Dona eis requiem.

[rivka]

The Ground Zero site in New York was just officially closed.

I watched on TV from the clinic lobby as the pure aching tones of Taps faded away into stillness, as the police officers and fire fighters held their salutes, as the bagpipes played "America the Beautiful."

Tears sprang to my eyes. And I found myself saying a prayer for the rescue workers, the construction workers, the families, the near-misses. May they be granted rest.

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[saoba.livejournal.com]

It was on the TV in the treadmill area at the gym this morning while I was working out. I kept the speed steady and kept cranking up the incline until I was wringing with sweat as I walked.

Then just after they finished Taps I grabbed my card and went to the wieght machines and powered through more sets of reps than ever on each machine on sheer determination. It wasn't that I was angry, exactly, it was more a mixture of sorrow and anger and a kind of burning need to do *something* with the feelings it all called up.

One of my clearest memories of the first few days after the attacks was the restlessness. I would sit and watch the television and my hands would ache for something to do. I taught myself to crochet in those first weeks.

Today almost no one wore headphones while they worked out, and the televisions were set to the services. One of the weightlifters I see there regularly is a retired cop. He went through his workout in silence with tears in his eyes. And I wished I could somehow let the families of the victims know it still touches us all.

Barbara