I’m not exactly Captain America when it comes to patriotism or love for my country, however I think it’s fair to say that the events of 9/11 in New York and Washington DC was and is a day to be respected.
In real life I remember hearing people exclaim on the TV and radio that the World Trade Center was demolished by the terrorist attack. I was in shock that day thinking of the senseless loss of life. Politics aside you had to respect what just happened.
Bixyl asked me to check out a live exhibit at the Aero Pines recreation park sim and recreation area in Second Life. When I warped to the sim, I saw an excellent replica of the World Trade Center in memory of said events. To honor the firefighters who risked their lives their day, there was free firefighting clothes to wear to dress up like a real life firefighter. It came with a fire hose you could click to spray water. The exhibit asked that when you walk to the top to wear the fire fighter clothes.Part of the exhibit was to simply have your avatar walk up the stairs to the very top. Just like the real life world trade center it was a tall building to walk up. No five stories to walk up and you’re done it was easily 100 or more. I’m not in top physical shape in real life. I could imagine that was not an easy feat walking up those stairs if that was the real version of Grease. It never crossed my mind to cheat by flying up the stairs. Walking up took a good ten minutes or so.
Before I started my hike up towards the top I saw a video screen like a wide screen TV it played a video of a cameraman following firefighters around on that horrific day. What started as a routine call turned into pure chaos as he followed them around watching the building burn on fire after the plane crash. He also recorded firefighters working hard risking their lives. The video portrayed the second building collapsing and the debris falling all around the area. He went back to the fire house seeing firemen cry as they realized not all their friends made it back. The cameraman, a man with a foreign accent, was devastated after he realized his brother was gone. Further in the video was cleanup where the fire department and more was clearing the debris and more to look for anyone who was still alive. Morale was low as they discovered bodies of dead firefighters and people unlucky enough to be in the way of the collapsed building.
When I got to the top there was a guestbook to share your thoughts. I made a notecard talking about being concerned for my real life sister who lives in the NYC area. Luckily she’s still alive. In addition to that, a little past 9/11 I worked for Sprint as a telemarketer in the Washington DC area. I forget what day it was, but I remember there was a bomb threat in that building. Everyone was sent home. I was fearful of what could happen. That building still stands today, however a bomb threat is still something to take seriously.Watching the video I was distracted by a sound spammer whom I was angry about as I was booted a few times from my dolphin viewer by lag. I was sure to report her and I talked to a woman who said she was pushed down the stairs by people rushing by. Imagine if that was a real life scene. No one should be pushed downstairs in second or real life.
Lexi Abonwood, "... and I got pushed down stairs by people."
Grease Coakes, "Really? That was rude kind of goes against the spirit of 9/11, being pushy against your fellow man or woman."
Lexi Abonwood, "I agree with you, we are supposed to be remembering the people who helped
everyone."
Me and a total stranger got the general idea. It’s still a day to move on with our lives and do day to day things. However you cannot ignore or forget what happened that day and the lives that were lost. Not everyone is as brave as a firefighter or a superhero from the comics so we can certainly admire their bravery and sacrifice for that day.
For more on stairclimb tributes, Areo Pines' owner Cindy Bolero mentioned this website: http://www.9-11stairclimb.com.
Grease Coakes
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