Lyric Fire

Lyric Fire: Sapphire For September - Remembering the 11th

September brings us to the nine month mark of the year and as I think about the time that has passed since that tragic Tuesday in 2001, I always come back to one question. Why?

The sun was out and people were greeting the morning just like any other day. But when night fell and we entered into Wednesday September 12th, our world had changed forever. 

The way we travel has changed, our financial health is still failing even now, ten years after the attacks and certain jokes we used to tell are no longer funny. The infants of the men and women who were taken from us on that fateful day are growing up and learning more about the world around them, some of them without their mom, dad or both parents. 

Yes, we have learned a lot since then, our military intelligence has been enhanced, the key figure and mastermind of the killings as well as a lot of his network have been taken out, but we are still left with the memories of the people and the buildings that used to stand so tall. 

So how can we honor them? By loving one another each day like it will be our last. By putting selfish needs for fame, political offices and greed away. All around the world there is pain, hunger, strife, loneliness and war. With each senseless death we say how horrible it is, but access to guns has never been easier.

On Sept 11th as we honor our fallen, we will remember, cry and hug one another. We will read accounts that take us back to that day. We will remember heroes who just like the sapphire gem, showed just how tough and resilient they were. Just like the sapphire which comes in colors of white, brown, blue, orange, pink and yellow, people from many different cultural backgrounds and skin colors stood strong that day and helped when they could. They walked down numerous flights of stairs in the World Trade Center towers carrying people who couldn't make the journey on their own. They donated money and brought food, water and clothing to people who had been rescued and prayed over the ones who succumbed. For that day and days after we were one. 

In our socially and economically turbulent times we need to remember how we responded to a national tragedy. Two words come to mind.

SPIRIT

SOUL

Anyone who had a soul was touched by this tragedy and needed spiritual healing during and afterwards to cope and survive. The towers are gone and a memorial is taking their place. The rubble and ashes have been cleaned up and done away with but we still are standing in the wreckage. This time it is one of our own making. We need to work together to restore the strength of the United States in every aspect. How can we help others globally if we are still in fragments at home? 

So use this month to challenge yourself to be more loving, work harder and find solutions instead of tearing your friends, family or your government down. Remember who you were on September 11th and how you helped your friends, family, co-workers and nation to heal. Rewind the tape and tap into your best self. It shouldn't take a tragic event for us to support one another. 

Remember and never forget...

To read about the history of September 11th go here: The September 11 Digital Archive

My Blog Lyric Fire: Souls of Our September

Nine years have passed so quickly. We've picked up the pieces and compartmentalized our memories so that we can cope with having lost close to 3,000 innocent people (discounting the hijackers) that never knew the end was near. 

I was in New York on that day and will never forget the events that unfolded. Actually on September 10th, the previous evening, I had spent a great night out in the city with my best friend. We went to an industry party and had dinner at Jane Restaurant downtown. I remember how much fun we had, the laughs we shared and how much we enjoyed our meals that night. We kept saying to each other what a beautiful evening it was. The weather was great and being in each other's company was a blast. When we left each other that night we may have hugged or told each other to get home safely as we usually did, not knowing that the world as we knew it would change forever. Never in my lifetime did I think anything like this could happen in the city I lived in. I had seen bombings and other major tragedies on TV and it always happened somewhere else. Not in NY. I didn't live in here in 1993 so I didn't experience that bombing. 

Early morning. September 11th, 2001, election day in New York City. Sunny, beautiful, bright morning. I was headed to work in midtown. Before I left to vote that morning, before switching off the TV I saw that there was a fire at the World Trade. That's what the newsperson said. Just a small fire. I looked at the image on the screen and saw a small red fireball on the side of the building and thought, Oh my, I hope they put that fire out soon. I also said to myself, I hope no one got hurt. I turned off the TV and went to the polls and then to the train station to head to work. I never made it past 72nd street as the train I was on sputtered and lunged to a halt startling it's occupants. We had to get out and walk on the tracks to get back to the platform. None of us knew what was going on until we got outside. Radios were blaring. The sound was deafening. People pointing toward the downtown area. People crying. Cell phones ringing. People hurt downtown. The World Trade Center. Twin Towers hit, burning, gone...

We all have a different recollection depending on where we were in the city that day and where we were in the world. Even though nine years have passed the wounds are still open. We are now dealing with protests, disagreements and potential Quran burnings because people disagree about the planned building of an Islamic Community Center and mosque near Ground Zero. 

The Twin Towers are gone, some of the people that were in the buildings and in the area that day are gone as well as people that were on the four flights that crashed in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. What remains is the pain for some and anger for others. It's witnessed by a pastor of a Florida church that wanted to mark today's anniversary with a rebellious and hate-filled act instead of a peaceful memorial. 

For all of the souls we lost, we must continue to move on but in a way that honors them and their lives. Burning a holy book that you might not understand doesn't help, it incites. On this day say a silent prayer, light a candle, write a poem and reflect on the goodness of those who are gone. 

Remember...

