Word: toweritis
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...chronology gets jumbled; we fumble on the details; we reimagine the past to make it more coherent, meaningful, bearable. A new study at the University of Illinois at Chicago of a large, countrywide sample of people is discovering that we have already forgotten some things about Sept. 11. Which tower fell first? Was the Pentagon hit after both World Trade Center towers? We forget. We conflate. We confuse...
Losing a parent is hellish in any instance. Hilary had the added horror of seeing hers vanish, suddenly and surreally, on TV. That morning her father George called home twice from his office at the insurance broker Aon on the 99th floor of the south tower--once calmly, the second time choking on tears--to assure her mother Ginny that he was O.K. and was being evacuated. Several hours later, Hilary, watching TV along with the rest of her sixth-grade class, saw one of the endless replays of her father's office building collapsing in a heap...
...Genelle Guzman-McMillan dead? Nearly everyone else who had not left the Twin Towers by 10:28 a.m. on Sept. 11 perished. Unlike those stranded on higher floors, Genelle, who worked for the Port Authority on the 64th floor of the north tower, could have left earlier, but she tarried, fearful and uncertain like so many others. She was still walking down stairway B when the building collapsed. Unlike so many others, she lived...
...into the first fire fighters. Exhausted from lugging heavy tools and hoses, the men are taking a break. Some resume the climb when Genelle's group goes by; others sit and sip water. Obviously they have not heard the fire-department order to retreat, delivered after the south tower fell. Down in the 30s, Pasquale recalls, a rescue worker says, "It's a clear run. Just keep going." Everyone seems to feel pretty good, like they are going to make...
...beneath their claims is a sadder truth: these extremists are pathologically jealous. They feel like dwarfs, which is why they search for towers and all those who tower mightily. We must admit that we failed to teach these people that life is worth living. These extremists exist now, and will exist forever, so the question before us must be, How can we defend both our lives and theirs? We in the Arab world love freedom and want the chance at a decent life. We are not different from you, as it sometimes seems. We may be just temporarily backward. Working...