Nine Innings From Ground Zero
Sep. 8th, 2004 10:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
judecorpI really enjoyed Nine Innings From Ground Zero. I thought it was a pretty cute documentary that brought a lighter perspective to some pretty heavy events. If you get a chance to see it, I recommend it. And it's short - only about an hour long. So GO.
I was so full of emotion when they showed footage of the area around the armory, where people held and hung "Missing" posters and clung to the hopes that their loved ones would be rescued. It immediately brought me back to the day that Jodie and I went down to the armory to bring toiletries and comfort items to the rescue workers while I was still on my vacation. I remember that we were just mesmerized by all of the posters, candles, and flowers. There was a young man placing flowers in random locations and he gave us one. And a hug. It was so intense.
While it was such a stressful time, I'm really glad I was in the City while 9/11 happened. I was glad to be in the company of Jodie and Princess and Chris, and SO glad to have Jodie sitting right next to me, where I knew she was safe, rather than at work in Chelsea where I would have freaked. I was glad to be a part of that enduring NYC spirit, if only for a week. And very glad I was able to bring toothbrushes and soap to deserving, hardworking individuals. And to take pictures of the massive shrines, the walls smeared with posters, the fliers hung up and down every street hopefully. I'd nearly forgotten the raw emotion and real power of that time, and I'm glad that I got a chance to be taken back in a safe space.
I loved watching the footage of the young girl who got to meet Derek Jeter after she wrote him a sad letter after the death of her father, who was a pilot on one of the flights. Baseball was such a part of the father-daughter relationship for them, and that was actually a common theme throughout the documentary - several girls/women who lost fathers had histories of shared games and autumn memories. Baseball is such a strong part of my connection to my father, and something I want to share with my own children. I can hardly wait.
And I got to see a piece of footage that actually helped me believe in the humanity of G-Dub... for a moment. There was a bit of film taken before he threw out the first pitch of Game Three of the 2001 Series, and he talked candidly about throwing advice he got from Derek Jeter and how nervous he was to face New York and, more specifically, Yankee fans. I actually liked him for a few minutes, even. It was kind of cute!
It's hard to see footage of the towers, though - pierced by planes, billowing with smoke, crumbling down. It's a challenge to face the shattered skeletons of steel surrounded by ash and paper and flesh. I haven't really thought about how the changed skyline shattered me... not since it happened, since I flew back to Columbus and stopped being faced with the reality of it all. Since I haven't lost a loved one since my great-grandmother when I was very small I don't have a lot of comparison, but I imagine that's what losing a family member is like - the need to forget, and the nasty sucker punch in the gut when the truth pops back in for a moment.
The City is still in my heart of hearts, and it bled a little bit again tonight.
I was so full of emotion when they showed footage of the area around the armory, where people held and hung "Missing" posters and clung to the hopes that their loved ones would be rescued. It immediately brought me back to the day that Jodie and I went down to the armory to bring toiletries and comfort items to the rescue workers while I was still on my vacation. I remember that we were just mesmerized by all of the posters, candles, and flowers. There was a young man placing flowers in random locations and he gave us one. And a hug. It was so intense.
While it was such a stressful time, I'm really glad I was in the City while 9/11 happened. I was glad to be in the company of Jodie and Princess and Chris, and SO glad to have Jodie sitting right next to me, where I knew she was safe, rather than at work in Chelsea where I would have freaked. I was glad to be a part of that enduring NYC spirit, if only for a week. And very glad I was able to bring toothbrushes and soap to deserving, hardworking individuals. And to take pictures of the massive shrines, the walls smeared with posters, the fliers hung up and down every street hopefully. I'd nearly forgotten the raw emotion and real power of that time, and I'm glad that I got a chance to be taken back in a safe space.
I loved watching the footage of the young girl who got to meet Derek Jeter after she wrote him a sad letter after the death of her father, who was a pilot on one of the flights. Baseball was such a part of the father-daughter relationship for them, and that was actually a common theme throughout the documentary - several girls/women who lost fathers had histories of shared games and autumn memories. Baseball is such a strong part of my connection to my father, and something I want to share with my own children. I can hardly wait.
And I got to see a piece of footage that actually helped me believe in the humanity of G-Dub... for a moment. There was a bit of film taken before he threw out the first pitch of Game Three of the 2001 Series, and he talked candidly about throwing advice he got from Derek Jeter and how nervous he was to face New York and, more specifically, Yankee fans. I actually liked him for a few minutes, even. It was kind of cute!
It's hard to see footage of the towers, though - pierced by planes, billowing with smoke, crumbling down. It's a challenge to face the shattered skeletons of steel surrounded by ash and paper and flesh. I haven't really thought about how the changed skyline shattered me... not since it happened, since I flew back to Columbus and stopped being faced with the reality of it all. Since I haven't lost a loved one since my great-grandmother when I was very small I don't have a lot of comparison, but I imagine that's what losing a family member is like - the need to forget, and the nasty sucker punch in the gut when the truth pops back in for a moment.
The City is still in my heart of hearts, and it bled a little bit again tonight.
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no subject
Date: 2004-09-09 02:36 am (UTC)On the main strip of BRC, there are lots of camps set up. Some, like the one I was with, are huge and people come in and dance and hang out. They are the fun-filled party side of Burning Man. And one of those camps was called New Days Eve. And every night at midnight they had a big New Years Eve Party there, complete with a count down and a replica of Times Square and bits of the New York City skyline. The framework for the camp was likely built earlier than 2001, since it had the World Trade Center Towers in it.
But see, Burning Man has never struck me as a being very political aside from issues of personal freedom. Sure, they oppose the war and wish that things were better, they just mostly wish the government would quietly go away. Let people live unrestrained and we'll eventually find a natural equilibrium and it'll be ok. That's the vibe that I get from that city.
But, in the middle of a huge party camp, in the middle of a city that would be quite happy to have no government or structure, they had covered the World Trade Center towers in American flag patterned cloth. An extremely political statement in BRC, if you ask me.
They could have quietly removed them. Or turned it into a different building. Or done just about anything with that space. But they chose (and CONTINUE to choose) to show their respect to those victims through the American flag.
For some reason, it gave me chills. It gave me hope that as a country we can actually BE the good people I know we are. We suffered something horrific. So horrific that even the anti-government advocates showed love for their country, sympathy for fellow humans and support for those facing the aftermath of that crisis.
It gave me just a little hope that we can ACTUALLY BE as good as I know we can.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-12 03:41 am (UTC)And I know you and I talked about this about 8709437092 times way back in the days when we saw the Furs together and smooched on the Bed O Doom, but I really wish I'd been able to chill on the playa with you. It sounds like you had a really positive and really powerful experience, and I'm psyched for you. I can't wait to hear more.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-09 04:56 am (UTC)I did not know you were in NY then. Wow.
My own connection to the tragedy is starkly pale and shallow compared to so many thousands of others, and yet the memories still haunt me in a murky, deep place in my soul. I cannot watch the video, becuase it brings up things for which I have no words. It happened, it touched everyone, and I do not need to see it again to remain touched.
I appreciated the way Michael Moore handled "showing" it in Fahrenheit 911. Audio was more than enough for me.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-12 03:40 am (UTC)And in some ways, the audio in Fahrenheit 9/11 was /more/ intense. I dunno. I guess I have a vivid imagination.
I think that this event was personal for everyone regardless of circumstance. It's kind of like that saying, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."
no subject
Date: 2004-09-09 03:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-12 03:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-09 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-12 03:38 am (UTC)