No, I didn't forget

I’m thinking I might have offended by posting an innocuous entry about Whoopi Goldberg and other celebrity sightings on this day, September 11. I do apologise to anyone who might have thought me cold, unfeeling or selfish. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been labelled as such, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Truth be told, I started that entry days ago and was waylaid by the many irritations of life (named Levi, Asher and Gabriella). The post hit the stands on this day but was actually conceived long before now.

Also, I’d like to say that today is, and hopefully will always be, a very happy day for some of our friends celebrating birthdays. I refuse to say I’m sorry to them for joining us in this world on September 11th thousands nay tens of thousands of days before the World Trade Center attacks. Instead I say Happy Birthday, DB (Happy 40!!), LG AND AA! We love you, and we hope you’re celebrating wherever you are.

I was in London showing off my WAP phone to my friend during a business lunch. It was the hottest thing at the time-connecting to the web on the phone and accessing the weather or news events. “How funny is this one? A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center. That’s bad driving, isn’t it?” It was beyond my scope of comprehension that there might have been anything more disastrous than a broken window or two and that there could have ever been anything sinister behind such an accident. We laughed and finished lunch.

When I walked back into my office, a media company littered with televisions all over the office, I was met with blank stares and a cacophony of silence. “Did you hear, Deborah?” someone finally had the courage to ask. “What? About the plane? Yeah, I heard.” But I realized taking in all their faces that that I was missing something-something awful.

Such a surreal feeling to be living outside of the U.S. at that time. I felt like I needed to be there, and yet I was relieved to be far away. We called and called to get news from friends at home and in Manhattan. The entire day is a blur as it is for many, but I remember feeling completely lost and confused. I couldn’t absorb it all.

We would fly to New York in October to attend a funeral. Just One. We would absorb plenty during that trip. It was good to be with friends-friends who took us in their arms and welcomed us home. It was good to be outrageously sad with friends who had become our family. So on this day, I remember more than the crime and the losses and the tears. I remember our friends, our family, our blessings, and I wish everyone a peaceful day.