I had marked on my calendar for today to start working on an entry form for a book award. So I fished out the application from my files (yes, I filed something and put it in the right place!), where it had been since, oh, July. It was part entry form/information about the award, and part promo for the association's conference, which happens to be in New York City in May. And it unfolds into a lovely poster of lower Manhattan. Featured prominently, as you must imagine, is the World Trade Center.
The world has changed so much that it really is hard to go back and remember what it was like before September 11. I mean, my day-to-day life hasn't changed, but it's the weird little things. Like finding an invoice dated September 12 and thinking, "Somebody sent out an invoice that day?" even though we were doing business here, as well. Like going to a docent meeting at the Smithsonian and having a 20 minute discussion about security measures. Like figuring out the logistics of bringing Christmas presents to Oregon on a plane. Like having the entire first section of The Washington Post be devoted to Afghanistan. To me the whole war on Afghanistan (oops, I meant the Taliban) seems so disconnected from the events in September.
And that's another thing. It's fascinating hearing how people refer to the bombings. "The bombings." "September 11." "9-11." "The events in September." "The recent events." "The recent tragedies." "Attacks." "Terrorism."
How did the bombings lead to anthrax? How did they lead to bombing the hell out of a country the other side of the globe? How can the United States feel justified in telling a new Afghanistan government what to do? How could we help the Northern Alliance boot the Taliban, then decide we're not sure about them? Are we going to do anything about the suicide bombings in Israel? Will that make the world hate us even more?
And yet...life is going on. I'm still having fun, looking forward to Christmas, going out with friends, enjoying life in general. But life in general has become a lot more confusing.
Current song in my head:
"Show Me the Way to Go Home"