September 11 One Year Later

This morning, President Bush and the First Lady attended a private remembrance service at St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. You could say it was a service of spiritual rearmament for the first couple, with selections from the Bible's top hits related to strength. It started with the attendees rising for that familiar, fortifying hymn "O God, our help in ages past..." - a hymn, which, apparently, the first lady knew so well that she looked up from her program for long stretches.
The first reading (Isaiah 42:1-9) was read by Rev. Kathleene B. Card, wife of chief of staff Andy Card, and included this excerpt: "He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth..." Then Condi Rice led the congregation in repeating Psalms 46: 1-7 ("God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble..."). Continuing with this White House participatory service, former communications director Karen Hughes then stepped up to the golden-eagle stand, with the second reading from Romans 8: 18-19, 34-35, 37-39 ("....Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors....").
Later, Rev. Dr. Luis Leon turned to the president and Mrs. Bush, with his prayer for them. When the reverend concluded, the president lifted his right arm to his face and wiped his cheek.

– Francine Kiefer, White House correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor.

Posted: 3:50 p.m. EDT

'I'm here to just pray and hope. Pray for peace, and hope for the best.'

– Charles Frank, standing outside the St. Patrick's Cathedral in a Fire Department shirt with an American flag pin.

Posted: 3:25 p.m. EDT

'We have to move on, we can't stay on the same ground always. We have our own lives to live.'

– Kit Mak, attending the Ground Zero ceremony in honor of her sister, officer worker Yuk Ping, who was killed in the attacks.

Posted: 1:47 p.m. EDT

'Still today, it's like 'Why?' No one can ever answer that question.'

– Andrea Moxey, who left her job at a firm just down from the New York Stock Exchange because she could not bear to spend working days in lower Manhattan following Sept. 11.

Posted: 1:46 p.m. EDT

Hundreds of policemen and firemen are having their arms tattooed with emblems to commemorate friends and colleagues who lost their lives on Sept. 11. The Island Tattoo parlour on Staten Island is donating part of the proceeds to the United Firefighters' Association Widows' and Children's Fund. The parlor has raised $13,000 so far.

– The Times of London

Posted: 1:46 p.m. EDT

'When we had to be silent, and the wind gusts came up and the sun came out, it felt like an omen, saying 'You're at peace now.''

– Nancy Rocco, of Albany, N.Y.

Posted: 1:45 p.m. EDT

'It's the same thing that happened a year ago: people wanted to be with other people.'

– Pastor Terry Smith, whose United Congregational Church in Holyoke planned a 24-hour interfaith vigil.

Posted: 12:26 p.m. EDT

'We are in our new normalcy. It's not the normalcy we had before. We're without our loved ones. It certainly will never be the normalcy we had on Sept. 10.'

– Barbara Minervino of Middletown, N.J., who lost her husband, Louis Minerva.

Posted: 12:25 p.m. EDT

On the one hand you feel the remembrance, but on the other hand you feel it could happen to anyone any time, so you have to keep on living your life.'

– Karen Briggs, of Boston, who was traveling to Long Beach, Calif. on business.

Posted: 12:25 p.m. EDT

'Many of us will never be tested like the people of Flight 93. Thank God. But we are tested every day. If anything good comes of this, it is a decision to change the world, and it starts with a resolution.'

– Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy

Posted: 12:24 p.m. EDT

'I started thinking if there were ever a time for Richard to reach out (to me). Literally, when I was walking toward a group of people, I found in the ground a perfectly formed bird's nest. If you knew my brother and what a passionate environmentalist he was, this was truly a sign.'

– Lori Guadagno, whose brother, Richard Guadagno, was killed on United Flight 93.

Posted: 11:53 a.m. EDT

'One of the things notable earlier today: it was completely calm outside. Literally one minute after reading the first name the winds picked up to like 35 miles per hour. Everybody noticed that.'

– Unidentified CNN reporter

Posted: 11:52 a.m. EDT

'Nine-eleven put all our faiths to the test ... Nine-eleven made us look with new eyes at each other's faiths. ... We needed to come together.'

– UN secretary-general Kofi Annan

Posted: 11:50 a.m. EDT

'I feel sorry for America. We should take the people who did that by the collar and throw them somewhere far away ... somewhere in outer space so that we would never see them again.'

– Misha Ushakov, 8, who came with his nanny to sign a condolence book at the US embassy in St. Petersburg.

Posted: 11:34 a.m. EDT

'I took my kids to Ground Zero in July. I found that sight to be deeply, deeply moving. Just the sense of sacrifice. I think one of the things that shocked people was the size of the sacrifice made on that day. And that goes to some central point about how people experience their duty, their place in the world, their connection to the people alongside themselves, and to complete strangers. If you look at the past 20 years, people might say, "Oh, that's disappeared from America." But if you look closely, it's there every day.'

