(This is a modified repost I wrote four years ago)
I grew up on the East Coast and my father made the commute from Connecticut into New York City for many years. Since the horrific events of September 11, 2001, I’ve made it a point to travel when I can to NYC to support the theater and the arts, and to support the people who live in this still-fractured place.
Every time I've gone, I've made it a point to talk to the New York City cab drivers. I get in the taxi, tell them where I need to go, and then ask, “Were you driving on 9/11?”
I have never found cab drivers so talkative, so willing to talk, so needing to talk. And without exception, 100% of the drivers I’ve asked over the years were indeed driving on 9/11.
Without further prompting, each one of them told me their stories, rushing their words out, speaking in excited tones. They talked until they reached my destination and even then, I would sit with my hand on the door handle, listening to them for as long as it took. It seemed as if they wanted to make sure I understood how horrible it was, how they still suffered from nightmares, waking up with hearts pounding and sweat pouring down their bodies immersed in New York City midnight black nights.
One of the drivers told of how he had saved for years to own his own cab and how he was at the World Trade Centers that September morning after having dropped off a passenger right before the second plane hit. He described that stranger-than-fiction morning as he sat in his beloved cab stunned, watching the unfolding confusion, trying to decide what to do. And he talked of the shock and the sudden urgency when it dawned on him that his life was in danger.
He called his wife, abandoned his cab, and ran with the hundreds of other New Yorkers. He ran for his life and he ran for his wife’s life. He met up with her and together they ran for the life of their child who was in a nearby day care center. The three of them ran for their lives as the second tower came crashing down, the rubble spreading smoke and fumes like desperate fingers searching for help. His hard-earned cab was gone but they had one another, they had their family and that was all that mattered.
The one cab driver that stayed seared in my mind, the one that haunts me even now, was an older man, a Muslim, who had been a U.S. citizen for over twenty years. His accent was thick and his patrioticism fierce. He loved this country, he was an American citizen. He told of the dozens of times since 9/11 he has had passengers, fellow Americans, who have screamed at him, told him to go back to the Middle East, called him names, slandered him, cursed him, spit at him, and blamed him for the actions of others.
To be driving on 9/11 and witness what happened to a City that was his home for over twenty years, to be treated like the enemy by his fellow countrymen, was demolishing. But he was not bitter nor was he full of hatred. He quietly said, “This is my home. This is my country. They just don’t understand. They may never understand. I pray for them.”
Consider this the next time you are in this great proud place known as New York City. When you get into that inevitable cab, ask your cabbie if they were driving on 9/11. You may be surprised at the gratefulness they will have to be given the opportunity to exorcise their demons from that terrible day.
Even though a decade has passed, the decade that for many feels like a blur.
AUTHOR TAGS:
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Jesse Kavadlo
Mary Wagner
keri h
Frosty Funk
Wren Dancer
Liane Carter
Salon.com
Comments
HUGGGGGGGGGGGG
Thank you for posting this. Congratulations on the EP. It is well deserved.
reinvented: I know that you are more than well acquainted with grief so I know exactly what you are speaking of. Others outside of grief and tragedy have difficulty understanding or knowing what to say, and the truth is they don't need to say anything; in fact they shouldn't say anything. The power of just listening is invaluable. Thank you for reading.
Linda: "Making amends to the living" requires a certain level of consciousness and selflessness; not so easy in this crazy modern age pace of rushing and forgetting. Thank you for reading and commenting. Good to see you and your good post today!
Roger: Wasn't expecting the part about Roseanne Barr at all! Can't top that one (nor do I want to :)). Thanks for reading.
trilogy: The mainstream media has not accepted the racism towards American Muslims, they have promoted it. Case in point: Being adamant that Obama is not a Muslim. Hello? So what if he is? This is the disturbing part of this whole story. He claims not to be, but so what if he were? Most Muslims I know are incredibly peaceful people. The attitude is reminiscent of how Asian Americans were treated during World War II. Shameful really. Thank you so much for reading and your comment.
Karin: How are you and hope your home held up during the recent storm?! I think most New Yorkers would say that anyone that hurled those insults to the Muslim driver were surely out of towners and my guess is that most of them were.
Joan H.: Everyone in NYC that day has a story that stays firmly implanted in their memory banks. It's important to remember. Thanks for reading.
Major: Well I will and thank you very much for reading.
Owl: Thank you for reading. There were many victims that day and it's easy to forget about them.
Diary: Thank you for reading and commenting and most of all, for remembering.
