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911 by Kinzie This is how heartbeat started ... I spent the summer of 2001 in Canada with friends and family before flying off for my first visit to New York City. It was a short business trip and I hadn't fixed my schedule for the return date to Hong Kong. My clients had advised giving the World Trade Centre a miss – they said it was highly over-rated. At the time, I didn’t even know what they were talking about so I took their advice. The week was been spent exploring the city with my trusty Pentax K1000 loaded with black & white film. The weather had been perfect and I fell in love with the city. Upon my first glimpse of the towers from a boat tour Sunday evening, my last night in the city, what I saw was the very best vantage point for views of the entire city. I immediately started thinking of how I could reschedule my flight so I could take a trip to the viewing deck. With clear blue morning skies, I imagined the shots I could get from the top of the city in the early morning. I realized, however, that I would have to miss my 7am flight the next morning to call the airline and try to reschedule for Wednesday morning so I could go up to the Top of the World on Tuesday morning, 11 September 2001. After careful consideration, I realized that it wasn’t worth taking the risk of not getting the flight on Wednesday and by then I was really missing my own pillow at home in Hong Kong. I flew out of JFK in the early hours of 9/10 and was on the plane just hours from Chek Lap Kok when the towers fell. By the time I arrived in my flat, CNN had just completed the final edit of the famous footage and I was stunned – my brain didn’t want to believe that the scenes were news and not just another so-called blockbuster action movie. I started writing a short email to let everyone know I was home safe, and this is the message that resulted. It's useful to reflect on from time to time.
-----Original message----- From: kinzie Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2001 12:03 pm To: undisclosed recipients Subject: a day for prayer - not anger, blame or fear 9/11 I flew in from New York City last night. I have never felt so lucky to be home. Join me in prayers for patience and understanding as we all recover from the shock of this tragedy. Join me in celebration of the power of community as we witness the spirit of the people coming together to help each other in recovery. Join me in prayers for compassion and strength of the human heart. Join me in prayers for understanding in our world community in the Coming days as our leaders try to make sense of why this has happened. Join me in prayers to move forward in love not fear or anger. Join me in prayers that the world will see this opportunity To come together to support peace in a spirit of cooperation. Join me in prayers of understanding for those who see terrorism as a solution. Join me in celebration of the strength of humanity shown in Acts of heroism on the streets of America and around the world. Join me in prayers of gratitude for all that I have and help me To see ways that I can share what I have where it is needed. Join people everywhere in our belief in tomorrow as we choose to see this As a reminder of how fragile our life is on this planet we all call home. Join me as I light a candle for friends and family everywhere To help us to help each other heal from this tragic awakening.
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