– Bruce Springsteen, rock singer, as told to rollingstone.com.

Posted: 11:26 a.m. EDT

'In some ways I have been dreading this day. It's very hard but it's easier being surrounded by people who shared the experience and understand.'

– Firefighter George Carbonell from Bronx, New York. Mr. Carbonell was one of the first to respond to the attacks.

Posted: 11:22 a.m. EDT

'I don't think we have the distance to know the meaning of all this, and I wonder whether silence is better than a lot of talking about it.'

– The Reverend Stephen Ayres of Boston's Old North Church, once the preeminent intersection of God and country.

Posted: 10:47 a.m. EDT

'Those of you who are here on this battlefield, you're the heroes and heroines of today, it is you who are relentlessly are taking this fight to the enemy, it is you to whom your nation owes it's gratitude. The war is not over, without doubt we are winning but we do not have it won. If you work harder today than you did yesterday ... we will win it.'

– Lt. Gen. Dan K. McNeill, speaking to more than 200 soldiers who attended a memorial ceremony in Bagram, Afghanistan.

Posted: 10:47 a.m. EDT

'My fear is that people will start to take things for granted, forget about it. That some kind of amnesia starts to set in.'

– Lt. Kyle Aldrich, a New Yorker who had worked on Wall Street and joined the Marines after losing friends in the attacks.

Posted: 10:45 a.m. EDT

'Every day heroes you might ask? No, they were heroes every single day. These men and women were well practiced in the art of making a difference.'

– Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge speaking of the 40 passengers and crew who died on Flight 93.

Posted: 10:45 a.m. EDT

'They just wanted to do something.'

– Terese Goodson, principal at E.D. Nixon Elementary School in Montgomery, Ala. Sixth graders and their teachers baked cookies to bring to their local firefighters.

Posted: 10:45 a.m. EDT

'Although it's a time to remember those who died, it's also a time to appreciate those around us, and thank God they're here.'

– Jamil Ragland, a student at Bloomfield (Conn.) High School. Students marked the 8:46 moment with the ringing of hundreds of bells.

Posted: 10:44 a.m. EDT

'Within minutes, brave men and women were rescuing their comrades. Within hours, in this building, the planning began for a military response. Within weeks, commands went forth from this place that would clear terrorist camps, caves and liberate a nation. And within one year, this great building has been made whole once again.'

– President Bush speaking at the Pentagon

Posted: 10:12 a.m. EDT

'Out of this horror came for me the realization that no matter how much evil there is in the world, there are people who are great and wonderful and that evil will never win out.'

– Nicholas Dobi, a Continental Airlines pilot who was flying to New York from Milan on Sept. 11, 2001, when the flight was diverted to Gander.

Posted: 10:10 a.m. EDT

'With this gesture, it will be the whole Parisian community who will pay homage to New Yorkers, and express its solidarity and its attachment to common values.'

– Statement from Paris city hall. Two powerful beams of light were projected into the sky over Paris to honor the memory of victims.

Posted: 10:10 a.m. EDT

'Sept. 11 is a day we are never going to forget – are we? But it did not break us. They have bloodied us but they did not break us.'

– Rev. Luis Leon, St. John's church, Washington

Posted: 10:08 a.m. EDT

'This date has been forever etched into our memories The world will never forget the tragedy that took place. Those attacks were acts of utterly incomprehensible violence which shook us all profoundly.'

– New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark

Posted: 10:07 a.m. EDT

'No situation of hurt, no philosophy or religion can ever justify such a grave offense on human life and dignity.'

– Pope John Paul II

Posted: 10:04 a.m. EDT

'The best I can compare it to is when you were a kid and you were in the water and you ducked down, down, down and let a wave come over your head. That's what the debris was like. It was spread so far that you were not gonna outrun this. '

– Tommy Dunn, New York firefighter, as told to ABCNEWS.com

Posted: 10:02 a.m. EDT

'They were our neighbors, our husbands, our children, our sisters, our brothers, and our wives. They were our countrymen and our friends. They were us.'

– New York Gov. George Pataki

GROUND ZERO: A NY city firefighter holds a photo of a fellow firefighter as family members begin to arrive at ground zero Wednesday morning.
AP

Posted: 8:52 a.m. EDT

'Again, today, we are a nation that mourns. Again, today, we take into our hearts and minds those who perished on this site one year ago. And also, those who came to toil in the rubble to bring order out of chaos. And those who, throughout these 12 months, have struggled to help us make sense of our despair. Now, we join with our fellow Americans in a minute of silence led by President George W. Bush from the south lawn of the White House in Washington.'

– New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg

American, my adopted country

'America, my adopted country, has become more meaningful to me than ever.'

