Sep 22 2023 - This Day in History

 

It is 22 years since the catastrophic event of 9/11.  It had a lasting emotional toll in America and was catastrophic for Afghanistan and Iraq.   The role of media expanded to transmitting and amplifying tragic events live.  Airplane travel wasn't so safe anymore, and Muslims became the target of discrimination which has lasted for decades.  I wondered why there are no reflections this year in the Google retrievals. Google has become so aggressive in shaping and deciding what is retrieved that I have come to downgrade its integrity rating.  I hopped over to DuckDuckGo.com and find quite the list of reflections.  There was breaking news from CNN in which two more victims were identified through advanced DNA testing. That article says that 40% of the victims - 1,100 people remain unidentified.  So one would expect the timing of the identification was done to coincide with the anniversary.  That tells us a lot about how news is made for the media today.  I came upon this November image.  I expect this is along John Street in Vineland.  The sun was reflecting up into the sky and the road shone brilliantly with the reflections.  I think this vertical extension of light is called a sun pillar.

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Sep 11 2022 - On This Day

 

Another memorial day today.  The 9/11 memorial.  American writers consider this the day that changed everything.  It seems to me it was the first time the US had to coordinate all of its arms of government - ordering all civilian aircraft to land, officially shutting down the National Airspace System, the military took control of the skies, with airplanes having to leave the skies immediately.  Halifax received 7,000 passengers, Vancouver 8,500. In Gander there were 6,700 people landing amongst a community of less than 10,000.  North Americans (Canadians too) became transfixed with the individuals who died in the attack. There's a memorial in St. Catharines at Happy Rolf's farm on the lake shore, with the names of each person from Niagara, and a tree planted in their honour.  The 9/11 Commission report identified the lack of coordination and communication between the CIA and FBI as much of the cause, and that this was determined to be a preventable disaster. It hasn't changed our sense of the magnitude of the experience. We were millions who watched the events.  There were hundreds of thousands in New York who experienced the events at the ground level.  There were thousands around the world who experienced the shutting down of the airspace.  All of us  saw the clear skies and lack of pollution as a message, too.  As an act of terrorism, its impact was vast. Such a different sort of memorial we will experience with Queen Elizabeth's funeral.  That will be a celebration of a life well-lived.

This tree is in then cemetery near me.  It is entwined around a gravestone, and seems a fitting image of the fire and destruction that we commemorate on 9/11. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Sep 9 2021 - Birthdays and Anniversaries

 

This is the day of most birthdays in the planet.  So Happy Birthday wishes go out to many people today.   It could be millions of people! I wish my google searches were international and not North American focused today - that's a google challenge.  This is a very unhappy U.S. day of the anniversary of 9/11.  This event took almost 3,000 lives - which is not a huge number when it comes to catastrophes.  Compare that to Hurricane Katrina where almost 2,000 lives were lost, but that event pales in comparison.  9/11 has turned into the most catastrophic occasion in U.S. history in my lifetime.  The intensity of the event can be seen in the news that they are still pursuing and revealing the identifies of those killed - this is fresh news.  The search for bodies in Louisiana's Katrina was called off well before all of the bodies were recovered.   What a stark contrast is the reaction to nature's destruction compared to the destruction caused by radical Osama Bin Laden, motivated by  "naive beliefs" (according to the Britannica Encyclopedia).  Perhaps the sense of horror was made more severe by the nature of the event and the live coverage - the twin towers being hit and exploding.  Remember that being shown over and over?   It was concentrated, focused and intense.   It caused its own explosion of rage in the U.S. political-military leadership that cost an estimated $8 trillion, along with new levels of discrimination, racial profiling, and hate crimes in the U.S.  It is a sorry legacy that lives alongside the many poignant stories of loss of loved ones in the catastrophe.  So today is a solemn day with everyone remembering where they were and when they say the twin tower crash coverage, and then many observances in the U.S. over this event that changed its history and character. These pretty lilies come from the Lilycrest Gardens field - huge blooms, gorgeously scented.  They our this month's Happy Birthday card.

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