13 years ago I went to bed tired. It was a Monday night. The sideshow season was winding down, but we still were going somewhat strong. My body was exhausted from the grind. Tuesday was the day I usually washed clothes, paid bills, ran errands, bought cat food. ( My beloved cat was still alive at the time, I still miss her, once I get my self on track I want another kitty cat). I had a routine. I would get up in the morning, drink a cup of coffee, watch CNN, write a few lines. Go to the park, then run errands all day. Sideshow life was very, very hard. It took over body, mind and spirit. It was ruled by the coming and goings of the subway. The movement of people coming and going to that lip of the world.. the end of land before sea... called Coney Island. Little did I know that was going to be the last night before the world changed for good. I woke up on Tuesday, I put on CNN... and suddenly felt a shaking. Not major, just a strange thud. I live about 1.5 miles or less from where it went down. The stations all started talking about what was going on downtown. It was unbelievable. At first I thought it was a joke, or a movie... and then a plane hit the second building. I could not move from my bed.. I was glued to the tube. I was as so many of us in a state of disbelief. This was happening so close to were I lived- and please do not tell me that you felt it like we did in New York... our reality was very different. we lived it-. As the buildings collapsed I ran out to see if I could see anything. Back then we had an unobstructed view of the towers. A lot of the new tall building were not built yet. All that was left was two incredible columns of white smoke... and then, even though I live on second off avenue A... a rain of office paper began. People who looked like zombies... covered in dust were walking aimlessly down the avenue. It was surreal. That day I know the world had changed, nothing would be the same. A few days later lower Manhattan smelled of death. I was the dawn of a new bad age. The beginning of endless war, of the great hustle... of the incredible inequality that now is the norm. The wholesale of the city... the change of guard. Ah.. but for a few moments we all felt a certain solidarity. I was numb, so many New York people were numb. I think that there is a huge difference between those of us who lived in the city before that day and after that day.. Ah. a penny for my thoughts. E
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 00:07:25 +0000
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