Fillin it Up

In July of this fleeting year, Walter Kronkite died.  This was the setting in which Brosquire J and I had a conversation that led me to write about the least generation. In completely unrelated news, both he and I adore The Cosby Show.  It’s one of very few DVD’s that I actually regret not owning.  For the music, the history, the humor and the pride, this show was legendary.  This classic clip with Raven-Simone* is one of my all time favorites.

Imagine for a minute that Clair doesn’t catch these two, and someone actually bites into that piece of cake with the paper towel.  Initially, one might pass it off as a strangely “bland” piece.  But any more bites or further inspection would lead to an exclamation of “What the f**K!” or a simple outburst of “BULLSH*T”  This happens when the composition of something is completely foreign to what it should be; surprise gradually leads to resentment which then brings about anger.  If there was a large hole in the cake, it would be just that, a cake with a large hole in it.  But with that half a roll of paper towel in there, it compromises the integrity of the entire baked good.  Is it filthy inside?  Are there other paper products amiss? Can I trust the cook?  Who knows**

On Christmas Eve, a 23 year old Nigerian man boarded a plane in Lagos, Nigeria, changed planes in Amsterdam, and after 20 hours of flight he decided it the proper time to light an incendiary powder device, as the plane was making its final descent into Detroit.  More brave passengers and crew members, who managed to subdue to him, thwarted disaster.

On Christmas Day my mom called from her bedroom to exclaim “Turn on Larry King, there was terrorism!”  I was shocked, because I remain connected to the news in, all the time, and I hadn’t heard about this. ***  When I turned to my favorite news channel I was shocked to see that I had heard about this story a few hours earlier, but in a much less alarmist, and blander state.

That same morning I did read about a black guy who had fireworks on a plane.  I thought it strange, reckless, and stupid but nothing more than that.  Then I checked the news of the day.  “Black guy” had morphed into “Nigerian” and then into “Arab with al-Qaeda ties”.  “Fireworks” morphed into “explosive liquid” into “incendiary powder with terroristic intentions”.  “Plane” even morphed into “a flight from a corrupt war torn country with terrorist affiliations” and then to…well…”plane”.  This was the crux of the conversation I had with Brosquire J on that day.  The immediate need for information manifests itself as inaccurate guesses.  With a 24-hour news station, there needs to be news ALL THE TIME.  Be it accurate, funny, outlandish, hypothetical or conjectural, the time slots to be filling; just like that cake.

All morning I was eating that paper towel cake, but I didn’t know it.  The more I chewed, the more upset I got.  As the story finally began to unravel near the end of the day, I figured out that there was a chocolate cake, it just takes time to make:

On Christmas Eve, a 23 year old Nigerian man boarded a plane in Lagos, Nigeria, changed planes in Amsterdam, and after 20 hours of flight he decided it the proper time to light an incendiary powder device, as the plane was making its final descent into Detroit.  More brave passengers and crew members, who managed to subdue to him, thwarted disaster.

*She was so cute then, and now…

**I am NOT trusting a kitchen that produces paper towel cakes, even if Claire Huxtable cooked them

**Blackberry, computer, television, radio….its more of an info-addiction.

9/11

On September 11th 2001, I vividly remember waking up, groggily (as I often did in college) and heading to class.  I tried to rouse my roommate out of bed, but he was not having it*, so I headed to Electrical Engineering alone.  I then walked across campus to Italian class and I remember someone mentioning something about a plane crash.  I didn’t think much of it then, but as the events of the day unfolded, I joined the rest of the nation in a state of utter confusion and catatonia.

As a native New Yorker who went to college in the Northeast, I felt rather connected to those awful events, but I was blessed enough to not have them affect anyone in my immediate or extended family.  I have nothing but the utmost sympathy for those who have had to go through the utter heartbreak of that tragedy.

Its been 7 years since that day, and I can go into precise detail as to my every movement, interaction, and location on that day and the next.  The lucidity is frightening, as there are few days in my life that afford such clarity.  Each year since the towers fell on that crisp Tuesday morning, I begin to wonder if the constant remembrances do more harm than good.  Each and every person who perished is an indelible fiber of the fabric of American History, yet I can’t help but wonder if these annual moments of silence are doing good for anyone.  The nation will never forget, but what if some people want these scars to heal and the wounds to close.  The enormous hole in the ground in New York City, and the memorials in both Washington and Pennsylvania serve as constant reminders of what we shall never forget.  My issue lies with the ridiculously perverse re-hasing of the incidents, capped off by MSNBC’s egregiously callous decision to re-air their live broadcast of the planes hitting the towers and their eventual collapse.***

I have had personal tragedies in my life, ones that I try to honor everyday.  I have certainly appreciated people’s well wishes over the years, but if I had to live out the events through video, politics, or endless media commentary, I’d be furious.  The live footage of what happened that day should be archived, and the survivors and families will be well served if the media showed decorum and left the memorials to those who wanted and needed it.  Giving this a try next year may begin to heal not only those directly affected, but also the rest of our great country.

*Don’t worry he did very well for him, he’s a lawyer now.  Class really isn’t necessary**

**Just kidding, class is INDEED necessary

***If this helps anyone, in ANY way, please let me know how