Overwrought

I choose not to make a giant deal out of 9/11 anniversaries.

I remember where I was that day, remember that my dad was in DC on his way to the Capitol that morning and turned around back to his hotel when he heard about the Pentagon on the radio, and that I couldn’t get a hold of him for several hours. It was, and remains, one of the most profoundly unsettling days of my life.

I used to think that to get past it, I’d have to dig deep into those feelings and dwell in them in order to understand them and move past them. That didn’t work and always just made me feel worse. Now I acknowledge the awful memories exist, say a quick thank you to all the first responders that make society livable, and try to move on, never forgetting, but knowing that our continued prosperity is the greatest testament to those we lost.

If the crazy morass of Facebook is any indication of the rest of the world, I am relatively alone in my approach. Most of those in my friend group choose to make a quick tribute, which is fine. Some, however, will bleed all over their page with overwrought screeds and bizarre paintings of eagles crying and shit shared from ridiculous pages I didn’t even know existed. This is less fine. And then there are those posts which defy description.

My friend Stephen, who is probably the funniest person I’ve ever known, sent the above photo to me with the caption: I almost feel bad laughing so hard at it. Almost.

I love everything about this picture. It really has everything. It’s sentimental tribute art created by someone who doesn’t understand art. Or tributes. Or sentimentality. If the towers are standing, what’s the fireman crying about? And where is this photo taken from? At that angle, I’m pretty sure it’s New Jersey. What’s he doing over there? And why aren’t those angels helping Danny Glover’s team win the pennant so Joseph Gordon Levitt’s dad will take him back? What, different angels? Yeah, right. They’re drawn the exact same way. And appear to have the same cheese quotient.

This photo should come with an audio file that plays tuba music.

I’m happy the 9/11 anniversary has passed. Best wishes to you all.

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