The Fine = Line

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The Fine Line=0A= =0A=

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=0A= =0A= =0A= =0A= =0A= =0A= =0A= =0A= Wednesday, September 12, 2001=0A= =0A= =0A= =0A=
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=0A= "We shall build anew"—914, = candlelight vigils in NYC on our Day of Remembrance [11:00pm (GMT-4) Sat = 01/09/15]=0A=
=0A= Otherwise, what's new as of about 6:00pm (GMT-4) Saturday = 2001/09/15...=0A=

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=0A= [The "footnotes" in this entry are links to photos I took = (other than the maps). Mouse over a footnote and read the statusbar = message for info on the image, including the times the pictures were = snapped. Clicking on a footnote will open the image in a new window. = Each image opens in a separate window, so you may want to close them as = you go ... or you may want to compare them as I go. All of the images = are big...most are over 50kb, some closer to 200kb...so be patient if = you have a slow connection. I also have made a thumbnail page of all the photos. = Use that = page if you have trouble with the links here, as some = people have.]=0A=

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=0A= Being the "Good Citizen" that I am, the = first thing I did upon leaving my apartment for work this (Tuesday) = morning was to go vote in the NYC primary. It being a primary election, = it took all of five minutes. By the time I got to the = Dyckman (200th) Street station for the A train ... the next to last, = nearly northernmost station in Manhattan ... is was about 8:15AM and I had a little more than 40 = minutes for my trip down to the southernmost, last-in-Manhattan stop for = the A train at Broadway and Fulton Street. I live up near about 4800 = Broadway; I work down around 50 Broadway.On the train, I always keep an = eye out for the Chambers Street Station—the World Trade Center = stop—since my stop is the one after it. When I looked up at = Chambers Street, I looked at my watch and saw that it was a few minutes = after 9AM.=0A=

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=0A= I got off with about 20 other people hitting the stairs in front of me, = moving towards the 4 train downtown. The lazy ones among us take it one = more station, to Wall Street, or two stations, to the Battery. When I'm = not feeling so lazy, I walk the eight or so blocks down Broadway to = where I work. Once the 21 of us got in the corridor between the A and = the 4 trains, we saw people running in all directions ... small groups = talking in a hushed, worried tone ... we kept walking and got mobbed by = a crowd running from the downtown 4 platform. People were shouting at = us: Get out of the station! Get off the trains! There's been a terrorist = attack! Two planes crashed into the World Trade Centers! One was a 737 = or some passenger plane!=0A=

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=0A= Yeah, right.=0A=

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=0A= Everything up to the passenger plane bit was plausible, even = believable, but hey, we had to get to work. Another half minute of = panicked people made it start to sink in, though. I started milling = about, thinking "I gotta get to work, but there are going to be all = those people and police and...". So, I finally walked towards the = exit I take when I walk down Broadway—on the northwest corner of = Broadway and Fulton, two blocks from the WTC.^map1=0A=

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=0A= As I got closer to the stairwell, I could smell it. Smoke can smell all = sorts of ways. This was the sort of smell that told you something was = seriously wrong ... an acrid, sharp odor. I stepped into the stairwell. = There was a soldier in camoflauge fatigues yelling at us to get outside = and east ... away from the WTC. As I climbed out, I could see hundreds = of people—probably thousands—standing dumbstruck and looking = west. There were ambulances and police cars and fire trucks, horns and = sirens blaring, everywhere.=0A=

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=0A= I stepped onto the sidewalk and turned west⁰¹. Huge plumes of smoke were billowing out of = the North Tower of the Trade Center. Being almost due east of the North = Tower, 1 WTC, I couldn't really see how much structural damage was done, = even though I was only two blocks away ... but the flames and the smoke = spoke volumes. I pulled out my new cell phone and found out just how = impossible it is to get a network connection when tens of thousands of = people in the same ten square block area are trying to make a call. A = woman saw me with my phone and asked if she could use it. She was in 2 = WTC when it got hit by the second attack. She had to leave so quickly, = she couldn't take anything—no bag, no purse, no wallet. She had = her keys, that was it. She wanted to call her parents since they knew = she worked in the WTC, but no one around us was getting a connection. It = was 9:19AM⁰².=0A=

