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late notice

late notice

I am in one of those moods when I have nothing to say which usually ends up with me having way too much to say. You know...saying nothing in so many words. I think I'll actually let my mind calm down before I post anything today. Besides, I overslept because I couldn't wake up from a dream where my anxiety manifested itself in the form of all kinds of monsters and I think John Ashcroft was chasing me through a supermarket while singing show tunes. Anyhow.

So while I take the morning to shake my dreams out and make the attempt to get to work on time, I need two things from you.

One, go participate in the new QOD. Come on, make me smile.

And two, if anyone watched the 9/11 special on CBS last night, I would really like to know what you thought of it and how you reacted to it.

Have the most pleasant Monday possible. That is possible, isn't it?

Comments

I watched the 9/11 special. Honestly, I thought it was done pretty respectfully, but I wasn't very invested in all the hubbub about its airing. Ever since September 11, I've devoured pretty much anything I can read or watch about it - it's the only way I've found to get that it really happened through my head. A lot of the time it still doesn't seem real to me, and that's something I've struggled with. Maybe that's because of where I was that day - close enough to be evacuated and to see the second tower fall (I was in the elevator in the building where I work when the first one went) and be covered in ash and concrete dust, but far enough away that I didn't see anyone who was injured, aside from a handful of people with minor injuries making their way home into Brooklyn.

I thought the filmmakers captured what it was like for those of us watching from the streets were going through, and that they conveyed the heroism of the firefighters without the usual sugar-coated, jingoistic tone that has been characteristic of so much coverage about them (it did get pretty sticky at the end, with the montage of photos while "Danny Boy" played, but that is, after all, a big deal for most of the families and the remaining firefighters themselves). The footage from inside the Trade Center was terribly disturbing - the crashing of jumpers, the bewilderment on the faces of the firefighters - and looking at so many of these faces with the knowledge that many of them were dead within minutes of the moments I was seeing was just heartrending.

What did you think about it?

I didn't watch it last night because I was able to see an unedited copy of it last month. No matter how much the edited it, no matter what they took away or added, I just couldn't bring myself to watch it again.

Also, the whole thing with looking into the eyes of people who you know will be dead within miniutes...I just can't look at that another time. That was what upset me the most.

And while I wasn't as close as you were (and honestly, I don't know how you have handled that so well), it was very personal for me, as far as loss, and it hadn't seemed real to me at all until I watched the film.

I got home, turned on the tv, and the very end was on. I didn't want to watch it. I felt the same way you did about it pretty much. The only thing I saw was at the end, they were showing pictures of all the firefighters and policemen who lost thier lives. That alone made me cry...

Of coarse I watched it...but right after I sit and tell myself "why". It just brings me down so badly. You never realize how much fire fighters do for us. After seeing that, and thinking of how many lost their lives. It's unbelievable. Hearing the actual people hit the ground after jumping out the windows....that was too much. I was actually about 5 blocks from the trade center. I drove their from Canada the day before for the Michael Jackson concert. Then waking up to see what was happening on the tv. We didnt believe it. We made jokes about it because it just doesn't sink in right away. When we left our hotel their was chaos outside. people screaming...we saw the second building fall. It was unbelievable. Then to watch the special last night and to be in the actual building and seeing the fear in their eyes. It's TOO much!!!

I watched it. I had mixed feelings from the beginning and the only way I could decide if it would be too much to watch, was to actually watch it. There are still some things I do not agree with (such as CBS denying the firefighter's families the right to a mass viewing of the movie prior to the world watching it) but for the most part, it was a very moving tribte to firefighters. It's a shame it took a tragedy like this for firefighters to get some well-deserved thanks. Michele and I are biased. We always knew what life was like inside a firehouse; what risks are taken every day. It takes a deep respect for human life and little bit of craziness to choose a profession that asks so much. But it's what is given back to these brave people that keeps them going back for more -- the self respect and knowledge they get knowing the differences they make in people's lives are significant. So, some parts of the movie were hard to sit through (again) but for the most part, I thought it was tastefully done.

I let the programming decide for me. It was on at the same time as Law & Order: CI and Six Feet Under, so thankfully I missed it.

Did anyone else find it tasteless that they built up drama around whether Tony the probie died or not? I don't remember him being featured as a talking head until after he returned to the firehouse (but maybe he was, in which case ignore me)?

On the other hand, I'm glad they didn't bleep out the swearing.

on september 11th i was running late for work and i missed the last subway into the city before all transportation shut down. my office is five blocks away from ground zero. i don't feel like i need to watch it on tv. it's all around us.

