“It’s raining, but there ain’t a cloud in the sky,” sang Bruce Springsteen in a song on an album about the horrors of the attack on Sept. 11, 2001. Although debris, blood, and human remains filled the sky after the were Twin Towers struck by two jet airliners in a terrorist attack that day, the song “Waitin’ On A Sunny Day” has become a kind of anthem of hope for a post-9/11 world and is one of the most requested on Springsteen’s concert tours.
On the 15th anniversary of that attack, gray clouds hovered briefly over the site of the World Trade Center and the Jersey City waterfront, but no rain fell on the upturned faces of those who came to remember.
Time steals memory, but apparently not the details of that day, of where you stood when the Twin Towers fell, or even the moment when the two planes struck.
People remember details like that. What they forget are the subtler details, the scent of the smoldering air as the wind blew the smoke across the Hudson River or the gritty feel of the dust that covered them as they fled down the narrow streets of lower Manhattan.
Some people have no memory of the attack at all. They were too young, or not even born when the historic events occurred, so the feelings of that day escape them, much in the same way feelings associated with the attack on Pearl Harbor were unknown so many Baby Boomers.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years.” – Steven Fulop
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Springsteen in another song wrote about cops, firefighters and emergency responders and how they ran into the fire. Mayor Steven Fulop celebrated the memory of the cops living and deceased who went against all human instinct and charged into the fire when nature usually impelled people to run away.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years,” Fulop said. Part of the reason for the ceremony, he said, was to try to get back the feeling of unity as a nation that America had at that time.
Councilman Richard Boggiano said he remembered standing on Exchange Place and watching watched the events unfold as firefighters, cops, and EMTs responded to the crisis, helping the victims who made the crossing from New York. Two of his sons ultimately served in the war in Iraq, and he said he had to “sweat it out,” waiting for their return.
“We have to make sure we never forget,” he said. “This ceremony must always happen in Jersey City.”
Others said the memory of the time 15 years ago was one of finding “hope in the midst of hopelessness,” as people helped each other.
Robert Luckritz, executive director of EMS for Jersey City Medical Center, said ceremonies like this are necessary to acquaint those who were too young with the impact of the attacks.
With flags unfurled, police and fire fighters paid tribute to their own fallen as well as the 37 Jersey City residents who perished in the attacks.
The sound of bagpipes echoed through the canyons of Jersey City’s waterfront, soulful and sad, evoking feelings that mere facts seemed incapable of arousing, followed by other performances by local artists such as Carol Lester, Paul Baccash, Arnold Valentino and others, filling the air with songs that had long come to symbolize emotional moments such as “Tears in Heaven,” written by Eric Clapton, or “Imagine” by John Lennon.
And as with communities mourning elsewhere, Jersey City’s ceremony included the reading of the names, each accompanied by the toll of a bell, adding to the sadness of remembrance, and in a desperate effort to convey to others the intense feelings of that day, still lingering in those who survived, still needing to be expressed, if only once a year in moments like this.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.