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=0A= I looked back at the North Tower, then remembered the shouting about = both towers being hit. I had to move half a block to see the South = Tower⁰³. I crossed Broadway and walked towards City = Hall Park to get away from the buildings directly in front of me. From = the ground, or looking at the pictures I was taking on my camera's LCD = screen, I really couldn't see just how much damage had been done^{04, 05}. The damage on the north side of the North = Tower was somewhat visible from my new location⁰⁶ and it looked far, far worse that the South = Tower's damage^{07, 08}. What I didn't know at the time and only = began to suspect later on was that the damage visible on the South Tower = from my position was an "exit wound." Time seemed to stop as = we all just stood there and watched as the wind pulled two enormous = columns of smoke out flat and to the east^{09, 10, 11, 13}.=0A=

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=0A= It was a little after 9:30AM. = I still couldn't get a signal on my phone, so I started walking away = from the area (as it turned out, my brand new non-functioning cell phone = would save me from a lot of grief later because of this). Still around = City Hall, I started looking around. People had lost shoes and dropped = things in trying to get away. Then, next to City Hall, things became = much more real. A woman was standing behind an ambulance, her blazer = shredded down its back, her body covered with soot. The EMTs had a man = on a stretcher, oxygen mask on his face, getting loaded into the van. I = took one last close up of the North Tower from this spot before I = started heading north¹².=0A=

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=0A= Time really lost all meaning. I thought I had taken myself eight or ten = blocks north before I turned back west, but I was on Duane Street, one = block north from Chambers. Heading west on Duane did take me far enough = around 1 WTC to be able to see clearly just how big a hole had been = punched through the Tower. Even the slashes that look like they must = have been caused by the wings of the plane stood out clearly^{14, 15}. These few extra blocks north of the WTC = held much shorter buildings, and an unobstructed view of both towers in = flames¹⁶. Even though the damage on 2 WTC seemed far = less than 1 WTC from this angle as well, the fire was clearly, = ominously, working its way down the building^{17, 18}.=0A=

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=0A= I'm originally from Michigan. Been in NYC for 6 years, but I've only = worked in the Financial District for the past year. I like it so much = down there, I've told my family and friends about what it's like to be = down there often enough. Now, about half an hour after I came out of the = subway, it finally started to sink in that they'd all be worried about = me. Especially my parents. And my damn cell phone couldn't get me a = connection. Since no mass transit was moving, I started walking up = Church Street^{19, map03} to Sixth Avenue, to make my way through = Tribeca up to Greenwich Village and the New School, where I teach web = design. I figured that if my department's office was open, I'd be able = to use a regular phone line and might have better luck with it. I would = walk a few blocks, stop where someone had pulled their car over and = gathered a crowd listening to the news reports on the radio, then move = on. Four planes had been hijacked. The Pentagon had been hit. Another = had crashed in Pennsylvania. And other reports and speculations.=0A=

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=0A= I had just got onto Sixth Avenue when someone behind me shouted, "Oh my = God! One of the towers just collapsed!"²⁰ It couldn't be true. The North Tower = was still there, but instead of twin plumes of thick, black smoke there = was this cloud of white shrowding all view behind 1 WTC²¹. How could 2 WTC have fallen? As I mentioned = before, the idea that there might be more serious damage on the far side = of either tower just didn't occur to me. Hell, it was hard enough = believing what was right in front of my eyes—thinking about the = other side of the building was incomprehensible until 2 WTC disappeared = from the skyline^{22, 23}. Much later, finally back home and watching = the six o'clock news, I saw the footage showing the plane coming out of = nowhere, slamming into the southwest corner of 2 WTC, and then the awful = fireball that burst out the side I could see, throwing glass and steel = everywhere.=0A=

