remembering 9/11

I don't think any Americans could ever forget where they were when they heard the news about the attacks on the World Trade Center, 5 years ago today. We were at home, getting ready for school and work as usual, until we saw what was happening on TV and time just sort of stopped. Watching some of the saturation coverage last night, the replays and the families stories and the where-are-they-nows, I was surprised at how haunting and immediate it felt, and how completely I was emotionally transported back to that morning in 2001.

There are many remembrance sites that one can find on the web, including the White House's Remembering 9/11. It's a thoughtful and respectful site, but sadly I had a very hard time reading it without cynicism given everything this White House has done in the name of the so-called war on terror.

I thought this annotated map/mashup of lower Manhattan was interesting, as it presents georeferenced photographs and quotes from people that were in New York on that morning (click on the blue and red markers to see images and quotes). The geek factor is a bit weird for this subject matter, but I think the map-based presentation adds something powerful and touching to the stories. These were people who were there, and that's a difference that makes a difference.