer, w/ anemia-inducing (and of course, hair-losing) chemo.
....

[I know I don't have to ask y'all, but please keep praying for Cathy (currently awaiting the results of an MRI, to see if there are any brain mets).

I'll see her in early October (long enough after this month's chemo, but before next month's), if she's up to it.

She's the strongest person I know.]

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Cathy the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

ITALIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY

"A tavola non si invecchia" - You don't age while seated for a meal.

Rather wonderful, isn't it? Thanks to Lapin.

IN THE MAGNIFICENT HIGHLANDS

Cathy's photo from the moving car

MadChauffer, where were we in the Highlands on the narrow road with mountains looming on both sides and the occasional lake round the bend when we had to say "Oooh!" and "Aaah!" on command? I have to use Cathy's pictures when I write, because I have none, because my camera did not work taking pictures from a moving car window. Can you send me a map with the approximate location of that ride? It was achingly beautiful.

And lo! MadChauffeur sent me the map with the arrow pointing to the road we traveled, the one-lane road with two-way traffic, which we sped along amidst the breathtaking views. We made a couple of stops, but not many. Cathy and I were careful to "Oooh!" and "Aaah!" at the proper time, when MadChauffeur raised one hand to point out the view, because we feared consequences of non-compliance, such as, "Get out of the car!" MC's other hand stayed on the wheel, TBTG.



(Not the correct map. See update below.)

To ride along with gorgeous mountains closing in on either side, with only the occasional break for a glimpse of a sparking blue lake was, for me, an indescribably joyful experience. I'm waxing lyrical, because the beauty was nearly beyond what I could bear. I love mountains, and I've visited quite a few mountainous areas. The Highlands are right up there with the best I've seen.



Another photo by Cathy from the moving car

Although stopping places were few and far between along much of the road, we passed a small number of areas with parking, but our driver did not stop. Finally, we paused to stretch our legs, and, I'd guess, to give the driver a bit of a rest. The man can drive.

Below is a picture of Cathy taking a picture of the beautiful landscape. We seemed to do quite a bit of snapping away at one of the others snapping away.



Keep in mind that for much of the ride that day, and every day, so long as MadChauffeur drove, the sound of soul music filled the car.

Look below. I have tears in my eyes, as I type. Ah, it was beautiful.

 

I hand it to MadChauffeur. He stopped for the deer, as you see below...

 

...and for the waterfall.

 

At the pub where we stopped for supper, I ordered a wild boarburger, which was quite tasty, but too large for me to clean my plate. Nevertheless, I chose to share a dessert with Cathy, but she'll have to say what we ordered, because I've forgotten.

From right outside the pub, last, but not least, what you've all been waiting for, a photo of a Rowan tree.

 

The perfect end to a perfect day, yes?

UPDATE: I'm clearer now on where we were when we took the ride that was, to me, the most beautiful of all. It seems that MadChauffeur sent me the wrong map. Not that the scenery wasn't beautiful where the arrow points on the map he sent me, but that was not the place I referenced in my email. Below are Google maps showing the area around Glencoe to which I referred and the location of the pub where we ate supper. Thanks to Cathy for her help in getting the location right.

 

 

The Clachaig Inn where we ate supper.

MARGARET AND HELEN ON THE BOOK BURNING

God Loves A Good Book Burning:

Margaret did we really expect anything less? Religious intolerance has defined the Republican Party for almost 30 years now. A culture of life. Family values. America’s Christian Heritage. The sanctity of marriage. Gays in the military. Prayer in school. A mosque in Manhattan. For goodness sakes, the current leaders of the Republican Party (Palin, Limbaugh, and Beck) have been screaming about a Muslim family in the White House for months now. It was only a matter of time before someone called for a good ‘ole fashion book burning. Does it really matter if that book is the Quran instead of The Catcher in the Rye?

There is just one thing I haven’t been able to figure out yet. How many more groups of people does the Republican Party have to hate before its members finally call for a new platform? Those signs they carry at their rallies are getting pretty full. The print will have to be pretty small at the next Beck rally to fit God Hates Gays, Jews, Blacks, Muslims, Clinton (him and her), the Liberal Media, Obama, Pelosi, French Fries, Activists Judges, Environmentalists, Feminists, Mexicans, and small puppies. Maybe they can just print up a sign that simply says God Hates Everyone Who Isn’t Like Me. (My emphasis)

And trust me Margaret. The minute Matthew puts this on that web page blog of ours, a bunch of jack-asses are going to tell us that God hates us too and we shouldn’t generalize all Republicans like that. Well all I have to say is if it quacks like a Duck and sets a Quran on fire then it must be a Republican.

Read the rest of the post at the link, and read the comments. I love Margaret and Helen.

Thanks to Ann at Facebook for the link.

UPDATE: The book burning is cancelled.

THIS IS A LOVELY STORY ABOUT ME

One day, long, long ago, there lived a beautiful woman who did not whine, nag or bitch. (That would be me...)

 

But that was a long time ago and it was just that one day!

Thanks (or no thanks?) to Susan S. Or is the story about her?

ATTITUDE

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'I think I'll braid my hair today.'
So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

'H-M-M,' she said, 'I think I'll part my hair down the middle today.'
So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail.'
So she did, and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.
'YAY!' she exclaimed. 'I don't have to fix my hair today!'

Attitude is everything.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,

Love generously,

Care deeply,

Speak kindly, and,

Pray continually.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...

It's about learning to dance in the rain.

It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.

Thanks to Ann.

AFTER KATRINA - THE REST OF NEW ORLEANS

From the Daily Episcopalian:

Like most who visit New Orleans, its identity for me was defined by the French Quarter: the food, the music, the funky vibe of walking the streets. For seven years we lived three hours from the Crescent City, two and half if you didn’t stop. Becky and I spent several anniversaries there with a common agenda: wake up to a leisurely courtyard breakfast, walk the streets, eat lunch, head to antique shops for more walking, eat dinner, and walk the streets some more. The walking was a feeble attempt to balance the amount of calories consumed (forgot to mention the stops at Café du Monde for beignets). On other trips we took our children and widened the experience with the Children’s Museum and Aquarium.
....

The drive into the city drive was like some 1950s sci-fi movie. Unlike the horror of the Mississippi coast which was leveled by Katrina, New Orleans’ damage was primarily flood. Thus, one drove by buildings which were standing, yet empty. One saw apartments and shopping malls basically intact with empty parking lots as far as the eye could see; neighborhood after neighborhood, which from the interstate appeared intact, with no people or movement. It was surreal.

As we exited the interstate and drove along the streets, a severe silence overtook the van. Our friend described aspects of the devastation and the contexts of the neighborhoods. There was still no electricity in most of the flooded areas, no working stop lights, no working street lights. The debris of the yards and streets offered faint suggestions of the internal debris of those who once lived there.

The Very Reverend Todd Donatelli is dean of The Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville, North Carolina.

Read the rest over there.

I'm grateful to Todd for his account of his visits to New Orleans before and after Katrina and the federal flood. I'm grateful also for the help from Todd and his church community in the aftermath of the disaster.

The people of my native city have come a long way, but they still have a long way to go.

Thanks to Ann Fontaine for the link.