I remember this day well, and all its somberness for those that perished.
And in the days/weeks after that, I saw a unity amongst strangers that I had never seen before. Everywhere I went, this sudden awareness and compassion for the fellow man, this bond between everyone, in the wake of what had been done to "us" as a whole.
Traffic problems subsided with cars yielding to others and not raging on each others bumper. People in the grocery line would say "go ahead sir, you have only 3 items and I have a cartful". People waved, spoke and acknowledged each other on the street despite being total strangers in this large metropolis. Inner city youths even took a reprieve from shooting one another daily. I saw many random acts of kindness, and suddenly all the differences and the walls between us within our borders seemed to come down.
And I remember wondering "how long will this last? How long before this unity wears off, and we all settle back into our self servedness and complacency?"
And as thought, in the coming months I saw it dwindle to just a glimmer, and soon all the we's turned back into me's.
And now every year, I see just a little glimpse of it, ...for one day. And then the sun sets and rises again, and we are once again, alone and apart in the crowd.
Maji