Someone left a comment in my original post that I cannot for the life of me understand.

http://asmallvictory.net/oldshit/000380.html#000380

Is it me? Does this person make sense and I'm not seeing it?

I watched it. I'm glad I did. I had some trepidation about watching, swore up and down all week that I wouldn't, but in the end I'm glad I did.

THANK GOD IT'S MONDAY

I’m gonna tell you what I really think I like about Monday
Cause they feel like Saturdays
When you don’t have to go to work, every day is a holiday
I wake up when I want to, I do anything I wanna do
Can’t wait for Tuesday.
I really don’t like Fridays I can’t do what I wanna do
Sold out at the movies, can’t eat at the restaurant
Everybody wants to party, but the bar’s full of cigarette smoke
I think I’ll stay home, I think I’ll wait for Monday

I live a five day weekend, I gotta year long holiday
Thanks god it’s Monday
The only place I gotta be is the show or on the first tee
Thank god it’s Monday
Never mind aggravation, just give me modulation gimmie another key

I’ll tell you why I like Tuesdays, cause they’re kinda like Christmas
Come to think about Wednesdays, are a little like Hanakah
Thursdays thanksgiving, I’m talking about good living
I think I’ll give thanx
Thank god it’s Monday

Kmel,

I think I perceived the stuff about Tony's late return differently from the way you did. To me, it seemed that they were trying to convey what that day was like for them as it was happening, and how they didn't know where he was or if he was okay and how they were getting more and more worried about him as the day went on. I think that not revealing that he was okay until they had found out themselves was their way to convey to people outside of New York who had no connection to anyone there what it was like that day for those of us who were anxiously wondering whether people we cared about were still alive.

I ended up that evening with some friends who had gathered in something of a vigil waiting to find out about one friend who we hadn't been able to track down. The feeling of uncertainty - and of relief when she finally called and was okay - was something I thought they conveyed through that part of the documentary, and it's something that thousands of New Yorkers went through that day. I have found that people in the other parts of the country can't always understand what I went through - it's like they think that since I wasn't hurt and nobody I knew died, I shouldn't be as affected as I have been. If this part of the documentary made anyone like that finally get it, maybe that's what the filmmakers were aiming for.

Billy: I listen to that song every Monday on the way to work. It always makes me want to call in sick and go home and play.

I watched part of the show last night--I'd been thinking it would be something important to cover for the popcult/political site for which I write. But within the first 45 minutes of the show, I realized I couldn't handle watching it.

It's on tape in our house, but I feel like I'm not ready to watch. I don't understand the purpose of showing this particular spectacle on national tv. Or, more accurately, the purposes that I can imagine make me upset. I've been thinking that if I could put the film + its broadcast into some sort of meaningful rhetorical context that it would be ok to view, but so far, I haven't found that context.

Michele I wouldn't waste any time worrying about posts from people like 'Cris' in your original post. They're not interested in communicating so much as spewing, or reacting with a brush entirely too broad to be useful. There might be some small nugget of something in what they're saying - but they snuff it out with their manner and inability to articulate it. The internet is a big place. Given the opportunity, some people post crap and run.

I saw the CBS special. I could have done without seeing the CEO of NEXTEL. It was very informative to see the birds eye view offered. Seeing all the chiefs in the lobby starving for information was very frustrating - and I thought there must be a better way, but respected that we're not used to responding to such intentional tragedies of this magnitude.

As for purpose, it serves simply to offer people information, like any other documentary. Information helps people accept and understand. Everyone strives to inform their own experience at some level.

Chris, Yeah ... I hear that and can appreciate what they were trying to do, but I don't think this documentary was the place for it. They simply didn't need to spin any storylines or create suspense. It struck me as manipulative to do so. Contrast the treatment of Tony with that of the filmmaking brothers -- I, for one, felt their anxiety from not knowing if the other was still alive, even though the film made it clear that both were unhurt.

Could be I'm just too cynical, though.

Re: the 9/11 video. See my journal entry for March 10.

I watched it as much as I didn't want to. It's kind of like when you drive past an auto accident and can't help but look. I sat and cried once again just like I did on that day. I never would have even known it was on if you hadn't posted the link. I don't watch much tv. Anyway, love your site. Get some rest on your days to yourself.
kat

I wanted to watch it but was miles from a tv. Anyone know if and where a copy is available for purchase? CBS' website has no offering....

My VCR didn't turn on and also I would to find a copy available for purchase.