Here are some official facts and figures about September 11th: 

http://nymag.com/news/articles/wtc/1year/numbers.htm

 

 

My Blog: Lyric Fire: Oil

liquid life 

black slick death

necessary

but evil

when not contained

it's slippery

thick

lines the pockets of the rich

heats the homes of some poor

out of place on sand and beaches

but we always drill for more

some call it crude

but it's truly quite crass

especially when controlled by an out of touch ass

we drill and drill and think not of a spill

no contingency

no plans

eros and pathos 

are battling for position

we worry about the day when the seamen go fishing

aquamarine is now black instead of green

fish lay in dark pools

instead of swimming in schools

when dollars roll in execs smile and grin

the bottom falls out and these same men whine and pout

a grown man sputters

what the hell did we do to deserve this

hey rich wad

grow up

you're a man not a fish

if they could talk that's what they would be asking you

they'd ask why the waters they're swimming in are now black and not blue

let's not forget the dangers of rigging, digging, oil seeking and drilling

11 men died

taken away

swept up by the tide

an accident for sure

and their families will mourn

the human tragedy is lost though amidst all the blame and scorn

oil

love it

need it

it serves us all

but when we fail to plan

said oil will fall

into deep penetrating waters

canceling out and choking us all

oil

how doth we contain you

how can we contain you

can we contain you

oil

we

lust you

oil

damn you

My Blog: Lyric Fire: Is Detroit Dying?

My hometown has been on my mind so strong lately for many different reasons. First off, I miss it. I've been a New York resident for over 15 years having moved here to attend college and pursue my dreams of acting and writing. I love New York and always will, but Detroit is home. It's in my blood, it's my lifeline, my beginning, middle and most likely my ending.

I also have family that still resides there, a biological mother and a host of brothers and get this a sister. One I didn't know I had until earlier this year. There could also be someone special in Detroit for me too, but that remains to be seen.

So when I heard that Dateline NBC recently aired a documentary on Detroit I was interested but nervous. As a news junkie kid growing up in Motown I remember seeing local and national news reports about our dark underbelly, from the crack cocaine explosion in the 80's to the yearly tradition of vandalizing cars, homes and property in accordance with Devil's Night, which occurred on Halloween evening. I always felt a simmering anger and even embarrassment when the worse parts of the city I loved so much were broadcast out to the world. I knew about the good things and I wished everyone else did too. I even wrote about it in the Denby Log, my high school paper. As editor, I thought it was my responsibility to provide a balanced view.

After viewing the Dateline special dubbed: America Now: City of Heartbreak and Hope, narrated and reported by Chris Hansen, I felt conflicted. Chris Hansen has always been one of my favorite journalists. He also grew up in Michigan, albeit in the suburbs, but he lived and worked there and I believe he has a vested interest in seeing the city rise up and rival it's former glory. But, I couldn't help getting a sinking feeling as I watched the cameras roll up on criminals or capture the eerie sight of The Coon Man talk about killing and selling raccoons for food. Yet again the rest of the world was seeing the city at a low point. To hear that former NBA star and now current Detroit Mayor Dave Bing wants to actually tear down and destroy some desolate neighborhoods therefore shrinking the city is shocking and a new low for my hometown.

A lot of people are upset over the documentary and I can understand why. No one wants to be embarrassed and I know people who live in Detroit probably felt humiliated after the special aired. Nothing in it was untrue though and Hansen did spotlight several people who are doing their best to bring positivity to the area by rescuing abandoned children, renovating run down homes into green properties and the like. But even in reporting the positive, it still pointed out the negative. Whether it was the best balance of good and bad can be debated, but it got people talking and now there is talk of an upcoming town meeting to discuss the report and some solutions to Detroit's problems. Hopefully good can come from this and positive action can be taken. 

Other media outlets have also taken notice. Public Radio International's The Takeaway program asked its listeners to give their reasons to love Detroit and co-host Celeste Headlee traveled to the Detroit area and aired portions of the show from the Motor Town. Headlee even shared stories of her own experience Celeste Headlee's Take on Detroit with the city when she moved there to take a reporting job at WDET radio.

I even weighed in with my thoughts, which were featured as a "takeaway of the day" viewpoint on the Takeaway website (seen in the photo above). My take is this: Detroit may be viewed as desperate and in need of immediate help, but it is not dying. As long as the conversations about its ills are coupled with action, it can thrive again. I believe this about Detroit as well as other parts of the world that are facing major economic and social challenges. We must not only talk, we must do. Getting the word out is something I can and am doing and I want to do more. I will search to find other ways I can help. Do you care about Detroit? If so, what are you planning to do?

Please comment and share.

Poetic Protesters

When we think of poetry, lyrical layers of witty words often come to mind. Love, nature and musings about day-to-day life are just some of the topics poets usually emote about. But can health care be poetic? Some word stylists gathered at Brooklyn's Habana Outpost "Lowpost" last month and proved that it can. 

WNYC's national morning news radio program The Takeaway captured the feelings from the flowacists:

Click it: Health Reform Poetry Slam     

Hear more of The Takeaway here: Takeaway100709-early