Six Words for September 11
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
In recognition of the tenth anniversary of September 11th, SMITH Magazine and PBS’s weekly newsmagazine program, Need To Know, are seeking Six-Word Memoirs of people who were directly impacted by the events of 9/11. After reading the stories the stories that come in, a selection of these Six-Word Memoirs will then be turned into a special segment on the September 9 Need To Know. The memoirs could be a tribute to a life lost, a portrayal of lives forever transformed, a description of the healing process, an account of the events of September 11, 2001, or any other experience that the participants would like to share. Anyone who would like to participate should do so in the comments area of this post by August 22.*
Last fall, SMITH and Need To Know teamed up to create a segment featuring the stories of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars based on their Six-Word Memoirs (watch it on the PBS site, and read more veterans’ memoirs on SMITH). The memoirs, and accompany backstories, were extremely moving and gave viewers a unique window into the experience of our nation’s soldiers. We suspect “Six-Word Memoirs for September 11” will offer a similarly powerful and meaningful experience. Watch it below.
* Two notes. 1) if you share a Six-Word Memoir on September 11, we still won’t broadcast it on TV without your permission. 2) If your memoir is selected for the show, and you like the notion of opening up the story more, “Need To Know” producers would then conduct a brief audio interview so that they could then put their memoir in context. Ideally participants would provide video to use with their interview.
Twin Towers, Airplanes Crashing, Son’s Army Induction!
911. A reminder of freedom’s price.
Pure Evil. Terrifying. Shocking. Memories Linger.
Friends ran over the Brooklyn Bridge
Son guards our borders. Miss him.
friends ran over the Brooklyn Bridge
Circled Labyrinth at Trinity, found peace
911. Description of Hell. Never forget.
Kept students calm, I cried inside
Lost our towers, rights, and hope
Confused by Principal’s instruction: “Don’t move!”
Loved my city even more that day.
I still ask WHY? Question unanswered.
Husband. Retired PA police. He cried.
Goverment’s delay brought devastation that day.
Towers slide. Screamed! Dear God Nooooooo….!
So far away, I felt helpless.
Holding my infant. Watching towers fall.
Stunning, heart wrenching, resolved new worldview.
Indescribable heartbreak. 911 brings back memories.
School cancelled. Skies quiet. Souls lost.
Watched the sky. No longer safe.
It is just a small plane.
The sky was so very blue.
To our Police/Firemen. Thank You.
Awoke. Hazy. Saw. Destruction. Unbelievable. Reality.
Drove by Pentagon. Minutes later, chaos.
Heard fighter jets. Feared hijacked planes.
Arlington. Armed soldiers on every corner.
Didn’t forgive then, can’t forget now
Unexpected act of war. Healing slow.
NYSkyline: Silent Tribute in Negative Space
Home from school. Televison on. Jumpers.
Home from school. Television on. Jumpers
Dianne: Flight 11; Pete:105th Floor
Grew Up frieds, Died in towers
People’s ashes silently and slowly landed
Twisted metal erected as makeshift altars
Young sons donated pennies for firefighters
Left every meeting saying “stay safe”
Trillons on defense, were still defenseless
Administrator wanted classes “resumed to normal”
Kept my salon appointment, September 12th
Wanted 10 minutes alone with BinLaden!
We lost lives but gained ignorance.
Sam; born muslim, died american. R.I.P
Confused silence erupted in dismayed horror
Impish soldiers with AK’s in subways
Osama’s last vision, Americans with guns
The lights went down on Broadway
Missing posters, last shred of hope
Student designed an Osamanator finder machine
left pregnant wife and autistic son
Found his name on the memorial
In some ways, the terrorists won
Turned off TV, started to vomit
Gladly would have shot Obama myself
Anger hasn’t resolved, probably never will
oh lord….correction Osama
Cleansing rain? Touch gutter’s gray water.
Birthday bash 9/10. Confused next morning.
Why weren’t we prepared for this?
Terrorist walked freely in smug righteousness.
Grandmother now. I’m searched in airports.
It took long to “get” BinLaden.
Why did Bush just keep reading?
Claimed Clinton could have stopped it.
Sent out to find the WMDs
Safe and secure removed from vocabualry
Aftermath: quiet shock. Lives forever changed.
Sitting and contemplating. Sadness still lingers.
Ground zero, no place for Mosque
Ground zero, millions of unmarked graves
Dead are buried where they build
NYC rose and met challenge. Triumph!
Death screamed from the sky: Devastating.
Murder is repugnant not Islamic faith
Still suffering pain of unfinished lives.
Jumper images loop in my mind
Gravestones in Trinity covered in ash
Ash looked like snow, felt wet
Inhaled death and destruction: exhaled anger
Where was G-d? He didn’t show.
One moment changed the world forever
I lost my wife that day.
Eating breakfast, all hell broke loose.
What is this? A movie trailer?
This smiling photo and nothing else.
