microthrills's Diaryland Diary

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Stormy blues.

I woke up to my alarm blasting the words �We are all New Yorkers today�. While the somber tone September 11th usually brings has seemed to fade a little, I can�t help but remember every detail of this day, 8 years ago.

My father, who worked downtown near the towers, was missing for 12 hours. I was employed at a bulk retail store at the time and was so freaked out that I ended up going there to be with other people, even though it was my day off. I watched cases of water and canned food leave the store on pallets as emergency rescue workers scrambled to assist in any way they could. My father, covered in white dust, walked into the store because it was the easiest location for him to get to after finally making it back to the borough we live in. He looked dazed and so frightened. That was the last day he worked in Manhattan.

I remember staying up all night with my high school best friend watching television and trying to piece together what had happened. Every single one of my neighbors stood at one point on our stoops with candles, waiting for people to make it home. Some did not, including a girl that used to baby-sit my sister and I, and the block my parents still live on was renamed for her.

This morning I sat on the ferry and watched loads of firemen, police officers, and EMT�s gather in groups and shake each other�s hands and talk loudly about their fallen brothers. I sat next to a man in a firefighter�s uniform and began eating my breakfast. He introduced himself and asked if I had a piece of gum. I didn�t, and then I made a comment about his bottle of Gatorade that reeked of alcohol (the reason he needed the gum). He said everyone needs a �special drink� once in a while. He looked at the women�s magazine I was reading and told me not to fill my head with �that poisonous crap�. We ended up chatting for the rest of the ferry ride and he asked if he could put his number into my phone and I let him. He is 26 (I am a bit wary of dating younger men) and he lives close to me on the island and we know a couple of mutual people (other firemen my friends have dated in the past). When we walked off the boat he thanked me for brightening his morning and joined the other groups of firemen collecting near the subway and waved.

Maybe a guy who starts his morning off with an alcohol-infused sports drink isn�t the most ideal date but it�s an exceptional day.

11:09 a.m. - 2009-09-11

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