Penned in days past 3/8

Truth Pick #125

A name pronounced is the recognition of the individual to whom it belongs. Henry David Thoreau

Numbers, especially large numbers, have vague emotional content. They are senseless sounds separated from reality. Do we shed more tears for one hundred, or for one thousand victims?

Or do we only fall, and shatter, at the mention of a name, or the image of a single child?

As numbers turn to names, denial fades, replaced by a growing sense of dread. The world has changed. The skyline different. Voices stilled.

We look around us, staring into the eyes of strangers. Their grief mirrors our own, and we recognize we're no longer alone. Everyone shares what we feel. We open doors. Pause in traffic. Wave others ahead of us. Being connected, even in simple courtesies, offers a gentle hand of support. A silent nod returns it.

For a while, there is no 'business as usual', for the simple reason that the world has blurred out of focus. Today is not 'usual' and to pretend it is, ignores our internal weeping. We will rise again, we always do, but first we must learn, and then recite, the names of yesterday.

Speak their names, and from the dust, they rise as living memories.

Written September 13th 2001