“They Still Haven’t Gotten Over 9/11 . . .”

Ever since I heard that phrase quietly spoken from the audience at one of Bridgewater’s public hearings earlier this year, the words have remained engraved in my memory. 

I have often pondered upon that utterance which seemed to have come almost as an afterthought from a person who appeared to be sincere, if not sensitive.


This banner hangs in the atrium of the Bridgewater Commons Mall.

This week, the media – especially those of the printed page and the Internet – have been saturated with personal stories of people whose lives have been completely turned upside down by the tragic events of that fateful day – a day that forever changed the psyche of America.

So, I ask you, how do you “get over” 9/11 when, mere days before the commemoration of its 10^th anniversary, our government informs us of yet another credible threat scheduled to take place on the anniversary date itself?

You don’t.  You remain vigilant, and there is plenty of distinguished company to support my thinking:
 
Last night, I read a piece in The Wall Street Journal by columnist Peggy Noonan entitled “We'll Never Get Over It, Nor Should We,”  in which she gives her own account of why we should remember this day of “horror and heroes.”  (Noonan was also a White House speechwriter.)

I followed up with, “A Burden too Great for Anyone to Bear,”  the vivid Star-Ledger story of George Tabeek, the number two person in charge of security at the Port Authority for the World Trade Center who, to this day, cannot erase the personal torment which he feels about his dead co-workers.

Eight Years Already?

Friday dawned damp, dingy and cold – a holdover from the previous day that had brought even more rain and higher winds to Bridgewater. It was one of those days that I would have liked to have stayed cozily inside: But there were two things that I wanted to do: some laps at the JCC pool on Talamini Road and, after that, a noontime stop in front of the old Bridgewater Township Administration building for the 9/11 remembrance ceremony.

I wouldn’t have time to go back home and dress up after the swim, so I just showed up in jeans and a rain slicker for the ceremony, leaving my camera behind (too rainy and wet). A shuttle bus was waiting to move participants from the parking lot in front of the courthouse building, but I parked the car nearby, popped open a big black storm-ready umbrella, and walked along the edge of Commons Way towards two tents set up as a shelter on the lawn facing Garretson Road.

It was pouring, but the tents did their job well keeping dignitaries, workers and citizens dry. The ceremony was brief but more than adequate. Police and firefighters from Bridgewater were present. Bridgewater Mayor Patricia Flannery spoke a few words in honor of the victims of 9/11, as well as in remembrance of other local Americans who have since lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Two Bridgewater police officers reverently carried a folded American flag out from under the tent and raised it on the Township flagpole under a heavy, wet sky. Firefighter Howard Norgalis had already read the firemen’s pledge; Pastor Todd Buurstra of the North Branch Reformed Church had previously given the opening invocation.

The wind blew persistently as the ceremony continued under dark, angry skies but, as if providentially, the sky brightened momentarily and the rain let up slightly – perhaps a sign of hope for the future – as Mayor Flannery stepped out from under the tent’s roof and was assisted in placing a wreath upon the 9/11 memorial stone and plaque resting on the lawn.

Although 9/11 was eight years ago, its memory is still vivid in the minds of Americans, especially in this area, even more so with those loved ones who have been directly affected. As if to underscore the tragedy of that villainous day, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to produce far too many fresh memories of brave American men and women who continue to give up their youthful lives in the aftermath of that tragic day eight years ago.

A Place to Remember

The inscription on the plaque affixed to the horizontal beam salvaged from one of the World Trade Towers is very simple and direct:

A Place to Remember
A Tribute to Life, Lives Lost, and Lives Changed Forever
September 11, 2001

It’s located in a circle of fidelity at Harry Dunham Park in Bernards Township, near the northern tip of Bridgewater. The location of this park memorial is at the confluence of two semi-elliptical walking paths, one large, one small, where they conjoin. The design is well thought out, evidently intended to not let a walker forget as he/she circles the park in exercise.

Late in the afternoon, after parking the car and walking towards ‘A Place to Remember,’ Pris and I saw from the distance the figure of a lone man in a dark business suit standing still, his body straight, his head bent down, his eyes fixed upon the inscription etched in one of the square slates. The names on that plate must have represented loved ones or friends who perished on that dreadful day seven years ago.

The U.S. flag fluttered quietly at half-staff and three bouquets rested on top of the beam, just below the ‘Place to Remember’ inscription. A pot of mums had been placed at the foot of the plaque.

I have written about this honored site before. I’m sure that I will write about it again. I don’t want to forget. Nor do I forget Osama bin Laden – one of the world’s greatest malignant minds – who stays holed up under the protection of his Pakistani patrons in the mountainous region of northwestern Pakistan known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, far away from the steely hand of justice.