A blue sky today, and then

A fair day at the 9/11 Memorial

 

By Ray O’Hanlon

We are lately much focused on weather.

And this morning in New York the weather was worth focusing on.

It was a fine morning, a touch of early fall, almost chilly, but with a promise of warming up as the day progressed.

Certainly it was a better prospect than so many were facing this eleventh day of September, or have faced in the past few days.

Hurricane Irma is still churning. The recovery from Harvey is yet in its infancy.

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But in New York, in Manhattan, there was no need to worry about a hurricane though, after the likes of Sandy, Irene, Floyd and others, the idea is always in the local collective mind…somewhere.

But not so much today.

Still, the weather was a prompter, a reminder of this day sixteen years ago.

That day, September 11, 2001, was as near perfect as you can get.

And because of that it will always stand in jarring contrast to the storm unleashed by hate-filled men.

Today, September 11, 2017 - now called Patriot Day - isn’t quite up to 9/11 standards in meteorological terms.

And, thankfully, this latest anniversary of that day sixteen short years ago is not being besmirched by hateful men.

So those who directly faced into 9/11 in New York, Washington, D.C., and in Pennsylvania, can contemplate a fair day, though at all moments being rightly conscious of what our fellow citizens are having to cope with in Texas, Florida and other states.

And in the Caribbean. And in Mexico where nature struck a one-two blow by way of a hurricane and earthquake

If it’s not one thing it’s the other.

What a wonderful world it would be if we only had to battle the consequences of natural disasters.

How much better all of us would be if our limited resources did not have to be consumed by human conflict.

Yes, as if we didn’t have enough on our plates we have the ability to ruin even the fairest day with the foulest of deeds.

That said, there are always reasons for hope.

The stricken of 9/11 were aided by their fellow Americans from all corners of the nation.

And Americans from all corners of the nation have, and will, respond to the stricken in Florida, Texas, and elsewhere.

The foulest of human deeds are still overwhelmed by the most noble.

And that should warm our hearts, like a chilly morning with the promise of warmth as the day unfolds.

 

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