DAY NINETY-TWO:Dec. 11:
It has been three months. It seems so very much longer. I found myself trying to recall: Four months? Five?
September 11. October 11. November 11. December 11, 2001.
Considering how many millions of people witnessed the event it may seem surprising to learn that the exact time that the first jet hit the first skyscraper has been a matter of considerable debate. And, as is usually the case with debates of fact, scientists were marshaled to decide the matter. They have concluded that 8:46 a.m. EDT was the moment that the first hijacked jetliner struck the World Trade Center's north tower. This determination was made based on seismograph recordings from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and by the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Command in Colorado Springs, Colo. Until these official determinations were revealed the city of New York cited 8:48 as the time of the attack, and commemorated the one-month memorial ceremony at that time. The police department says that is the time of the first 911 call. But air traffic control centers that were in contact with the jet said the strike occurred at 8:47 a.m.
The truth, according to seismologists at Lamont-Doherty, is that the Richter scale registered a 0.7 tremor at precisely 8:46:26. The second jet crash registered a Richter 0.9 tremor at 9:02:54 a.m. By California standards these are puny tremors, but it is remarkable that the impacts of those jets were sufficient to produce any measurable tremors at a laboratory located 26 miles away.
It will probably be more than a year before these eleventh days of the months cease being time points, at 8:46am, for reflection, anger and sorrow. Newsday marked the date with an extraordinary special newspaper today filled with powerful photographs and evocative writing. It can be seen at:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-3months.htmlstory
Down at Ground Zero the commemorative instant was marked by ceremony. Prayers were said by leaders of several different religions, Broadway performers sang, firefighters and police stood at attention and politicians said somber words. These moments are becoming visually less heart-wrenching each month, as the debris pile shrinks and Ground Zero takes on the appearance of a standard, albeit 16 acre, demolition site. Visitors now viewing Ground Zero for the first time cannot possibly experience the emotionally overwhelming sensation the site evoked just a month ago, much less three months past. By April it will be a massive hole. And by the time the hot humid days of summer arrive there will be little to see, and nothing recognizable as the vestiges of five once towering structures, two of which were so tall that clouds often shrouded their upper stories.
At the White House the moment was marked with a drum roll at 8:46am. And President Bush marked the occasion with these remarks:
"In time, this war will end, but our remembrance never will. For those of us who lived through these events, the only marker we'll ever need is the tick of a clock. We'll remember the dead and what we owe them. Today the wrong is being righted and justice is being done. Our enemies saw liberty and thought they saw weakness. Now they see defeat. We still have far to go."
Later today Bush went to the former bastion of male chauvinism, The Citadel in Charleston, North Carolina, where he likened the rapid modernization of U.S. military forces and recent use of smart bombs and high tech weapons to "retooling the engine while you're driving the car." (One hopes somebody is watching the road.)
There were assorted remembrances held at the now-dispersed financial agencies that were once housed downtown. Wall St. mourned its dead. And mourned the gasping economy, aghast to see stalwart moneymaker Merck Pharmaceuticals post a no-profit quarter for the first time in many years. With the market still volatile, and brokerage houses hurting, most companies in the field have told employees they can forget about Christmas bonuses this year. The New York State Comptroller's office predicted today Wall Street firms in New York City will pay out $10 billion in bonuses to 165,000 employees this year, down from $14.3 billion paid to 178,000 workers last year. Now before you roll your eyeballs and ask why you should care about a few millionaires' annual payoffs consider the implications. The decline in bonus payouts could cost the state about $300 million in lost income tax revenue, the federal government $1.5 billion and New York City about $75 million. Moreover, thousands of service workers, restaurants and retailers will feel the pinch, as the usually flamboyant end-of-the-year spending sprees these high-living brokers enjoy will this year fail to materialize.
Tonight the New York City staff of Newsday had its annual Christmas office party, enjoyed with a hefty mix of booze, fun and fast talk. At the back of every employee's mind, however, and top of most discussion, was fear of layoffs. Every newspaper and magazine in this town is hurting - BAD. Ad revenues were already down before September 11 due to the recession, and tanked after the calamity. Every news organization in this town is struggling to save jobs, even at the expense of their ability to report the news as fully as they did three months ago. Pages have been cut, color printing reduced, retirees left unreplaced and small office cuts made everywhere possible. As the New Year approaches and our owners grow anxious about declining profits, the workers in this industry wonder aloud, "Is the CEO going to be an Ebneezer Scrooge circa pre-Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present n Future? Or will he be a beneficent post-Ghosts Scrooge?
Be well. Stay safe. Stand defiant.
Laurie Garrett
