When Will We Ever Learn? 20 Years After 9/11

There are three events in my lifetime that I believe everyone in the US remembers exactly where they were when they happened: 1) The assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1963 - Duke Center Elementary in Duke Center, Pennsylvania); 2) 9/11. I fully remember where I was when the attacks began (Seattle) and especially how America suddenly became a much more dangerous place; and 3) The January 6th, 2021 Insurrection. ( I was in Minneapolis)

Though I wasn’t in NYC on 9/11, I had been there just two days earlier. I had a key audition for a replacement in the Broadway production of “Kiss Me Kate”. I was told I had the gig after. Following the audition, walking on clouds from the wonderful news, I headed downtown and purchased tickets to “Batboy - The Musical”. I had a couple of hours before show time and strolled around the area, even taking in my first ... and last ... close-up view of The World Trade Center.

Two days later, I was in Seattle. I flew in to sing at a friend’s wedding. Only one other out-of-town guest made it before news of the attacks started coming in. Judy (the bride-to-be) called me about 7:40am and said without preamble, “Turn on the television. You won’t believe what’s happening.” I did. I watched numbly for hours; staring at the television screen, wondering if any of my friends were in danger, disbelieving that any “people” could hate us that much.

I wasn’t in New York on 9/11; but, like so many Americans around the country, I was devastated by the death and destruction; yet heartened by the actions of the heroes and the world’s early support. The attack felt so personal. In the aftermath, we came together as a country, a community, a family.

A great sadness is that we wasted all of that universal goodwill - mistake by mistake. Twenty years later, I feel overwhelming sadness that the terrorists are now homegrown and violence is a possibility every day of our lives; city by city, state by state ... I am still disbelieving that any “people could hate us that much” ... It’s worse now; It’s Americans against Americans.

Twenty years later, I’m not watching or listening to the commemorations of 9/11. My memory of that day is clear enough. I don’t need my heartstrings plucked again; I’ve cried enough tears for a lifetime. (By the bye, that job never materialized as the Broadway revival of “Kiss Me Kate” didn’t survive the economic devastation following 9/11.)

I carefully read my friends’ accounts of that infamous day. I appreciated your words, your personal memories. I am remembering 9/11/04 when I attended the first Live Journal Convergence in San Francisco, CA, created by Bob McDiarmid and the wonderful men I met that day. Sixty-six Live Journaler’s gathered that day in a park in San Francisco for a picnic. I remained friends with a goodly portion of them, though more than a handful are now deceased. After the Convergence, I hopped on a flight to Seattle to attend the wedding of my friends Jesse and Mae. They remain a happily married couple. How can that be 17 years ago?

When I wrote about this topic in 2004 on the 5th anniversary of 9/11, I ended by saying, “May nothing like this ever happen again during our lifetimes.” Sadly, lessons of unity and compassion are forgotten ... January 6th, 2021 happened. The pandemic happened ... When will we ever learn?