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=0A= I had veered off Sixth Ave once I got near Houston, as my department's = office was on Fifth Avenue north of Washington Square Park. Just as I = got to Houston, I turned around for another look then turned to go. It = was then that 1 WTC collapsed²⁴. I turned in time to see the middle of the = building, its west wall, peel off and drop towards West Street and = Battery Park City. I said a prayer for a friend who lives on the other = side of the World Financial Center from the WTC, a block and a half from = the building that was falling. (She works from home. I still don't know = if she is okay, if she got evacuated in time.) This time, there was no = other tower to create the illusion that something was hiding in the = smoke. The skyline was empty, except for an enormous white cloud of = debris fanning out to the east and west (from where we could see)²⁵.=0A=

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=0A= Now, it may be clearer how that stupid new cell phone of mine saved me = a load of grief—without my hunt for a network connection, I = probably would have been standing at Fulton and Broadway, snapping = pictures, when 2 WTC collapsed. Footage of that corner after the = buildings fell showed the area coated in white, with chunks of debris = everywhere.=0A=

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=0A= I crossed Washington Square Park and started up Fifth Avenue. Just as I = had seen over the mile or miles I had already walked, there were still = people rushing downtown with cameras and camcorders. I wanted to say to = them, now, "You might as well turn around—there's nothing to = see anymore." I made it to the office. It was open, and several = staff and a fellow instructor were there. It wasn't until then ... until = I was around people I knew and had a chance to stop, to sit down ... = that I began to shake. Now that it was finally out of view, it was = really sinking in. Getting word home really became urgent, but the land = lines were even worse than my cell phone ... at least it kept telling me = it was trying to make a connection. So, instead, I hopped on a = computer and (thank goodness for Hotmail) sent off a few emails to my = closest friends back in Michigan, asking them to get word to my parents.=0A=

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=0A= There is so much to New York City that I find just magical. Perhaps one = of my favorite bits of magic was to be down in the Village at night with = everyone out on the street, then looking down Sixth Ave and seeing the = Twin Towers jumping out of the black sky. Skyscrapers can seem so = imposing in the harsh, direct light of the Sun, but they take on a = softer character at night. Even with all the tall buildings at the = southern end of Manhattan, the World Trade Center towered over them all = ... giving the impression that the term "sky scraper" was = coined just for those two towers. Now, for me, there's a hole in the sky = ... even if you can't see it yourself ... the hole is still there, and = always will be²⁶.=0A=

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=0A= Just as those first minutes seemed to stand still, the rest of the day = was one long blur of people walking in the wrong direction; of sirens = and horns blaring all the time, except when the roar of the F-14s flying = cover over the city would drown them out; of street after street. 14th = Street. 23rd Street. I finally get a connection with my cell phone and = talk to my parents. I leave a message for one of the friends I emailed. = 34th, and Penn Station is closed. People can't go to work, and they = can't get home, so thousands mill around Madison Square Garden waiting = for word on when the trains and subways will run again. 42nd Street and = Times Square is strangely quiet. The Jumbotrons show the news, with = captions ... "I saw the lights go out on Broadway / I watched the = mighty skyline fall." Except, Mr. Joel, those lights on Broadway = were showing us the skyline falling, again and again²⁷.=0A=

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=0A= When I first moved here, I lived across from Roosevelt Hospital on 58th = Street. Since transporation was down and it was on the way home up = Broadway, and since I really didn't know where any other hospitals were, = I made my way there so I could donate blood. They referred me to the Red = Cross offices further up Amsterdam Avenue. There was a four-hour wait to = donate. I recalled I also knew where Columbia Presbyterian is ... also = on my way home, but at about 168th Street and not 58th Street ... so I = went through processing to work as a volunteer. The "Captain" = of the volunteer processing effort addressed an auditorium-full of = volunteers ... at Martin Luther King HS across the street from the Red = Cross ... and set us straight with the reality of the situation. This = disaster won't be over in a day. In a couple of days. Not even in a = couple of weeks. Perhaps not even in several months, in terms of the = help people will need in dealing with what had happened. Hopefully, = they'll find something for me soon. Given where I work, it may be a week = or so before the authorities will let us back down there.=0A=

