Every time I turn on the TV, something horrifying and frightening is there. A couple, holding hands, jumping from one of the towers. The report that someone called 911 from his cell phone in the locked bathroom of one of the planes. 200 firefighters and 78 policemen dead.
But I also saw the tremedous power of human kindness and civilty. I saw a McDonald's manager keeping his store, located at ground zero, open so that rescue workers can drink his water. I saw a Mrs. Field's restaraunt giving out all of its food for free. I saw people lined up around the block to give blood. I saw bus drivers opening their doors and giving free rides to as many passengers as they could, to get them away from the blast zone as quickly as possible.
People are wonderful, gracious and good, even more than they are awful, hideous, and unspeakable. This is something to remember, and it is the one thing that a tragedy like this has to give us. Whenever human lives are lost in a tragedy of this magnitude, the rest of humanity rises to the challenge at hand. |
