"Never Forget" is something you hear or see when it comes to the events that happened on 09/11/2001. And today people from all over the world will stop and pause and remember what happened 23 years ago. 23 years. How many people in the country weren't born yet or were too young to remember what happened. It was the largest attack that has ever occurred on American soil. Besides the over 3,000 people that died directly due to the highjacked planes crashing at the World Trade Center, Shanksville, Pennsylvania,
and the Pentagon, thousands have died from 9/11 injury and illness since then. Thousands of survivors still suffer from the mental and physical injuries suffered while they tried to escape the attacks and then ran in to try and rescue and recover the victims.
I took the top picture I believe on Day 3 while at the WTC. Back in the day digital SLR-type cameras were in its infancy and cell phone technology had just evolved. Some, but not all, of the flip phones had a camera built in that allowed for low resolution image capture. But during my time on the fire
department I would keep a supply of disposable cameras in my locker at work with usually one wrapped in a plastic bag in my turnout coat. When I responded to Ground Zero on the 12th, after a day working with evacuees at UMDNJ on 9/11, I had one of those cameras in my pocket. Between shuttles back and forth to Newark to work in the firehouse on the nights of the 11th and 12th I would leave a camera, which had 36 exposures, and put a few more in my pocket for the next day. If you know me then you know I'm a photojournalist at heart, and nothing is off the table when it comes to shooting.
When I think of that top photo I wonder how many men and women have died due directly related to their exposure. Obviously, if you were there when the towers fell, you were exposed to a cloud of dust and debris like no others. And if you were in a panic while running for your life it would be hard to
control your heart rate and breathing so whatever was in the air got planted deep inside your lungs and body. I remember the next few days after the towers fell. The weather was beautiful, and with that, the smoke and dust clouds remained suspended in the air. It wasn't until Friday I think when a welcomed drenching rain came and sat those particulates down on the ground, making breathing easier.
Every now and then, but usually around 9/11, I drag out the old photo album to see and remember. The images unlock a safe of sights, smells, and images from deep in some corner
of my brain. Couple that with other peoples recollections and tributes and I can be transported back and vividly remember those five days like it was last month, which is interesting because I have a hard time remembering what I did last week.
Early on several organizations put together treatment centers for those who were at the Trade Center on the day or the days after. My first stop in 2003 was Fulton Street in Lower Manhattan where I joined other cops and firemen at a Scientology-run program to "detoxify" the toxins that were trapped in our bodies. Tom Cruise had a hand in it as he was one of the more popular spokesman for the religion, or cult. We would drink large amounts of niacin, then run on a treadmill, and then sit in a steam room, with other guys and gals, for four hours. The idea was the cancerous toxins would be excreted from the body through sweat. My wife at the time would sit in the waiting room as I was inside for "treatment". With the commute into NYC, and the length of the day, and some skepticism on my part, I only lasted two sessions. But I was thankful that early on someone was trying to help.
And around that time, in 2003, Mt. Sinai started The World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program. It was open to people who worked at Ground Zero and the Staten Island Landfill where all the debris was trucked from Lower Manhattan to be searched again for any human remains.
I joined that program in it's infancy in 2004 knowing really that it was happening for two reasons. First, to help people and monitor and treat them, and second, to track the illnesses and deaths due to exposure. I can't tell you how many conversations we had down at Ground Zero about how we were all surely going to die one day from being there.
In 2010 The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 was passed ensuring funding would continue to provide screening and treatment for the survivors and workers. Zadroga was a NYPD cop and one of the first to die from 9/11 related illness. The program increased in participant numbers and the amount of services offered. Today, the now named World Trade Center Health Program, monitors and treats 80,000 people. Over the years several clusters and diagnosis's have been directly related to exposure at Ground Zero. In 2013 I underwent sinus surgery, and will probably be returning to the table within the next year for a re-do.
But what is sad is that this morning at the coffee pot people will most likely be talking about the Presidential debate that occurred last night rather than 9/11. To me, it was poor timing, and almost, now I'm no conspiracy theorist, well, things happen for a reason sometimes. If you were alive you remember how together we were as a country after 9/11. We have went to shit over the last few decades but there was always that pause on the anniversary days of 9/11 and for just a moment a fleeting glimpse of togetherness and patriotism would shine through. The "powers" that be like division. It's easier to divide and conquer that way.
And to the debate. I hate politics. I don't have a side. I'm an independent voter. But I couldn't wait to watch it as I felt it was my duty to do so. Now, without knowing all the truths and less than truths on both sides I will say this after watching the "performances" by both. Harris was the clear winner. The momentum started the moment she crossed the line and went over to shake Trump's hand.
Sometimes it's not the content that is verbalized as much as it is how it's delivered. Harris was well prepared and stepped away from her previous word salad and cackling that we have seen before. She was well prepared and on-point, her point that is. Trump, well, spit the bit, as they say in horse racing. She was the aggressor, she was the hunter, baiting him, and he just couldn't help himself as he drove his points into a brick wall. He had his moments but overall he faltered.
There's ways to make a point. "People eating pets", C'mon man. Even if it's true isn't there a way to make your point that appears that you have some insight and polish? Couldn't he have made the claim, "There are challenges in cities like Smithfield, Ohio where illegal immigrants have risen the population there from 45,000 to 60,000 which puts a strain on housing, local services and healthcare"?. And if he did need to go to the animal eating, " It's hard for an influx of that amount of people in a short time to have access to food, and I have heard reports where people are catching and eating local wildlife, and even pets, to survive". I'm not trying to say that's happening, or he should have said it, but he's just not talking to his base out here.
And then there's the media bias....C'mon man. I hope both sides can call it like it was. The moderators clearly treated each debatee differently. So it was no surprise that post-debate the Harris team was all in looking for an another debate before the election. Like sharks in the water smelling blood that are looking for the knock-out Trump punch. She has his goat. And again I'm not talking about points made or not made by both sides. It was more so how they appeared and performed.
The debate should have been last week or next. There was no mention of 9/11 during the debate, which I think would have been appropriate. Touching on national security and safety would have been timely and showed that either of the candidates, or the moderators, were in touch with thousands, or even millions of people, who spend today in some pain, emotional or physical, remembering what happened to all of us 23 years ago.