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=0A= I did eventually, finally, make it back home sometime around 4PM. I got a ride, from a (former) = complete stranger I met at a bus stop, up to Broadway and 168th. She = continued on to take another man up to 232nd and Broadway in Riverdale. = We had to go buy her a dozen H&H bagels while she got her car, = though. Good thing, too. H&H was actually open, and I hadn't had = anything to eat since 6AM. It = was well past 2PM by now. Back = up at 168th and Broadway, I walked into Columbia Presbyterian, I left my = name, phone, and blood type (B-neg) on a sign-up sheet at the front = desk, then headed for the subway ... which was finally running. I had a = message waiting for me once I got in the door—my company's main = office in New Jersey wanted me to check in. I was the last to do so and, = thankfully, we were all accounted for. Some of my closest friends at the = office ride the PATH train in from Jersey to the World Trade Center, so = it was good to hear they were all fine.=0A=

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=0A= It's now tomorrow ... 3:20AM = as I type these characters. When I pause from typing and everything in = the apartment is quiet, I find that I still hear the sirens and the = horns of all the emergency vehicles that past me all day. I also find it = somewhat ironic that just Monday, the day before all this happened, I = was caught up in the latest news of what's happening in Palestine/Israel = these days. Now, I'm no Bible scholar and if my friends see me quoting = Scripture, they'll probably keel over on the spot ... but something = stuck in my mind and I had to track it down. It's Galatians 6:7:=0A=

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=0A= Be not deceived; God is not mocked:=0A=
=0A= for whatever a man soweth, that also shall he reap=0A=

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=0A= The problem with Scripture, though, is that it never explains why the = leaders of "movements" and "nations" may sow the = seeds, but the innocent are the ones who do the reaping.=0A=

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=0A= If you've made it this far, I'd like to = reward you by sharing several images of mine from the summer of 1996. = Fairly new camera (film, not digital then), brand new lens, a couple = rolls of B/W. Between the two towers of the WTC was a plaza with a fountain. I managed to sneak a picture of some children playing in it. Then I walked to the space = between 1 WTC and 2 WTC and took the shot that everyone seems compelled to take. Later that day I = was on the Brooklyn Bridge, looking back towards the Manhattan skyline through the geometries of the Bridge's = cables. And here is one last view—with just a little = problem from being backlit—of that same skyline = at sunset from the Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn.=0A=

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=0A= Comments, as = always, are welcome.=0A=
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=0A= Be well,=0A=
=0A= 3D"Bob" =0A=

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=0A= I have always wondered just how far and fast one of those = "Send me to everyone you know right now!" emails can spread. = We all found out by Friday evening. Here in NYC, every street I traveled = had its own candlelight vigil. On the way to a gathering of fellow = bloggers, I ran into an event that just would not let me leave. I wish = everyone could have experienced what we who were there saw and felt. I = hope the TV cameras captured something of it and got it out to you. I'll = do what I can below, in words and pictures. Thumbnails are immediately below the story, = and there is also a thumbnail page of all the "914" photos. = Use = that page if you have trouble with the links here.=0A=

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=0A= Candlelight vigils on our Day of Remembrance is what = the emails, the posters were asking of us. And here it was, 7:15PM and I still didn't have a = candle in my hand. I got caught up in a very important appointment for = much longer than I had expected, but that is how the day had gone. = Do you still need to know the strength of the American Spirit? = I've been able to give some small comfort to a few who have written to = me in this. They have tried to give blood in their hometowns, but have = been turned away ... wondering why them? It's nothing wrong with them; = it's what is so right about us all. I have been turned away so many = times this week because so many have given so much. Still, I'm sure that = someplace somewhere in this city needs what I can offer, so I'll keep = trying. Tomorrow, it's the ASPCA and their animal rescue = efforts for all the pets stranded by the evacuation. Blood donor centers = are overwhelmed. Shelters have no more room for food donations right = now—try again next week. The Salvation Army on 14th Street in the = Village was the site of a huge snarl of traffic because of the semi's = pulled over with donated goods and the brigades of volunteers stacking = crate upon crate outside (by the looks of it, Poland Spring has been = tapped dry). The stairs leading in were covered with donations ... I = don't know how anyone could get in, if there was room left to move. Of = course, the Red Cross and other relief organizations can always = use monetary contributions ... but so many want to do something more = tangible, and so many already have. That should begin to tell = you something of the strength of our Spirit.=0A=