Terror has become the new buzzword.
News anchors even lost for words.
Twin towers: a stairway to Heaven.
In the Midwest, still felt close.
When those towers fell, Allah wept.
White ash made us all one.
My kids still feel impact today.
The true test: forgiving our enemies.
A fall we can never forget.
Of course the terrorists won: Iraq
Strangers saved my life.
Twice.
Thanks.
We may forget 9/11; I can’t
Against orders, teacher left TV on.
Shell shocked memories, even in Texas.
Lost two colleagues. Tower and airplane.
The world would never be the same.
Crashed?! Oh god, heroes were aboard.
Who? Rick? That’s just so WRONG!
It’s no accident — we’re being attacked.
Blue skies. CNN. Disbelief, tears, hugs.
Overwhelming patriotism until Big Brother arrives.
Parent’s plane left early, now alive
This can’t be real. Please?
Please stay home! Maybe California’s next!
never forget, never forgive, let’s roll
Late for WTC meeting, life saved.
held my newborn while world explodes
friends killed; later plane; I lived.
ten more years mine, not theirs.
they should not have died that way
they should not have died at all
Jealous terrorists try to eliminate capitalism
WTC 7: Not Hit by Plane
Ten Years Later….Heart Still Breaks
Crossing the highway, no more radio
World was never the same again
Names read: Alphabet of the Dead
911. Made me value familly more.
Can’t listen to “Wind beneath my wings”.
My brother was on another plane …
Brother: United pilot: on another plane …
I’ll never be the same again
Streets feel quiet, still, time froze
Our world changed forever that day.
The hellish choice: flames, or sidewalk?
Men reduced to ash, awaiting rising.
Everyone stopped–watching–hand over mouth.
David had tickets for Hot Tuna.
Two AA buddies died that day.
Trillion Dollar Defense vs. A Boxcutter.
Debbie’s throat slit; husband upstairs screaming.
Firehouse shocked; I brought them cookies.
Gray ghosts walk up 8th Avenue.
“its raining me” assumed an unintended poignancy.
“its raining men” assumed unintended poignancy.
Grave despair made me cling to a fling.
Made me cling to a fling. (Sorry - last one was 8 words. Sinus infection making me stupid.)
No longer will we feel secure.
Towers fell. Sun, dust, shoes, sirens.
Long walk from WTC to UWS.
Will always remember that sunny morning.
I cried only when Dad called
Planes hit. Our lives changed forever.
Tragic for all; now we war.
My birthday now day of infamy.
Pronounce my friend’s name correctly please.
Souvenir vendors’ sales make fresh wounds.
Faces blackened with soot. Shock. Anguish.
I knew war would beckon sons.
st. paul’s, weeks later, smoke rising.
Christmas Night, Ground Zero. Strangers hug.
[...] Visit SMITH’s 9-11 page HERE. [...]
Beautiful Blue Sky; Death By Allah.
Thousands of lost souls; for what?
We were all NYC’ers that day.
TSA BS shows they have won.
NYC: Best place in whole world.
Never forget: “Let’s roll” when needed.
Watching it fall from Sixth Avenue.
Life can change in one second.
Looking back, sky was incrediably blue.
I still think about the victims.
Through blood, smoke, and tears ….Hope!
Forgive our enemies? Not so much.
911. We let down our guard.
We got too comfortable. Evil lurked!
Just stared at TV…and stared.
Mom’s at Pentagon; brother’s in Jersey City.
Many lives lost; many lives saved.
Travelling cross country, no one spoke.
Airplanes were grounded; skies were silent.
9/11/2001. They rolled. 5/1/2011. They rocked.
Seemed fake, changed the channel. Devastation!
Ten years old. Cried for terrorists.
Dad rests in Arlington’s hallowed grounds.
Land of Free. Home of Brave.
Beautiful towers down. Hearts are broken.
Gorgeous skyline changed forever. Also lives.
strumming zither strings for souls ascending
son strums zither for souls ascending
9/12 - healing hearts as stench descends
Still seems unreal. It’s too much.
911. Makes word “unprepared” sound understated.
Was working. Then the clock stopped.
Please watch this Fox interview with 9/11 Memorial painter Todd Stone http://www.ctnow.com/videogallery/64590920/News/A-Look-At-The-World-Trade-Center-Memorial
Lee Ielpi founded @TributeWTC to remember all 9/11 victims. See the responses to their stories in #911theworldspeaks http://bit.ly/qzueWD
Celebrate the lives of the victims, honor their families + share n wht they can teach - @tributewtc #911theworldspeaks http://n.pr/ppd5Xp
Experience “Downtown Rising” as @ToddStoneStudio speaks with Bloomberg Radio on Downtown NYC paintings
NPR’s sensitive interview with author Lee Ielpi about desire for peace around the world http://n.pr/ppd5Xp
Still cry, like it was yesterday
Fighting for tomorrow, remembering yesterday
the year 2001 should not be repeated
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