-^-for posterity-^-

just a few days ago was the three year anniversary of the september 11th terrorist happening, as i’m sure you are all well aware.

some of my very alert friends also took note of the day and decided to invite me out for supper and a special commemoration coffee later on.

dinner was nice and we didn’t focus too much on 9/11. after supper, which took place on a small, wooden porch hanging over a swollen river, we headed off to the tallest building in long xuyen. my friends wanted to recreate the event.

the tallest building in long xuyen is a hotel that stretches six stories up. across from the hotel is a trade center that had just been demolished. it was demolished quickly and had fallen in upon itself. it was, originally, a tall, majestic building that some people would call the ‘circus’ because it’s metal roof stretched up to a point like a circus tent. it was about three hundred feet square.

we sat on the roof overlooking this fallen building. it was rather disturbing, to tell you the truth. the event was recreated as well as would be possible in the mekong and i felt strangely like i was actually near a place where a tragic event recently took place.

then there were the speeches. we stood up and talked about reconciliation, learning about culture and how we could grow as people closer to one another. we talked about the horrors of terrorism, about our generation and how this would inadvertently shape us. one rather passionate speech was given as a giant thunderhead passed in the distance.

the speaker stood and talked about war and the innocent lives that are lost as the sky darkened and lightning ominously struck a little too close for my comfort but he didn’t seem to mind and continued talking in a smooth but passionate voice about the suffering he has vicariously experienced at the hands of metal balls that fall from cylindrical metal planes only to explode wantonly. he said we needed to understand culture to grow together in peace. he talked and the gods concurred and applauded with their lightning and tried to wake our collective conscience with their thunder.