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=0A= But it's still past 7PM, and = me without a candle. I did have my camera, and as I stepped out onto the = street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, I could see small groups of = people in the twilight up and down the street ... people who had gotten = the word. People standing outside of their apartments, people who had = left their tables in the restaurants, people who had come up from the = subways. My digital camera does have some manual controls, but it can = only be pushed so far. For now, I had to use my flash, but I had to = capture some images of the people I met on the way to the subway = myself^{01, 02, 03}.=0A=

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=0A= The friends I didn't know yet that I was going to meet—a = gathering of NYC Bloggers—were linking up at a restaurant in the = East Village (well, not really, but I missed that post as well). I = caught the 2 at 72nd & Broadway and took that to Times Square, = switching to the N/R to take me to Union Square. I figured I would just = walk the rest of the way to 12th Street & 2nd Ave from there. When I = got down to the N/R platform I saw this sign taped to a girder⁰⁴ about vigil in Central Park's Strawberry = Fields, but someone had scribbled in a call to meet up in Union Square = as well. Subway service had been cut back given the events of Tuesday, = and using them to get around town simply takes longer right now. It was = already close to 8PM, so I = hoped something would still be going on when I got there.=0A=

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=0A= What a silly thing to think....=0A=

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=0A= I really was not prepared for what was waiting once I got topside at = Union Square. Thousands of people. Candles = everywhere^{05, 07, 16}. So many people, it was hard to get = anywhere⁰⁶. By now it was full night, except for the = light of all the candles. All those individual points of light, = collectively holding back the darkness. And you still need to hear of = the strength of our Spirit? (That's okay ... I'm not done yet anyway.)=0A=

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=0A= Around every lamppost, a vigil was being held¹². Dozens of candles, bouquets of flowers, = American flags^{10, 11}. Posters of the missing, pictures of the = Towers^{09, 17}. All sorts of handwritten notes—poems, = prayers, hopes, fears ... whatever people were moved to offer. One = simple line I found quite moving was this, "Bless the brave & = all they tried to save". These circles were largely places for = somber reflection, and many sat watch throughout the night tending the = candles, relighting those blown out by the wind and resetting those that = had tipped over¹⁴. Candles found their way to any horizontal = space that would support them, from barricades set up for road = construction^{08, 15} around the Square to anywhere on the = sidewalk¹³ one might be sitting.=0A=

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=0A= American flags were joined by one Union Jack (too few battteries, too = few Flash cards, too many pictures that needed taking) with these words = upon it: "Just like D-Day, America + Britain stand together, = Brothers-in-Arms to rid the world of evil. GOD BLESS AMERICA!." I've = received quite a few emails from folk in Great Britain expressing their = support. Like many people in other places, some wrote to share what = strength they could from their "quiet, peaceful villages." = Then there were the two Londoners who wrote from shared experience, = having lived through terrorist attacks of their own in their home city. = Tel Aviv, Jerusalem—these are cities where we too often hear of = acts of terrorism. We should not forget London or Belfast, nor the other = places around the world for whom our experiences this week are far too = common a part of their lives.=0A=

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=0A= Many came to Union Square to voice calls for peace and reason¹⁸. At the southern end of the Square, several = homemade banners were placed on the ground and surrounded with = candles²¹, the number of these growing as the night = went on. In the southwest corner of the square, near where the statue of Gandhi usually stands (when = not displaced by road construction) was a gathering of Tibetan Buddhist = Priests, singing and praying. At one point, a spokesman read aloud the = letter the Dalai Lama had sent to President = Bush and sharing news of His personal gift to relief efforts in the = City of New York of $30,000¹⁹.=0A=

