September 11th, 2006

Remembrance

I have no unique perspective on this day in history. Like most of you, I watched the tragedy unfold on TV and computer screens. When the first tower was struck, I remember all of us at work thinking the same thing: “I can’t believe a plane hit that building.” It wasn’t until more reports came in that we started to realize just what had happened and we were hit with the same emotion:

Disbelief.

Who would do this? What possible reason could a human being have to commit such a horrible act? I’ve heard the reasons, but I still haven’t heard one that makes sense. What happened five years ago today was awful not just because of the lives lost that day, but because of the fear and uncertainty it planted. We have a hard enough time trusting our fellow man without having to worry about whether he’s planning to kill us.

Right around the time of the attacks, I heard this song by Amy Grant and it will always be tied in with September 11, 2001 in my mind.

Somewhere Down The Road

So much pain and no good reason why
You’ve cried until the tears run dry
And nothing else can make you understand
The one thing that you held so dear
Is slipping from your hand
And you say

Why, why, why
Does it go this way
Why, why, why
And all I can say

Somewhere down the road
There’ll be answers to the questions
Somewhere down the road
Tho’ we cannot see it now
And somewhere down the road
You will find mighty arms reaching for you
And they will hold the answers at the end of the road

Yesterday I thought I’d seen it all
I thought I’d climbed the highest wall
Now I see the learning never ends
And all I know to do is keep on walking
Walking ’round the bend singing

Why, why, why
Does it go this way
Why, why, why
And all I can say
Somewhere down the road
There’ll be answers to the questions
Somewhere down the road
Tho’ we cannot see it now
And somewhere down the road
You will find mighty arms reaching for you
And they will hold the answers at the end of the road

Put up for your consideration by madmup / 10:03 am
| 1 Comment »
September 8th, 2006

Blog Noir

I realized I was awake in much the same way you realize you’ve already started your car after turning the key again. Though it’s only a minute or two, the sound of the engine running has already become a part of the background, so much so that it’s indistinguishable enough to not make you realize the car’s already running.

I blinked myself a little more awake, certain I’d been asleep for a few hours. I pulled the watch close to my face and pushed the button for the light. The blue glow doubly illuminated me, showing the tossed-back covers and also showing me my guess was wrong. Dead wrong.

A little over an hour was all. The rest of the night stretched out before me like a line of ants after some spilled jam. I felt strangely rested, like I could get up and start my day, but I knew if I tried it, I’d be down for the count long before I’d be able to throw in the towel. I knew I needed to go back to sleep.

But first there was some business I needed to attend to. I touched the lamp beside my bed to turn it on its lowest setting. The dim light was a perfect mix of lighting my way and not overdoing it, and I got up.

The bathroom light was harsh, like a first-grade teacher correcting her student’s ill-conceived attempts at making the other kids laugh. Harsher still, though, was the shirtless image of me grimacing back at myself from the mirror, a reminder that I wasn’t as young as I used to be, and an even grimmer reminder that we tend to be the sum of choices we make. I was a poster boy for what cake and ice cream can do to a man.

The sound of running water in the sink broke a silence that seemed have a melody to it, and once the tune was broken, the rhythm section of the neighbors who talk loudly outside their door became evident, as did the bass line of some faraway motorcycle. It was a tune I’d heard too many times before and I wanted to change the station.

I was in my office checking for messages when She came in the room, all legs and eyes. She wanted to know why I was awake. Dames. No explanation’s ever a good enough one for them. I picked her up but she protested and pushed me away. I let her go and she landed on all fours, like I knew she always would. She ran a quick tongue over her hair, the orange parts a perfect match for her fiery temper, and left the room.

Alone again, I considered my options. It didn’t take me long because I didn’t have that many. I knew sleep was all I had. This time, though, I’d try to get it right.

Put up for your consideration by madmup / 5:01 am
| 1 Comment »
September 6th, 2006

A Further Quirk

It seems lately I’ve been getting more calls from numbers I don’t recognize. I usually don’t answer them, but I’m dying to know who is calling. The Reverse Phone Directory doesn’t help when the calls are from cell phones and I’m much too nervous to call them back and ask who they are.

Really, I’m left with just the one solution: have a friend in Ohio call the number to find out who it is.

He’s surprisingly willing to do this and is surprisingly good at it. So far none of the numbers have been anything but misdials, but I keep hoping that one day he’ll call a number back to find I’ve been awarded millions of dollars.

He’ll get a slight cut, of course.

Put up for your consideration by madmup / 1:37 am
| 6 Comments »
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