9/11

Last night my wife and I viewed the first part of the docu-drama on ABC titled "The Path to 9/11", and tonight we will view the second and final part. We thought it was well done, with fast-paced editing, authentic characterizations and settings, and enough insight into the actions of the principals involved to provide an understanding of what led to that great tragedy on September 11, 2001.

We were mesmerized by the program, in much the same way as we might have been by any good adventure film set in a familiar locale with recognizable actors. We knew that it was based on the 9/11 Commission's findings, and on interviews, as this was announced at the start, and again at the end, and that it purported to be historically correct. I say we were mesmerized, yes, but we were not really moved.

What did move us was watching the 9/11 memorial services that took place today in New York, at the Pentagon, and in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Seeing the images of the ceremonies, and hearing the names of the people who lost their lives read out by surviving family members. One image that will forever remain with me is of a little girl, daughter of a New York City policeman, whose wife, the girl's mother, also a NYC policewoman, perished when the twin towers fell.

Those are the images that bring the lumps to our throats, and cause our eyes to become moist. Such images will never, indeed must never, allow us to forget what happened that bright September morning five years ago.