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=0A= Many of the signs calling for peace warned against racist attacks = against the Arabs¹⁹. For me, if anything can compete with the = sadness this tragedy has wrought, it is the word of attacks within this = country against Arab-Americans. Such attacks are the antithesis of what = it means to be an American. They are as cowardly as the attacks against = the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the target of that fourth = flight, and worse. The level of planning and detail of the 911 attacks = shows, as much as we might hate to admit it, a degree of intelligence. = Attacks against Arab-Americans are just plain stupid, aside from their = cowardliness and vileness.=0A=

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=0A= One of the darkest stains upon our history is the treatment and = internment of the Nisei, those of Japanese-descent, living on the West = Coast during World War II. Yet even with this treatment, we have as a = counter the record of the all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat group. In = case you are unaware of its history:=0A=

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=0A= [The 442nd was the] Most highly decorated U.S unit of its size in the = war. The unit did not have a single case of desertion during all of = World War II, a record unequaled by any other American unit. It was = known as the "Purple Heart Battalion." But the unit's motto = was "Go for Broke," and in the course of the Italian campaign = the members of the 442nd were awarded:

=0A= 1 Medal of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1 Distinguished = Service Medal, 560 Silver Stars (28 with Oak Leaf clusters), 22 Legions = of Merit, 4,000 Bronze Stars (1,200 with Oak Leaf clusters), 15 = Soldier's Medals, 12 French Croix de Guerre, 2 Italian Crosses for = Military Merit, 2 Italian Medals for Military Valor. (source: LI History.com)=0A=

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=0A= All of that over the course of just one campaign of the entire war. = This is one lesson about why people immigrate to the United = States—what they value and how highly they value it—that we = should not set aside too glibly nor forget so readily.=0A=

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=0A= Still, all I have told you regarding events in Union Square on 914 is = just a portion of the story. =0A=

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=0A= At one time, I walked by a man who looked around at all that was = happening and found much to disapprove. He was talking about how Union = Square has been, for the length of its existence, a place to come to = recognize those who have given their lives in serving our country and = how anything that did not fit with that aim should not be here. When he = had finished, I said, "But this is America." = And he could only agree.=0A=

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=0A= It was people of all ages and colors and backgrounds and beliefs. It = was small circles of heated conversations scattered around the park, one = voice calling for peace and the other for retribution. It was a printing = company handing out signs with the American flag and words of thanks to = all of those who have given so much and paid so much since early Tuesday = morning²⁸. It was all the uniformed NYPD officers = stationed all around the Square to keep the cars and pedestrians from = tangling too closely, and to assure our right to assemble publicly, = freely and in safety. It was the photographer taking B?W Polaroid = pictures of anyone who wished, to be pinned with whatever comments the = subjects wished to write on the borders to a three-sided kiosk with the = word "Faith" at the top of each side. It was the Deadhead-like = gathering in the center of the Square's Park with its incessant drumming = and improvised song from flute or saxaphone or bagpipes, and all those = dancing around the musicians—people whose spirits simply could not = be stamped down by this tragedy. It was using that new cell phone of = mine to call my friends elsewhere in the country who had no other way of = being there with me to share in this ... and it was the guy who asked me = to take it elsewhere when my and my big mouth intruded on one of the = more somber areas of the park. It was those standing silently in place = all night with their signs calling for peace in the face of so much = innocent bloodshed, whether you agree with them or not. And it was the = guy who disagreed with much of what he was seeing. Above all, what = brought everyone together in such a tremendous display of the strength = of the American Spirit was respect. Respect for the = honored dead. Respect for those who still labor in hopes that some still = survive in the rubble. Respect for the principles so diabolically = attacked that yet, as was so gloriously demonstrated in this place at = this time, live on stronger in response.=0A=

