I heard about a town giving its police force a paid holiday on September 11th last night on the news. I only heard the headline and changed the channel so I had assumed it was a local police force - perhaps on Long Island, NJ, or Westchester. But, it turns out it's Peadbody, Massachusetts (population 48,000).
I understand the connection, they're cops. But on that Tuesday morning, 7 years ago, the cops of the NYPD and Port Authority were not on a holiday. They were working. They did their jobs. In fact, there were countless police officers, firefighters, and other service personnel who were off-duty that day and ran to the scene to help. You honor these people by taking the day off????
Really, Peabody, Mass.?
Maybe I'm off-base here, but knowing how crazy, disgusting minds work, wouldn't you want your police force at the ready in case there's a copycat twisted terrorist out there? Think Timothy McVeigh, who bombed a federal building in Oklahoma on the second anniversary of the Waco seige.
It's our duty to remember the people who died and suffered that day. But, we must remember that the day started just like any other. People went to work - all of them. It was a devastating day, but one we must honor through remembrance of those who were taken from us and gratefulness towards the people whose everyday job it is to look after us. I don't think having the day off is the right way to observe that Holy Day.
Showing posts with label September 11th. Show all posts
Showing posts with label September 11th. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
7 years ago I...
... fell asleep at 2am, full of nervous energy for the day to come. I had been working on a City Council campaign all summer long and on September 11th, 2001 we were finally at the Democratic Primary. I woke up at 5am to get back out and hit the streets for the campaign.
Our campaign for City Council was for the District 1 seat in Manhattan. Downtown Manhattan. We were all less than a mile away from the World Trade Center.
After the terrorist attacks we were in shock. Literally, we had no idea what to do. As a campaign, our first order of business was to make sure all of our volunteers and staff were ok. But, then what?
Over the next few days, slowly dealing with the severity of what had happened and working out the fears that it might happen again, the city began to find its pace. People began to donate blood, volunteer to help out firefighters, and Rudy became a national hero.
Meanwhile there was a family band that I had met a year before in Washington Square Park that spent their time helping out the firefighters and later made a record and donated all the proceeds to NYC firefighters. The Veltz Family (formerly known as Cecilia the Band) is made up of mom, dad, their son, and two daughters. Their music is beautiful.
They helped me seven years ago just by playing their music. Here, the National Anthem done by The Veltz Family:
Our campaign for City Council was for the District 1 seat in Manhattan. Downtown Manhattan. We were all less than a mile away from the World Trade Center.
After the terrorist attacks we were in shock. Literally, we had no idea what to do. As a campaign, our first order of business was to make sure all of our volunteers and staff were ok. But, then what?
Over the next few days, slowly dealing with the severity of what had happened and working out the fears that it might happen again, the city began to find its pace. People began to donate blood, volunteer to help out firefighters, and Rudy became a national hero.
Meanwhile there was a family band that I had met a year before in Washington Square Park that spent their time helping out the firefighters and later made a record and donated all the proceeds to NYC firefighters. The Veltz Family (formerly known as Cecilia the Band) is made up of mom, dad, their son, and two daughters. Their music is beautiful.
They helped me seven years ago just by playing their music. Here, the National Anthem done by The Veltz Family:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
