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[Loco Mo]

Normandie:  Thank you.  I didn't know Paul was there at the time.

Hello Goodbye:  Thank you for the information about the Dakota.  I wonder how John would have reacted and what he would have said.  George Harrison died several months later (11/29/2001).  Where was George living then?

I just finished watching Oliver Stone's 2006 movie, World Trade Center.  It was very powerful and very moving.  It's been 20 years but until today, I haven't ever devoted a lot of time to thinking about it.  For some reason, I decided to watch this 2 hour movie and I did so without distraction or breaks.

Maybe I haven't wanted to think about it all this time.  I don't know.  For some reason, it feels very relevant in today's world.  If there's ever a repeat of a terrorist event of this nature, it could potentially be far worse.  Anything that would involve the utilization of nuclear missiles would be off the charts in terms of damages and fatalities.  Is such a tragedy inevitable?

[Normandie]

I just finished watching Oliver Stone's 2006 movie, World Trade Center.  It was very powerful and very moving. 

Loco Mo, if you want a true sense of the horror of that day, watch "9/11": I had my daughters watch it (my son was too young). It was the most stressful thing I've ever watched. I truly felt that if I heard the sound of one more body slamming into the ground I would start screaming and not be able to stop. I had to leave the room as we watched, but I forced myself to endure that which others witnessed first hand that day. I cannot even begin to imagine the PTSD.

watch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_(2002_film)

[Hello Goodbye]

Maybe I haven't wanted to think about it all this time.  I don't know.  For some reason, it feels very relevant in today's world.  If there's ever a repeat of a terrorist event of this nature, it could potentially be far worse.  Anything that would involve the utilization of nuclear missiles would be off the charts in terms of damages and fatalities.  Is such a tragedy inevitable?

Loco, considering what has happened over the past few weeks, I'm sad to say that another terrorist event of this nature might indeed be possible. 

Could it be potentially far worse?  Yes. 

Is such a tragedy inevitable?  Only if we allow it to be.

[blmeanie]

I had a high school friend was working and died in the tower that day.  Incredibly sad day.  The memorial in NYC is amazing, if you have not seen it I highly recommend it, not easy but important part of history unfortunately.  The town I grew up in lost 3 people that day, two on planes and my hs friend in the tower.  They have built a memorial garden and commemorate the day every year in a ceremony.  Here is a video produced about the garden and the people.

https://youtu.be/6f9n3vA5UCg

[Hello Goodbye]

Last night

[Normandie]

I had a high school friend was working and died in the tower that day.  Incredibly sad day.   The town I grew up in lost 3 people that day, two on planes and my hs friend in the tower. 

   So tragic. I live too far away from my hometown to know whether anyone who hails from there was lost, but at least three people at my daughters' daycare were killed that day, 2 on one of the flights and 1 at the Pentagon.

The memorial in NYC is amazing, if you have not seen it I highly recommend it, not easy but important part of history unfortunately.

I have not (yet) seen it, but my daughters had the opportunity to go, their senior year of high school. I think that finally imprinted on them the enormity of the tragedy. I never let them forget; I remind them every September 11. My son was supposed to go last year but the trip was canceled because of the pandemic. I agree it is—unfortunately, as you noted—an important part of history.

They have built a memorial garden and commemorate the day every year in a ceremony.  Here is a video produced about the garden and the people.

That looks like a beautiful tribute, blmeanie; I skimmed it and will watch it in its entirety soon.

I wanted to quickly tack on this meme I stumbled across that struck a chord:





Of course, anyone who doesn't like Chick-fil-A is just a flat-out awful person. 

[nimrod]

Great photos Baz.

So very sad 


Last night

[Loco Mo]

Normandie:  I finally acted upon your suggestion to see the movie, 9/11.  However, I watched the wrong one.  Whoopie Goldberg was in that one.  I found the movie to be very melodramatic and very moving.  However, reviews were mostly negative and critics accused the producer of being exploitative.  I'm not sure of what they mean by that.  It was the story of people trapped in an elevator.  I think it was based on some truth but was fictionalized mostly.  Even so, it really gave me a sense of the horrible situation people faced who were trapped in elevators.  What a terrible way to die!

So, I re-read your suggestion and saw that the movie you recommended was filmed by the Naudet brothers.  So, that's on my agenda now.  I hope to watch it soon.

Thanks again.

[Normandie]

So, I re-read your suggestion and saw that the movie you recommended was filmed by the Naudet brothers.  So, that's on my agenda now.  I hope to watch it soon.