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=0A= Most of all, for me, it was this one crowd that simply could not stop = singing²². Somehow, somewhere, we got our = ringleaders²⁴, Jerry and his friend whose name I never = heard and face I never got a clear, focused image of. They kept us all = together and started us all on the same note of the same song at the = same time—one voice. When camera crews showed up to interview = them²⁵, they deferred to the crowd, telling the = cameras to film the rest of us, asking the reporters to ask all of us = why we were here, rather than standing in front of the = camera and fielding the questions. What did we sing? Patriotic songs = with lots of flag waving²³. Anti-war songs. No one seemed to notice the = lack of congruence between the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" = being followed up by "Imagine." Show tunes that fit with the = times. Any tune that could be bent or seen someway to = fit with the times. "I Will Survive." "We Are = Family." "Over the Rainbow." "Imagine", again = and again and again.... Knowing the lyrics of the verses too well, Jerry = kept us strictly to the chorus of "Born in the USA." (And he = eventually did get to sing "Danny Boy.") "We = Shall Overcome," to which Jerry had us singing = "We Shall Build Anew." What else? = "Amazing Grace" (and the piper joined in a few times!). = "Auld Lang Syne." "Stand By Me." "Lean On = Me." "The Star Spangled Banner." "God Bless = America." "America the Beautiful." As if we were back in = elementary school, "My Country 'Tis Of Thee" immediately, = obligatorily, automatically followed up with the Pledge of Allegiance. = You can't have one without the other. And there were the speeches. If = someone had something to say, whatever it was, they were heard. Prayers = were said. Passing fire trucks were cheered. But always back to song = (more often than not, "Imagine"). There was something about = singing together for hours on end that lifted the spirits of those who = participated. No matter how poorly or how well you sang, how loudly or = how quietly, whether you knew the words or just hummed along, all those = voices were lifted as one.=0A=

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=0A= Take out any coin and read what it says there: "E Pluribus = Unum." Not just the original thirteen colonies, but every one = of us—particularly at times like these, even though we may still = disagree on the particulars. Therein lies the strength of the American = Spirit. It was a terrible coincidence that the date of this tragedy = coincide with the phone number we use in emegencies: 911. Maybe 914 can = become our phone number when we need to be reminded what is best about = our country.=0A=

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=0A= Some of my favorite images of the night are: a peace sign of candles, though I personally cannot = hold to that course for what has been done; the "Iwo Jima" of our times (I wish this image = was clearer); that flag sign that was being given away; the (base of the) statue of George Washington, covered = candles, banners, flags and chalked messages (again, too many pictures = to take ... here is where my second battery went dead!); and defintitely = not the least, one image that captures the heart of the evening.=0A=

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=0A= 914 Day of Remembrance: Upper West Side of NYC and in the subway...=0A=
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=0A= 914 Day of Remembrance: Candles and Flowers, Poems and Prayers in Union = Square Park=0A=
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=0A= 914 Day of Remembrance: Calls for Peace in Union Square Park=0A=
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=0A= 914 Day of Remembrance: Songs Uplifting Spirits in Union Square Park=0A=
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=0A= 914 Day of Remembrance: Some Favorite Images from Union Square Park=0A=
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=0A= Following = up...=0A=
=0A= Thanks to everyone whose written and those who continue to write in. = I'm pulling together a page to share all that you've shared with me. If = I don't get the chance to write to ask, I hope you won't mind.=0A=

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=0A= top | 18:00 = Sat 01/09/15 | 02:45 Fri = 01/09/14 | 12:00 Thurs = 01/09/13 | 03:00? Thurs = 01/09/13=0A=

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=0A= Submission = guidelines to the Fine Line have been posted. Many have = asked—thanks for the interest. This site itself is obviously, if = you've taken a look around, in its infancy. NYC = Bloggers! Sorry I missed the gathering but, as you may have = noticed, I was detained by events of the evening. Next time, I promise. = (I hope!) Long as it is, I really do not want to break = this story into smaller pages ... all those popup windows are hard = enough to manage, I'm sure (I hope Jakob Nielsen isn't watching! = Goodness knows what I've done to the link colors as well! ;^).=0A=

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=0A= top | 18:00 Sat 01/09/15 | 02:45 Fri = 01/09/14 | 12:00 Thurs = 01/09/13 | 03:00? Thurs = 01/09/13=0A=

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=0A= Things were getting a bit crowded up top and there are = still folks pouring in to read and see what I have to offer, so I moved = all the new material down here. 39,251 unique visitors = on Wednesday and 48,866 and counting for Thursday (my host is located in = the Pacific Time Zone, so after 3am my time I'll have the final figs. = Thanks to every one of you for stopping by. Also, thanks = again to Blogger for making me aware of the excellent donation = box now on this page, due to the codecraft of shellen.com. Light a = candle against terrorism. You can do so on the Web, or do as is = suggested in the text of this email I received:=0A=