– Remigio G. Lacsamana, retired physician

Daytona Beach, Fla. – On Sept. 1, 2001, I was happily cruising along in life. Dec. 31 would be my last day practicing medicine after 33 years. In September 2002, my high school in the Philippines would be celebrating its centennial, and I had planned on going to see old friends after 48 years.
Then Sept. 11 came. I still bade farewell to my patients in December, our hearts weighed down in a way that reminded me of John Donne's preaching that no man is an island. The plan to visit my native country vanished like a wisp of smoke.
Here in America, I felt pangs of insecurity for the first time since arriving in 1964. Watching those towering infernos at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon brought back memories of World War II when, growing up in a small town in the Philippines, I first experienced the devastation of my country.
Now I feel better, still anxious but more cognizant of the things that matter most in life family values, love, friendship, and an abiding trust that our leaders will make our nation more secure. America, my adopted country, has become more meaningful to me than ever.

In the Navy now

'I encouraged him to try for the Navy. I supported him when he did. He's doing the right thing.'

– Jamie Proctor, freelance writer

Louisville, Ky. – My boyfriend, Clark, was pounding on my door. "Turn on the television. The World Trade Center fell."
I stared at him. What kind of joke was this, I remember wondering.
A few weeks later, Clark said he wanted to join the armed forces, but he thought he was too old. I told him to find out. I think I nagged him about it.
He lost 60 pounds and scraped in just before his 35th birthday. Now he's in Navy boot camp. I have become the woman who sits at home and frets. I can't help thinking, as the war rhetoric goes on and on: Am I going to be getting a telegram in six months, or a year, or two? I encouraged him to try for the Navy. I supported him when he did. He's doing the right thing. I have to keep telling myself that for the next six years.

A bully-free world

'This year, I find myself with an all-too-real example of the effects of bullying and intolerance.'

– Karen Bouvier, teacher

Rouses Point, N.Y. – As an eighth-grade English teacher, I have always felt a tingle of anticipation each September. At 8:20 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, my biggest problems were learning students' names, setting the tone for a "bully-free" classroom, and making sure no one knew it was my birthday. This year, I find myself with an all-too-real example of the effects of bullying and intolerance. I doubt anyone at school will be thinking about my birthday. My students and I will discuss Afghanistan – a country last year's students and I couldn't find on a map or spell – and how to stop terrorism, beginning with our school corridors.

DEDEDO, GUAM: Students watch the raising of the US flag during a memorial ceremony at Maria Ulloa Elementary School early Wednesday morning. Guam residents began the US's commemoration of the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The US territory is 3,700 milies west of Hawaii.
AP

One good punch

'I'm not sure my being fit will help me to overpower a hijacker. But I sleep better knowing I could get in one good punch.'

– Andrea Disario Marcusa, writer

New York – In the past year, I have learned to press 120 pounds with my legs and 70 with my arms. The images of women fleeing the World Trade Center on 9/11 left a bold impression. Those who were fit got out faster.
Before the attack, I knew I wasn't as strong as I used to be. I didn't mind. I could still play an easy game of tennis and jog a slow mile in the park. But as scenarios of terror ran through my mind, I didn't think I could survive shimmying down a rope from my fourth-story office, or fleeing Manhattan by bicycle.
I began twice-weekly training sessions with Enrique, a former marine, at my health club. During our first session, he laced me into boxing gloves and showed me some moves. I slammed a right hook into his glove. It felt great. Then we worked on weights. Now I lift more than Enrique's 16-year-old nephew.
I'm not sure my being fit will help me to overpower a hijacker. But I sleep better knowing I could get in one good punch.

Choosing to be

'The American psyche had suffered the slings and arrows of most outrageous fortune; healing would come from finding some worthwhile use for the pain. '

– Kevin Carr, an actor and director

Hollywood, Calif. – Throughout the horror of Sept. 11, I kept thinking of a line from "Hamlet": "Foul deeds will rise, though all the Earth o'erwhelm them to men's eyes."
Amid the loss of life, my wife and I focused on providing life. We renewed our commitment to an international adoption.
Meanwhile, the time was out of joint, and I questioned the relevance of going forward with a production I'd been planning of Shakespeare's tale of the melancholy Dane.
But it became obvious that his tragedy of murder and revenge spoke to our post-9/11 melancholia: "How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world."
The American psyche had suffered the slings and arrows of most outrageous fortune; healing would come from finding some worthwhile use for the pain. Perhaps the play was the thing after all?
Our production of Hamlet last fall was a resounding success, and helped raise funds for the adoption of our daughter, Grace, from China later this year. She's already brought so much grace into our lives. Sept. 11 taught us once again the answer to the question "to be or not to be." We choose to be.

SURFERS' PARADISE, AUSTRALIA: More than 5,000 people dressed in red, white, and blue form a human American flag in tribute to the the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
AP

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