The Last Girder.

[Knothead]

The thread by MegalosSkylaki, about the ceremonial "last girder" kinda got to me.

Originally posted by MegalosSkylaki:
The "last girder" has been cut down today, Wednesday, and will officially be removed tommorrow Thursday, marking the completion of the official clean-up of GROUND ZERO.
________________________________________________

I can't help but wonder how the people who pass by the area, who see the progress, would feel...

I wonder what goes through the minds of the people actually involved in the clean-up effort...the Last Girder...the thing they feared coming to, or a relief that maybe this can finally be put behind us...

How does one confront the thing? If I were there, I....would...I have no idea, actually.

This thing happened. And all the shock and disbelief in the whole world would pale to insignificance by the fact of that...last piece of steel...

How would it be to behold the reality of it?

You know, when we study history, there is a certain comfort in recognition of terrible deeds, heroic deeds, etc. Sometimes it's a shock, yes, but it is one of recognition... the recognition of things we've all heard about before.

But in this case, that shock is just a SHOCK. And one we were certainly ill-prepared for.

But we are a strong people. So we try to put it behind us and go on with life, and a good thing, too. And we also try to clean up the mess...

And then we come to that last girder. That last cursed piece of evidence of this nightmare...and equally, that last Testament to what was great about our country at a time of such crisis, when heroes, previously just ordinary people, rose up and did what they did...

I don't know about you, but...I would really like to touch that thing someday. I know that all these memories will still be there, and ( I know me,) they will flood out of me. And I hope those memories will flood out of every other soul, especially those who think pitting such vicious evil against a people such as these is a good bet.

Thanks. Todd.

[Martoch]

Thanks Todd, now you've put me in deep thought just before bedtime! It is something that everyone should stop and think about...thanks for putting things into perspective for us.

[nunyadam]

Well said Knothead.

nunya

[vass0922]

Sad thing is... the baby's growing up.. 30 years down the road they'll see that girder sitting somewhere.. maybe in a museum or something.. and see it as just that... a girder
Oh look .. a big piece of iron. whoopie...
There is just no way to convey the emotions of that day.
About 2 days after the crash, I had to go back into a building that REEKED of smoke and was in fact still smoking.. we were not able to go into some areas to get our equipment because FBI/Fire marshall or what other depts were in control that day.. we did get our stuff out eventually.. but we poured water out of it... we wiped off smoke stains..
We in fact were the lucky ones.. we had a building to work with.. to reconstruct...
In NY they have a pile.. truth be told I'm almost glad I never saw.. I can live with seeing a huge burning hole in a wall...
But to see rubble 10 stories high .. KNOWING full well there are still people in there.. nope
I know very well that I myself have not dealt with things fully, and that I am still wary of seeing planes fly over head (WHY isn't that building no fly zone )

The last girder..
Does that mean we can move forward ... figuratively and literally ... start rebuilding our lives?
Some maybe able to.. some may not...
Some may think .. oh shut up, move on wusses...
Some of them just don't get it
As a country we have been humbled by this tragedy..
Lets not go back to that state of "untouchables" that we were once in..
As they say.. We shall never forget...

[kenyg]

I still have dreams about it.


Ken

[MegalosSkylaki]

There is no Cleanup.

This Matter is not over.

This can be a Town without Pity.

And it has been Marked.

Deterrence is only part of Justice.

The other is Retribution.

MegalosSkylaki

[MegalosSkylaki]

Back to the Spirit of the Thread !

MegalosSkylaki

[Warthog]

I don't think "The Girder" will ever be viewed by anybody as 'just a piece of metal'. That was the gravesite of nearly 3k people.

The USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor is not viewed as 'just another memorial'.

[Knothead]

Originally posted by MegalosSkylaki
There is no Cleanup.

This Matter is not over.

This can be a Town without Pity.

And it has been Marked.

Deterrence is only part of Justice.

The other is Retribution.

MegalosSkylaki

A Poem. A Poem of anger. Righteous anger.

A reaction to the horror...

A renunciation of EVIL.

A vow of vigilance. Of what has occurred, of what may occur, and how we shall stand fast against the envious and evil few who would attempt to shake our faith in our agreement of a land, a Nation, under God, with Liberty, and Justice, for all.

Myself, the retribution part is not as important as our faith in the fundamental strength we share in this creation, this nation, and what it means.

Not that I would ever attempt to judge or evaluate the feelings of another. You were there, Megalos. When I was writing that last night, I wrote about how can I have these emotions when I was 4000 miles away (I edited it out.)

The fact is, this act shook the entire nation, as well as the entire world. The city of New York was hardly alone in its horror.

I think your viewpoint is a valid one, Megalos, and as usual, eloquently stated. Peace.

Todd