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=0A= Please read and join us around the world.=0A=
=0A= Friday Night at 7:00 p.m. step out your door, stop your car, or step = out of your establishment and light a candle. We will show the world = that Americans are strong and united together against terrorism. Please = pass this to everyone on your e-mail list. We need to reach everyone = across the United States quickly.=0A=
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=0A= The message: WE STAND UNITED - WE WILL NOT TOLERATE = TERRORISM. We need press to cover this-- we need the world to = see=0A=
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=0A= GOD BLESS AMERICA=0A=

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=0A= It's starting to rain here now. A mixed = blessing, I would imagine. It will help with the fires and take much of = the dust out of the air, still so prevalent after 2.5 days. I also = imagine it may make the rescuer's jobs more difficult, but hopefully not = more dangerous. There is still hope that some may be alive in the = tunnels and corridors that were underground at the WTC ... here's a = prayer that they are there and another to send them rainwater to sustain = them. MORE PICTURES of better times. Head back up to the last = paragraph of my journal and find 3 new pictures, plus much larger = versions of the ones that were there.=0A=

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=0A= Many have asked if there is anything they could do = from however far away they are. What the Red Cross needs most from those = away from the scene of any disaster is money. Evan Williams over at the = Blogger homepage has a link to Amazon.com's page for = making donations to the Red Cross ... I just checked and they've already = collected over $2.5million. If you can't afford to give money, then give = blood. Every community is always short = on blood. Making your own community stronger makes us all stronger.=0A=

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=0A= top | 18:00 Sat 01/09/15 | 02:45 Fri 01/09/14 | 12:00 Thurs 01/09/13 | 03:00? = Thurs 01/09/13=0A=

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=0A= Links here should now work for everyone. = Curious CodeMonkeys? Here's = why. The links on the thumbnail page will work for any = browser if you still have trouble here.=0A=

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=0A= =0A= =0A= =0A= =0A= =0A= Sunday, September 09, 2001=0A= =0A= =0A= =0A=
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Welcome to the Fine Line.

Yes, as in the Fine Line Between = Genius and Insanity. It has always seemed to me that of all the people I = have known, the ones with the greatest degree of genius = also come the closest to being truly insane. The = correlation is too high for this to be a chance relationship. I wish I = could say that I am the craziest person I know, but I must be blurring = the line pretty well in trying to pull off this project.

Kidding = aside, the Fine Line is a serious site about a serious set of chronic = neurological disorders (CNDs, a.k.a. mental illnesses) that are = seriously misunderstood and misperceived by our culture at large and by = most of us individually. My hope for this site is that it can both = teach and heal, depending on the = visitor's needs. The Fine Line accepts submissions from people with CNDs = who have a picture to paint or a story to tell. As a means of = healing, then, it's a kind of art therapy. As = public art therapy, I hope it will also be able to = teach those without CNDs what it's like to be inside = our heads and hearts and souls. Mental illness is so heavily stigmatized = in our culture, no one wants to talk about it. That sort of ignorance = only perpetuates the misunderstandings behind the stigma. Hopefully, the = submissions to this site can help the family, friends, and colleagues of = folk with CNDs gain some insight into our lives and thus help tear down = the walls that get put in place out of ignorance, fear, and/or = shame.

That is what the site is for. This blog, on the other hand, = is my own personal soapboax/journal for stories ranging from = commentaries on dealing with cultural stigmas and stereotypes about = mental illnesses to more personal reflections on topics like how, at = times, the most courageous act one can do is to simply get out of bed. = My own personal hope for this blog is to be able to find the energy on a = weekly basis to publish some story here. That's one of the Catch-22s of = having a CND: the disorder and the side effects of the medications you = take to cope with it are often so draining you hardly have the energy to = do anything about it.

Comments, as always, are welcome.

Cheers,
3D"Bob"

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Credit = Due:

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