911 - Remember - Lest We Not Forget

cyvideo

cyvideo

Veteran
I was in the studio late in the evening running off TC window dubs from SP to VHS to drop off at a producer's house around midnight. While the dubs were going through I was having a coffee and watching a Spike Lee doco on Muhammad Ali when a lower third crawl came across the screen announcing that a plane had hit one of the WTC towers. A few minutes later they broke the transmission to say we are going live to New York. I'll never forget the next couple of hours. Like many others who witnessed that day of infamy. I took the VHS dubs around to the producer's house and said I'm sorry I'm late but I've been glued to the TV with the WTC attacks. "What attacks?" he asked. Apparently, I had just woken him. He and I sat for the next two hours watching the nightmare of 911 unfold. I finally got home and woke my better half. It's a brave person who does that! She abused me and said why the hell do I want to watch a movie now. I said, "Honey this is no movie this is happening while we watch." For some of you younger guys, this may only be an older person's memory. Guaranteed whoever witnessed and experienced that event will have it burnt into their lives forever. How it must have felt to be a New Yorker I have no idea.
Totally unimaginable.

What it does show me though is that in these troubled times our American cousins, some of who need masks yet once again can be totally non-partisan and can pull together like virtually no other country in existence. They can take on almost any threat and challenge. USA you can do it. Here's looking to better times ahead. Stay safe all.

Chris Young

 
I was on my way to a recording studio here in Los Angeles (Margarita Mix in Santa Monica) when the news of the second plane came over the radio - I had been watching the first plane's news as I was getting ready to leave for work that morning. Eventually the freeway signs switched to "LAX CLOSED". When I got to the studio, our voice-over guy didn't show up (probably the smart thing to do), and that was the case for many of the other studios. But one guy from William Morris had shown up, and he was nice enough to read all of the scripts from the various ad agencies before we all went home.
 
That was a really touching post, chris.

I was a freshman in high school in upstate New York during 9/11. I heard the announcement during biology class. It certainly shattered our collective sense of security
 
I was in elementary school when the coverage of JFK's assassination hit the news .... remember running home with the sense that
not all in the world was good.

On my way to the hospital when 9/11 occurred ... watched the videos on the screen in the doctor's lounge/dressing room ...
within a few days traveled from California to Texas to interview for a new position ... maybe five people on the plane.

For many ... it was a loss of the sense that innocence was a guarantee ... previous generations knew and confronted the evil
that continues to rear its ugly head ...

Looking forward it is as if a large percentage of the persons in the US have lost any sense of center ... and deny the call to stand in
the gap. Not an encouraging viewpoint looking forward.

I fall back to A Christmas Carol ... Tiny Tim ... "May God Bless Us All" .... and forgive our lack of faith, courage and integrity.

Rant over ... back to the test pattern that presently defines our best moments.
 
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I was living in a rooming house in Ontario Canada. One of the roomies wakes me up and sais "The States are being attacked." After not understanding what he meant he said "Turn on the T.V".

All aircraft in Canada were ordered to land except for military. Locally the jets here were zooming around everywhere at very high speed and low altitude it seemed. If felt so reassuring to know they were up there and watching out for us.
We didn't specifically know in those moments who was attacking the U.S.
 
cyvideo said:
I was in the studio late in the evening running off TC window dubs from SP to VHS to drop off at a producer's house around midnight. While the dubs were going through I was having a coffee and watching a Spike Lee doco on Muhammad Ali when a lower third crawl came across the screen announcing that a plane had hit one of the WTC towers. A few minutes later they broke the transmission to say we are going live to New York. I'll never forget the next couple of hours. Like many others who witnessed that day of infamy. I took the VHS dubs around to the producer's house and said I'm sorry I'm late but I've been glued to the TV with the WTC attacks. "What attacks?" he asked. Apparently, I had just woken him. He and I sat for the next two hours watching the nightmare of 911 unfold. I finally got home and woke my better half. It's a brave person who does that! She abused me and said why the hell do I want to watch a movie now. I said, "Honey this is no movie this is happening while we watch." For some of you younger guys, this may only be an older person's memory. Guaranteed whoever witnessed and experienced that event will have it burnt into their lives forever. How it must have felt to be a New Yorker I have no idea.
Totally unimaginable.

What it does show me though is that in these troubled times our American cousins, some of who need masks yet once again can be totally non-partisan and can pull together like virtually no other country in existence. They can take on almost any threat and challenge. USA you can do it. Here's looking to better times ahead. Stay safe all.

Chris Young

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apology if this is inappropriate, but you mean "Lest we forget".

"Lest we not forget" is expressing concern that we will fail to forget.
 
JPNola said:
apology if this is inappropriate, but you mean "Lest we forget".

"Lest we not forget" is expressing concern that we will fail to forget.
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I stand corrected Sir.

It was very late at night just before I turned in and my brain was mumbling along. I should have said "Lest we do not forget." or as you say "Lest we forget." which is from Kipling's poem Recessional. Lest we forget was the refrain of "Recessional" which was to become one of Kipling's most famous poems, about duty and the decline of empire. As anyone who went through the English educational system would know as it was pounded into us! Indeed we must not forget. Sorry it got lost in translation somewhere :) Stay well all.

Chris Young
 
Chris

Education that allows us to recall use and extrapolate to future events is priceless

Worth the trauma we perceived in the process ... we are today that which we could not imagine then ... which impels
us to pay forward the trust imparted ...

