In some instances, the tragic events of that day feel like they were yesterday. A day doesn't go by without some reminder - whether it be the scary state of the world or some other comment that makes you vaguely think back, a thought etched somewhere between your conscious and sub-conscious.
2,996 people lost their lives on September 11. Sometimes, it helps to put that into perspective. Think of being in a movie theatre, or a sporting event. Imagine all those people around you...gone. Each person representing a family, a life, a purpose.
The remembrance is never truly gone. Sure, some want to move on. Maybe not forget so much as place the memories of how things changed into a little memory box and to imagine the world a bit better place. To cope, everyone has a different method. There is no right way. There is no wrong.
If you haven't heard of Kevin Cosgrove, I urge you to listen to his call into 9-1-1 operators as he sat trapped in an office on the 105th floor. I listened to his desperate and increasingly frantic pleas, feeling like I was listening to a private conversation. Some have said he sounded almost rude, demanding, angry. To those, I say ask yourself how you would sound in his shoes. As the acrid smoky air became more and more toxic and each passing moment an enternity.
As the towers collapsed and the sounds of his final words echoed in my ears, I reminded myself that forgetting the events of that day do a dishonour to Mr. Cosgrove, his family and the 2,995 others that lost their lives that day.
Is it easy to listen to? Absolutely not. Horrific comes to mind. WestCoast Chaos says it well here. But it is - at least in my mind - a tribute to him. He is the voice of conscious memory. Some things aren't meant to be easy, but they are important.
Who was he? His obituary reads as follows:
Kevin M. Cosgrove
"A Good Snuggler"
"Mommy, it broke my heart when Daddy died because he was a good
snuggler", said 4-year old Elizabeth Cosgrove.
She was speaking of her father, Kevin who was vice-president of claims
at Aon. Wendy Cosgrove simply held her daughter close and said, 'I
know'.
Mr. Cosgrove, 46 of West Islip, NY did a great balancing act between
work and home, Mrs. Cosgrove said. He could often be seen shoveling the
walks of elderly widows in winter and helping elderly couples carry bulky
packages throughout the year, she said.
But he especially liked to indulge his children, Brian, 12, Claire, 10
and Elizabeth.
"'Mommy, Daddy let us eat dinner backward' the kids used to say to me
when I would come home after they had spent a day with him," Mrs Cosgrove
recalled with a chuckle. "'We ate brownies and ice cream before
dinnner.'I would tell him that it made me look like the bad guy because I made
them eat dinner. It was funny'.
Now Brian would be 17, Claire 15, and Elizabeth, 9. Well grown up, and surely missing their father. I only hope this publicity is not too painful for them. It must be very difficult for things to resurface when you are grieving every day.
Today, I heard of a very special project being undertaken here - The 2996 Project. The idea is simple, but powerful: have a special tribute for each victim of 9/11, with each tribute being created by a different blogger. A name is assigned to each volunteer to research and write a tribute on their blog to be published on the 5th Anniversary.
I signed up today. So did a fellow Iraqi blogger friend of mine. I hope you do too. We have blogs, and we enjoy writing. Let's put it to good use.
My honouree was a single mom of a 15 year old daughter. She was born just 3 days after my brother. As I begin my research about her life, I can't help but feel the world is a bit poorer of a place for her loss. It gives me great honour to be able to do justice to her memory, and bring her alive again for at least a short moment. You'll see that post on September 11, 2006.