Please let us know what you think after you have watched it, Loco Mo. 

Even so, it really gave me a sense of the horrible situation people faced who were trapped in elevators.  What a terrible way to die!

Agreed! An even more horrifying elevator trauma was on the Lusitania. Apparently the elevators were full when it was struck by a torpedo, and either that or the subsequent explosion immediately cut off the power to the ship. I had already told me my kids that story before my dad treated us to a cruise in 2014. We all took the stairs the whole time. 

[Loco Mo]

Normandie:

Please let us know what you think after you have watched it, Loco Mo. 

I definitely will.  Also, I plan to read about the Lusitania. 

[Normandie]

Also, I plan to read about the Lusitania.

<trying not to hyperventilate  > That's great, Loco Mo! She was so gorgeous, and I find it amazing that she sank in only 18 minutes. A ship that size!

Here's a quick suggestion for a good place to start: Hoehling and Hoehling's The Last Voyage of the Lusitania. It's considered the classic starting point.

[Loco Mo]

Here's a quick suggestion for a good place to start: Hoehling and Hoehling's The Last Voyage of the Lusitania. It's considered the classic starting point.

I promise to read it.  I have another book I need to finish first.

[Loco Mo]

Normandie:  Well, I'm reading the "The Last Voyage."  It's kind of slow going because I'm not familiar with a lot of nautical terms.  Also, it's depressing knowing that so many people are destined to die in that tragedy.  It's really sad that a captain in a U-Boat had the power to press a button that would end the lives of so many defenseless people.

[Normandie]

Normandie:  Well, I'm reading the "The Last Voyage."  It's kind of slow going because I'm not familiar with a lot of nautical terms. 

Not to worry, Loco Mo; when I started my ocean liner reading I did not know the difference between port and starboard, or even (!) between bow and stern. If I can learn, anyone can. 

Also, it's depressing knowing that so many people are destined to die in that tragedy.  It's really sad that a captain in a U-Boat had the power to press a button that would end the lives of so many defenseless people.

Well, in fairness —  — to Walther Schwieger, I don't think he realized the ship was going to sink that fast; she apparently did so because of the secondary explosion that was caused by either munitions she was carrying or a coal dust explosion; it's still a hotly debated topic to this day. But yes, I wholeheartedly agree that it's sad that the fate of so many rested on the shoulders of one man. He died himself in a submarine accident years later. So, karma kicked in.

[Normandie]

Well, in fairness —  — to Walther Schwieger, I don't think he realized the ship was going to sink that fast;

N.B.: I wasn't trying to excuse Schwieger's actions.

[Loco Mo]

Normandie:  I finally finished "The Last Voyage."  I also read "The Lusitania's Last Voyage" by Charles E. Lauriat, Jr., (book seller and saloon passenger).

Both of these were intense reads.  The survivors' accounts of what they witnessed really impacted me emotionally.  I can't imagine the horror and shock people faced at the onset of the torpedo blast and the short period of time (est. 20 minutes) they had left in which to die (1,197 victims).  It is a shame the way the portholes were open thus allowing the water to flow in faster as well as the way some people improperly fastened their life belts.  Also, some life boats failed (I don't know how many) because they couldn't break them free from the davits quickly enough with some of the boats therefore crashing into the ocean while capsizing (even breaking) and casting their passengers into the water.

The Last Voyage took me a while to read.  I would say that I really began reading intently about 3/4s through and toward the end.  I just couldn't put the book down from that point forward.  The survivor accounts absorbed my complete attention.

ADDTIONALLY:  I watched the Naudet Brothers 9/11 documentary.  That was hard to watch.  Unbelievably, they were there filming before and after the event occurred.  Each of the brothers almost died when the buildings collapsed.  I forced myself to watch.  It was hard.  Wow!  It seemed that if you didn't get crushed to death from the falling debris that your life was also at risk from the density of thick dust that virtually began choking your lungs.  And you couldn't see either because your eyes were full of the stuff.  I wonder how many people actually suffocated due to the dust alone.  And that wasn't the end of the dust hazard.  Now they've found many survivors have COPD from it all these years later.  COPD appears to be untreatable.  Because - how can you clean the lungs of the debris?  Also, I would think many of the cells in the lungs have died as a result and it is not possible to regenerate them.

So, I did my homework as assigned (suggested) by my amazing instructor, Ms. Normandie.  Thank you for guiding me to the movie and the book.  What have I learned from this?  Well, maybe I'll reveal that in another post ... maybe. 

