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The Wind of 9/11
By Art Israel, West Hartford
The wind was howling today, September 11, 2002, with 40-mile-per-hour gusts. It was blowing at the WTC site as the families gathered for the first anniversary memorial service. The dust was swirling out of the 16-acre pit that is left from the horror of a year ago, clouds of dust lifted from the hollowed ground and flying among the assembled throng.
The wind swept though our town today too, blowing down power lines and tree branches. Two trees, side-by-side, in front of the JCC suffered the loss of their once sky-touching limbs, now lying grounded.
A large crowd gathered at the Town Hall tonight for a memorial, and the wind was still blowing. Some of the speeches were inaudible over the blustering wind. Clergy from all denominations offered prayers, and the wind kept blowing. The rabbi shouted over the wind, demanding Old Testament justice for the crimes of 9/11. The priest’s call for forgiveness could barely be heard over the roaring wind.
The remains of 1,700 people lost at the World Trade Center were not recovered. The wind blows for the souls of the departed. The ghosts of the 1,700 swirl in the dust of Ground Zero. The wind makes us feel chilled, uncomfortable, but it is not a bitter wind. It just won’t allow us to forget those never properly laid to rest. May they yet rest in peace.
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