9/11/06 - Thoughts and Meditations

I think every American remembers where they were and what they were doing when the fateful events of 9/11 unfolded. I had started my day as per usual, taking the #108 bus to 95th Street and taking the "L" to downtown Chicago and going to work at Metal Management, Inc. When I entered the office, however, things were different. One of the company's vice presidents, who kept a TV in his room, had a room full of people watching the breaking news. Rumors were flying thick: did the terrorists intend to hit the Supreme Court? Would they come to Chicago to hit the Sears Tower? By 10:00 AM our office was closed, as were a great many of the offices in downtown Chicago, and I rode home on a packed train full of nervous people. For the rest of the day, the harrowing images played on TV to hammer home the horrific acts that had taken place. My wife called from school (she's a teacher), and she was in tears. The faculty knew that it had happened but had been explicitly told not to tell the kids (the administration felt that the kids should find out from their parents), so she had to keep all of that emotion inside. It was a crazy day.

The weekend after 9/11 I traveled to Kentucky for a wedding. On the way back into Chicago I listened to Herb Kent on the radio and the legendary DJ and his guests were talking about what had happened and playing very inspirational music. To close the show he played the song that had been his closing theme in his '60s heyday, the gospel song "Open Our Eyes" by the Gospel Clefs. The song's meditation on human frailty despite God's immense blessings was strongly appropriate, and on this eve of the fifth anniversary of 9/11, it seems even more so, as so many things have gone the wrong way.

The Gospel Clefs - Open Our Eyes