[Loco Mo]

This was also a very good book.  "Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11's Last Survivor by Genelle Guzman-McMillan."  Genelle was stuck in the rubble and ensuing death was close and certain.  Without the rescuers there was no hope, because her body was totally wedged in the rubble with a concrete(?) beam over her legs and boulders(?) holding her head in place so that she couldn't move.  Also, her right arm was stuck behind her leg.  She was totally blind because of the debris.  It was an incredible ordeal (27 hours).  The first half of the book was the most powerful part to me because she describes the hours prior to her rescue.  Later she speculates about God and her faith in Him.  She will probably lose a lot of readers at that point.  I think many people cannot understand how a good and caring God could allow tragedies like this.  So, either God is indifferent or simply does not exist (or who knows what else?).  Something amazing to note is that she said she's not claustrophobic and that helped her to endure the ordeal.  I honestly don't understand how she mentally survived the experience.  There was so much pain and hopelessness.  But she was rescued by something beyond herself - that is, other human beings who put their own lives at risk to save hers.  That was a very dangerous environment for rescuers to be in because of the constant danger of further collapse as well as not knowing what you're stepping onto - maybe some shredded metal and concrete - or maybe a 20 foot deep abyss in which to drop to your own imprisonment or death.

[Normandie]

Normandie:  I finally finished "The Last Voyage."  I also read "The Lusitania's Last Voyage" by Charles E. Lauriat, Jr., (book seller and saloon passenger).

That was my very first Lusitania book, and my first eBay purchase! I'm afraid to touch my copy. Where did you find yours?

Both of these were intense reads.  The survivors' accounts of what they witnessed really impacted me emotionally.  I can't imagine the horror and shock people faced at the onset of the torpedo blast and the short period of time (est. 20 minutes) they had left in which to die (1,197 victims).  It is a shame the way the portholes were open thus allowing the water to flow in faster as well as the way some people improperly fastened their life belts.  Also, some life boats failed (I don't know how many) because they couldn't break them free from the davits quickly enough with some of the boats therefore crashing into the ocean while capsizing (even breaking) and casting their passengers into the water.

I was just telling my friends about this at coffee last week: how the severe list prevented the launching of almost all of the lifeboats, and how many people put their life belts on incorrectly, thus forcing their heads toward the water. 

The Last Voyage took me a while to read.  I would say that I really began reading intently about 3/4s through and toward the end.  I just couldn't put the book down from that point forward.  The survivor accounts absorbed my complete attention.

I'm so happy to hear this! It is a truly absorbing, and sad, tale. I'll have to re-read this again soon.

ADDTIONALLY:  I watched the Naudet Brothers 9/11 documentary.  That was hard to watch.  Unbelievably, they were there filming before and after the event occurred.  Each of the brothers almost died when the buildings collapsed.  I forced myself to watch.  It was hard. 
So, I did my homework as assigned (suggested) by my amazing instructor, Ms. Normandie.  Thank you for guiding me to the movie and the book. 

I agree; this was really tough to watch. The Naudet brothers were the only ones who captured footage of the first plane to strike the WTC. It's amazing to watch on the video—you can hear the noise of the plane being so low, which was strange, and then—boom!—that one brother holding the camera lifted it to the sky just in time to capture the horrific event.

What have I learned from this?  Well, maybe I'll reveal that in another post ... maybe.

I'd love to hear more. If you are interested in learning more about the Lusitania, check out Eric Sauder's books and TV interviews. I just saw him on a documentary a few weeks ago. He's such a great person; he's even dived on the wreck—and the submersible got tangled in fishing nets! Fortunately the operator was able to maneuver the submersible free. Eric is so smart, and a genuinely kind person. His brother Bill is brilliant as well, and also very kind, and is a Titanic expert. He was a consultant on the Cameron film.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[Normandie]

This was also a very good book.  "Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11's Last Survivor by Genelle Guzman-McMillan."  G

I hadn't heard of that; I'll have to track this one down.

[Loco Mo]

That was my very first Lusitania book, and my first eBay purchase! I'm afraid to touch my copy. Where did you find yours?

I ordered it on Amazon for Kindle.  Total cost was $14.23.

I also purchased "Angel in the Rubble" for Kindle.  That was $12.65.  So, as you can see, I invested a little bit of money in pursuing my study of the Lusitania catastrophe.

Re:  "I'd love to hear more."  This seems like a homework assignment.  I will have to gather my thoughts and spend some time in consideration of what I've taken away from all this reading.  I can't promise how soon I will provide further feedback.  Now, where is my muse?