9.11.02

Today they will play baseball. It is an innocent endeavor, simple in its construction, frivolous in its eccentricity. The boys of summer head towards their twilight, but they will play. Today we will go to class. Today we will go to work. And today we will mourn.

It is a sin, a tragedy, a profanity that such a fine morning was rendered such grim horror. Behind the sun that guides us and the canopy of the blue skies above us, the most pure, refined evil manifested itself. Some of us ran, some of us heard from both near and far. But we all saw. We saw planes turned into missiles. We saw wreckage at our citadel. We saw innocents jump rather than burn.

From the ashes, men and women struggled. They bent. They heaved. But they did not break. They did not shrug. They were resilient. They fought back, not with guns and bombs, but with muscles forged and spirits emboldened by the American spirit. Flight 93. The FDNY and NYPD. The air traffic controllers. The relief workers. The Americans from all walks of life.

They will ask where you were on that day. It is a question that need not be asked, for we all know the answer. Ask where you have been since, and where you will go from here. We have that much thanks to those who stood defiant against the whirlwind.

Today they will play baseball.

ZoNotes

A day before the one-year mark of the Republic's darkest day, and we are inundated with a litany of media coverage commemorating the event. The American culture has made a fetish of annviersaries and commemorations. I fear that 5 years from now car dealerships will have Sept. 11th sales and that we will recline into the sickening mumbo jumbo of "feelings" and rewound despair, playing back the sorrow instead of the horror.

Watch the coverage, or do not watch it. Pray, or do not pray. However, when you watch the footage of the planes striking the WTC towers, do not look away. Remember not only the fear, but the rage and the anger. You cannot have one without the other. Remember that our enemies make no pause for mercy, give no quarter to compassion, and make no distinction between combatant and innocents.

In the American tradition, it is usually those who are most surprised that end up performing the bravest acts. The valor of FDNY and NYPD personnel did their jobs just as they were trained. The passengers from Flight 93 were not soldiers, but they rose up to stop the terrorists headed for Washington, DC. These people have their predecessors -- the "damned engineers" in the Ardennes who detonated crucial bridges to head off Nazi tanks and the small group of fighter pilots that were able to get into the air when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

We must tread these turbulent waters steadily, but we must not let our sadness overcome our courage.

Wordplay
"Bravery is not absent fear, it is merely overwhelming it."

ZoNotes: Most of if not all of my exes live in Texas.

Gainful employment returns! I am now a brand-spankin' new writer-reporter for Defense Daily in Rosslyn, VA. Rosslyn, as we all know from our extensive travels in the Nation's Capital, is a mere stone throw's away from the lovely Hilltop of my undergraduate adventures, Georgetown University.

Grim feelings throughout the ZoNotes regime as my beloved Cowboys played with flagging mediocrity in a season-opening loss to the Houston Texans last night. More on this and other football-related issues (including Sean's (B'00) ambitiously predictive Super Bowl theory) go on tonight on Pride of the Fall.

Hey, I Know Her!
On a secondary note, word passed quickly through my sources arrayed throughout the vast expanse of Northern Virginia that a former Hoya cheerleader of noted repute was gracing the television cameras during yesterday's Redskin-Cards game at FedEx Field. Indeed, a quick reference check confirmed that former GU team captain Tiffany (F'00) (last names withheld for confidentiality purposes) is doing the pom-pom and dance thing for the Washington Redskins. Say this about the dim-witted maniacs who run the Redskins organization, the cheerleading squad had both the wit and good sense to select Ms.Tiffany for the team. Congratulations to her!

Age Before Dishonor
The focus of tennis may be on the cat-suited youth, beauty, power, and grace of Serena Williams, but the men produced an admirable performance by 31-year-old Pete Sampras. Sampras clawed his way to the 2002 U.S. Open title against ageless wonder Andre Agassi.

Wordplay
"Give the Rhinos Guns!"---Simon Torres (F'00), responding to ESPN's ads for their new sporting show.