May we find but a few receptive souls who will resist the deceptive spirit of this age

Truth fidelity and love seem to be of a different time ... but in reality they are extant if one looks past the
shallow wisdom of this age.

Kipling Milton Dostoyevsky Stegner ... a long forgotten list of voices that impell us to something better than
what most accommodate today
 
ahalpert said:
That was a really touching post, chris.

I was a freshman in high school in upstate New York during 9/11. I heard the announcement during biology class. It certainly shattered our collective sense of security
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Regards Mr. A.

There are historical moments in life you you never forget. That was one of them. Strange that two of the biggest in my life are American. The other. I had just pulled up on my motorcycle outside the Clock Tower Cafe in Exeter in the UK. Friday evening and was expecting to encounter the normal noisy motorcycle crowd on my entry. It was not to be. I was confronted with a deathly silence with everyone watching the TV. Breaking news! President Kennedy has just been shot. Will never forget that.

My darkest moments of historical memory are from Aberfan in '66. I was the first cameraman in there. Rolling within two hours of the event. Was there for three days until I was pulled out along with my assistant as we were both close to being useless through lack of sleep. On occasions I still have the odd dream about that disaster.

Chris Young

EDIT: It was the saddest most depressing presser I've ever covered when they called the first one. Will never forget the local anger.


 
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I worked with a Producer from NYC shortly after 9/11. I think it was the following Summer. This man, his name is John, is one of the happiest people I've ever met. Smiling all the time. A bounce in his step. I'd been working with John for a week or so when a mutual acquaintance informed me that John's brother, who he was extremely close with, had been killed in the 9/11 attack. It was the first I'd known anyone who lost a loved one.

John and I were putting in very long days together on a film set and as a result becoming fast friends. He was easy to get along with. Because of his ease and the closeness we had developed in short order, I asked him something over a beer after work, something I hesitated to ask despite his easy disposition.

I asked John how he could manage to be so happy a person given the tragedy he had suffered less than a year prior. I remember his response and the manner in which he delivered it as if it was yesterday. He paused just a bit, a smile lit up his face, and these exact words were his response:

"I am happy because that's how I honor my brother's life. It's what he would want. I've been given days he was not. And I refuse to enable hate with darkness in return."

It's probably the most beautiful thing I've ever heard said to me.

"I refuse to enable hate with darkness in return."


9:11.jpg
 
docmoore said:
Chris

Education that allows us to recall use and extrapolate to future events is priceless

Worth the trauma we perceived in the process ... we are today that which we could not imagine then ... which impels
us to pay forward the trust imparted ...

May we find but a few receptive souls who will resist the deceptive spirit of this age

Truth fidelity and love seem to be of a different time ... but in reality they are extant if one looks past the
shallow wisdom of this age.

Kipling Milton Dostoyevsky Stegner ... a long forgotten list of voices that impell us to something better than
what most accommodate today
Click to expand...

Succinctly stated Docmoore. I live in hope that there is something, some depth in our human character that will as you say "... impell us to something better..."

Chris Young
 
JPNola said:
It's probably the most beautiful thing I've ever heard said to me.

"I refuse to enable hate with darkness in return."
Click to expand...

Beautiful story JP. Kind of thing that becomes a pivotal memory that can influence your life in subtle ways well into your future years.

Chris Young
 
JPNola said:
"I refuse to enable hate with darkness in return."
Click to expand...

^ If only we all lived that way.

Thanks for the wonderful sentiment, in your post, Chris. And agree that certain historical moments do always stay with you. It's hard for me to believe it's been 19 years ago. It was an eye-opening day for me on many levels.... hearing the live report of the first plane hitting and then seeing the 2nd plane hit. With that sinking feeling there might be possibly more to come.
Along with all the tragedy, I also learned a valuable insight about (or into) the company & people I was working for at the time. It was a small production company and we were scheduled to re-shoot interviews with an ad agency for a rather inconsequential video marketing a rather inconsequential service. So just a few hours after that enormous tragedy, that is just what we did. I was frankly appalled and shocked that no one (the client, the agency or the prod co) postponed the shoot. Made me realize some horrible truths about those folks and lack of, I dunno, call it "character". I had never considered myself very patriotic... but not stopping work that day seemed wrong.

Sometimes, it's during the most difficult of times, you find the real soul or true nature of someone. An important lesson for those just starting out. It's all good... until it's not.
 
markfpv said:
^ If only we all lived that way... Sometimes, it's during the most difficult of times, you find the real soul or true nature of someone. An important lesson for those just starting out. It's all good... until it's not.
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markfpv. Very much so.

Hence there are times when Goethe's quote “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” that really defines those moments where certain people can inspire in us the desire to be a better person, and a lot of that comes from helping one another in times of trial and tribulation. That's why I used that cameraman's clip. Some of his first words being "I hope I live, I hope I live... Okay I need to go now and find people who need help... Because I don't think I'm one of them." Calm. controlled and immediately thinking of others less fortunate. In battle he's the sort of comrade to have next to you. He would have your back and you would like to believe you would have his. A true sign and test of character when as you say "It's all good... until it's not."

Chris Young
 
Sorry I did not see this sooner. What a great, thought-provoking and inspirational thread. Really touched by everyone's contribution - made me stop for a moment and think about the heroism of those who protect us and especially for the people who lost so much. I am humbled and grateful. Hope lots of folks see and read what you all have said. Appreciated!!

B
 
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