Remembering 9/11

I am posting this blog almost a week after September 11th for several reasons. First, I didn't want my post to become white noise with all the other facebook statuses and media coverage. Second, I wanted time to think about what I wanted to post about. I considered blogging about where I was, the immediate fear and shock I felt. I also considered blogging about my young brothers and growing up in a post-9/11 world. I also considered blogging about how 9/11 influenced my writing since I didn't start my novels until after 9/11. Then I was telling a friend about an encounter I had with a woman on Sunday and she suggested I blog about that. So here goes...

 

On Sunday I went for brunch with most of my immediate family and some members of my extended family. While waiting for our table my Grandpa started talking to a woman. They talked about where they were on 9/11 and my Grandpa talked about his days in the Navy. The conversation was normal, nothing I hadn't heard him say before. My family rolled their eyes at his exagerations and chuckled to ourselves about the stories he told. The hostess called us to our table and he said goodbye to the woman. I forgot about the conversation almost immediately. It wasn't until my aunt asked for the bill that I remembered the woman from the lobby. The woman paid for our entire bill; meaning she paid for brunch for nine people. We were all shocked by her act of kindness and generosity. She had already left so we couldn't thank her. Her act stayed with me. I thought about how she chose to remember the day by being kind to a stranger. I thought about how 9/11 is full of stories of strangers helping strangers. I thought of how her act of kindness was perfect with keeping with the spirit of the day.