Every year, to commemorate 9/11, I take my Portraits 9/11/01 off the shelf and open it at random to read some of the obituaries the New York Times collected so admirably of those who died on 9/11. Monuments are great markers of tragedy, but only obituaries provide a glimpse of the lives that were lost. As always, I am struck by how in the midst of their lives the victims were, and I cherish learning a little about them. Each obituary is only a facet but it makes us aware of all the sparkling worlds that were obliterated.
Here are just a few headlines:
Steven M. Hagis Jr. – Love to Fill a Doorway (31 years old)
Mary Lou Hague – Not Just Any Kind of Love (26)
David Halderman – A Shy Son, a Hero (40)
Maile Rachel Hale – A Renaissance Woman (26)
Richard B. Hall – Nights with Shawn (49)
Vaswald Hall – “Can’t You Ever Say No?” (50)
Robert Halligan – Shopping across the Pond (59)
Vincent Halloran – Five Children, No Problem (43)
May their memory be for a blessing.
It is a tough day, even beyond the borders of America.
Sure is.
What a kind and thoughtful way to honor the day.
It's an anchor, really, to do this every year.
What a touching post. I write tribute-style poems but my audience is very, very small. Your post reminds me that the victims deserve more than a poem and even more than a full page with a giant headline. Thank you, Annette.
Yes, they do. Even so, every little something counts and is better than nothing.