Somewhere late last night, before I went to bed, I saw mention on Twitter about today being September 11th. I don’t always pay attention to the date (the joys of working for myself!), but this morning when I woke up and saw the beautiful blue skies outside, it reminded me of that day. It is appropriate after my last post about blogging changing my life that my very next one would be about that day.
Then as I spent Taco Tuesday with Jennifer, Angie, Christyna, Laurie & Brittany — sitting outside at Onion Creek, enjoying some absolutely perfect weather, I thought of it again. This post, writing itself for me. Surrounded by amazing women that I might not otherwise know if it wasn’t for blogs, Twitter and Facebook.
I spent 9/11 (and 9/12, 9/13, 9/14… you get the picture), reading blogs. Blog after blog, post after post. I had several friends who lived in New York at the time. Sharing the experiences of family & friends in the NYC Fire Department and NYC Police Department.
The stories were so real. So raw. So heartbreaking – and so human. I couldn’t stop reading them. I barely turned on the TV for the news in the days following, knowing I’d see the same clips over and over — instead, I devoured everything I could read online, all the human stories.
The blogosphere itself became my news. We didn’t have Twitter or Facebook yet, so everyone was sharing what they knew, how they felt, what they saw – all of it, online.
This past week I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about and regretting how much I’ve put on Twitter and Facebook that I haven’t shared here. All of that content, lost in a way. No more. I’m changing that.
Every year, when this day passes, it reminds me of all that we lost that day. It also reminds me of the deep strong sense of community that blogs and the internet bring to me. While the ugly side of humanity is so heartbreaking, remembering that brings me some hope at the same time.
Looking back through this series of the experiences of the 9/11 Photographers’ Stories was fascinating, especially from the perspective of being a professional photographer now.
My friend Jason Groupp wrote a great post today, one that prompted me to write all that I’ve been thinking, about his friend Bobby who was lost in the South Tower on 9/11, and also shared the post he wrote last year on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. There are thousands of stories like this out there — and for all of those people, my heart goes out to you.
