In a New York Minute

Today is a day filled with remembrances and reflection.  I know where I was at the time of the attacks, but that doesn't matter, really.  It is certainly one of those "where were you" moments that often defines a generation, or a nation, or both.  As I was driving home from the grocery store today, I flipped the radio on to see what NPR might have on.  When they switched to local news (Philadelphia news) I changed the station.  Just as I was tuning in, the announcer said something about one of Don Henley's songs.  It was written long before the events of that tragic day transpired, but it's lines echo true:
                             New York MinuteHarry got up
Dressed all in black
Went down to the station
And he never came back
They found his clothing
Scattered somewhere down the track
And he won't be down on Wall Street
in the morning

He had a home
The love of a girl
But men get lost sometimes
As years unfurl
One day he crossed some line
And he was too much in this world
But I guess it doesn't matter anymore

In a New York Minute
Everything can change
In a New York Minute
Things can get pretty strange
In a New York Minute
Everything can change
In a New York Minute

Lying here in the darkness
I hear the sirens wail
Somebody going to emergency
Somebody's going to jail
If you find somebody to love in this world
You better hang on tooth and nail
The wolf is always at the door

In a New York Minute
Everything can change
In a New York Minute
Things can get a little strange
In a New York Minute
Everything can change
In a New York Minute

And in these days
When darkness falls early
And people rush home
To the ones they love
You better take a fool's advice
And take care of your own
One day they're here;
Next day they're gone

I pulled my coat around my shoulders
And took a walk down through the park
The leaves were falling around me
The groaning city in the gathering dark
On some solitary rock
A desperate lover left his mark,
"Baby, I've changed. Please come back."

What the head makes cloudy
The heart makes very clear
The days were so much brighter
In the time when she was here
But I know there's somebody somewhere
Make these dark clouds disappear
Until that day, I have to believe
I believe, I believe

In a New York Minute
Everything can change
In a New York Minute
You can get out of the rain
In a New York Minute
Everything can change
In a New York Minute

Once home, I just sat in my car listening to these haunting words, with tears streaming down my face.  It took me a minute to compose myself before going inside to my waiting family.  We spent the rest of the day together just being silly and being with each other.  Tonight, as I put them to put, I will hug them a little tighter, and look into their eyes just a little longer.  Please, never forget and never stop working for peace.
Dona nobis pacem.
Anne