September 11,2001, Part Two
The group of religious leaders that gathered - abouut 150 - were a collection of dazed, discouraged  and depressed Men and Women of the Cloth. With no authority at all, I told them they had to take care of THEMSELVES. I said they could not maintain the pace and the awesome burden they were carrying. They had to get some of the stalwarts of their congregations to help bear the load.

I discussed the concept of PTSD. It gave them something else to worry about, but it convinced them to look to others for assistence and not try to do it all alone. Let the members of their congreagation share with one another both the memories of their loved ones and the sorrows the are enduring. The clergyperson can serve as the overseer of the sorrow shared and speak briefly of their need to try to understand God's readiness to comfort and support them.

At the end of my talk, we had a period of sharing among the ministers.  They were so happy to know that others were as overwhelmed as they were. I thought the would never leave.They thanked me and asked if I would give this talk again. I said I would be happy to.  What happened was that four days later, the American Red Cross announced that they were going to give talks to the clergy with similar objectives in mind. My career of "preaching to the choir" was at an end.

When I started Part One of this lengthy missive, I had an entirely different concept in mind. I wanted to write about the Episcopal Church near ground Zero where literally thousands of people tied notes on the fence, put posters up giving vent to such feelings of loss and sorrow that one would have to have a heart of stone not to respond in some way. The oft-named hard hearted New Yorkers spoke and acted towards one another with unbelievable  kindness and care.  Total strangers were embracing and trying to share the pain of others.

Time marches on September 11, 2009.

After eight years, the shock,the pain of loss of loved ones, the fear of an unseen terrorist, and the reality of 9/11 has all but disappeared.  Many people, at a distance from New York have been able to view the events of that day as something like a calamity somewhere a world away. That is quite normal, so it is good when people gather on the anniversary to remember those who were lost or became deathly ill trying to save whoever or whatever they could. I knew that there were going to be all-day remembrances with choirs, bands, large numbers of relatives, so I stayed home. Instead, I went into "the City" today - September 12, 2009. I have not been there since 2001, and I wanted to see how the repairs, the renovations, the revival of the WORLD TRADE CENTER  was  progressing.

I must tell you that  my visit left me as angry as I have been in years. In eight years they have accomplished what would normally take a year and a half, maybe two. I am well aware that they had to go down seven stories to reach the bottom and build up. I know about the threat of water from the Hudson River seeping and later crashing through the foundations. But what stands out so much more clearly is the lack of progress and the CAUSE!  In one word - GREED!  Rather than trying to remove this abomination, this crushing blow to our National pride, we have several groups who are stalling and stalling, each group trying to prevent another group from making a fortune on this tragedy. Both our city and our state government stand by and let these vultures fight over the remains. My simple and strongest wish: "A pox on all of you!"

My father helped build the Empire State Building. It was built with the machines and knowledge of 1932. It is 86 stories high, surmounted by a steeple that is 16 stories tall - a total of 102 stories. It took them THREE YEARS to build! My father told me that regularly. He also told me HE built the Empire State Building with some help from his friends. Now that's National Pride!