Listening to Stories

I've been memorializing Sept. 11 victims by listening to NPR's StoryCorps recordings. They are two-minute conversations or reflections, and it's amazing how much can be packed into two minutes. I've been sitting here listening as I watch a squirrel wrestle a walnut off our tree. I remember clearly where I was on the day itself, standing pregnant with Merry, looking at the footage on a classroom TV, realizing that my high school freshmen would never forget that day. At one point, someone suggested we turn off the TV, but it was important to watch, to be part of the tragedy. I looked outside to the lawn beneath a great pine, finding comfort in a squirrel, to whom the day was as sunny and normal as ever. Later I excused myself to call my mother back in Illinois, to make sure that my father, who was traveling that day, was okay. Deep down, I knew he hadn't been on the destroyed planes, but I wanted an excuse to hear my mother's voice.

It's easy to feel detached now from the tragedy that has been so wrapped in political agendas. But listening to the simple stories of victims and their loved ones has refocused me. Beverly Eckert's reflections on page two are particularly moving. Listen to them here: http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifNPR STORYCORPS: SEPT. 11.