Matt: Do you know how many times I've kicked myself for not doing this years ago when I first went to New York in January of 2002 to support theater and take my teenage daughter out of her Boulder Bubble and take her to NYC, to the site of the former Twin Towers, and let it sink into her that there was a world outside of high school drama. Yes, I've thought of doing such a thing quite often, but like many good ideas, it goes by the wayside. Thank you so much for echoing what I've thought of many times.
Boulder is a bubble but a very transparent one.....had a marvellous assignment there for 5 years before heading back for good to Italy
saluti
♥R
Rated ♪♫•**•.¸♥¸.•*¨*•♪♪♫•**•.¸¸♥ D
First of all, Mary's piece isn't primarily about the mistreatment of Muslims as a result of 9/11. She includes one small slice that could be described as that, but the theme of her article is clearly that cabbies, those classic NY characters, have some real scoop and heart about the events of 9/11.
Second, the part of her post that *does* deal with Muslim mistreatment is directly related to the events of 9/11. Why on earth would this not be the precisely appropriate time to bring it up? Furthermore, and more important, she doesn't bring this up as a theme, she brings it up as the singular story of a particular man who relates his own mistreatment, though he seems neither to use that word nor to carry any bitterness.
So you have discerned something revealing about Mary through her publishing of this, have you? What might that be? That she is caring and egalitarian? What is it that bothers you, exactly? That the Muslim man's story is the one that haunts her? Don't you think that has something to do with the fact that he is the one whose patriotism is unfairly assailed--for nothing other than his personal and unrelated (ie, unconnected to violence for him) beliefs and/or perhaps his unchangeable characteristics around appearance and nationality? This brings us right back to the caring and egalitarian nature of Mary. You know, the kind of person who hates to see innocent victims bullied by others.
What you call egalitarianism I call moral relativism of the foulest sort.
And then another Mary pipes up with the following, firmly planting a cherry on the silly sundae:
"A beautiful, moving piece that gives voice to many who were not listened to at that time. Thank for this post."
Not listened to?! Anyone chastising others for being rude to Muslims on 9/11 should have been not only not listened to, but institutionalized for insanity (or perhaps stoned, in good Muslim tradition).
Margaret: You're right, the NYC cab drivers are in many ways the heartbeat of the City. Thanks so much for reading.
roberto: Oh, you know boulder then don't you? And now in Italy...sounds like a very good life. Have a great time in NYC on the 11th...it's the most amazing city on the planet. And thanks for your good comment.
Brazen Princess: Thanks for reading!
C Berg: Yes, you are missing! Bottom line, cabbies are human beings, just like the rest of us. It didn't hurt that my father took us into the city quite often and I'm sure that helped with my comfort level. Thanks for reading.
Ralph: In that case, I'm so glad that you read!
AJ: Hi AJ! It's been awhile! Thanks so much for reading this twice...shows you've been around OS a long time. I think I missed your post and want to read it too. So many of us have such strong feelings and memories about that day and the decade since. Thanks again for your great encouragement.
FusunA: I agree with you about the drivers. Although the last time I went, I still had some amazing conversations with the drivers, but half of them were on the phone the entire time I was in the cab. That part was disappointing. Thanks so much for reading.
Dianne: I feel honored you made an exception in this case and I'm glad my piece didn't disappoint. But it was about NYC cabbies...how could it not be worthwhile? Thank you!
The Songbird: Thanks Songbird! I appreciate you reading and your good encouragement.
Gordon: What is revealing to me is where your attention and focus went when you read this piece. The Muslim's cab driver story was powerful and needs to be told. There were many Muslims that were killed in the towers that day, many peaceful Muslims who live in NYC, side by side with many diverse populations, patriotic Americans who also happened to be Muslims. The other cab driver's story was just as compelling to me, as were the many others I heard. I will not engage in some kind of back and forth with you because I don't see much hope for agreement as to my intentions when writing this piece, but I do respect your right to read into this piece what you want and to draw conclusions about me, despite the errors in your assumptions. Thank you for reading and commenting.
JC: Thanks for reading again and your wonderful comment and support. This is so true, "The collective whole that mourns this unimaginable loss to all the families involved is also the loss to a nation, it's heart, soul and changed all our lives forever." So true.
Mary: Thank you for reading and your very wonderful comment. It is much appreciated.
Lainey: Thank you! And thank you for your very kind and supportive words about me in your response to Gordon. You understood the intentions of my piece perfectly and I couldn't have asked for a better voice to defend that. Your intelligence and calm yet direct words speak volumes about you.
Beth: Yes, trauma/grief/loss...all of these that people need to talk about, vent, remember...all part of an eventual healing process that reinvents knows about more than most of us. Thanks so much for reading.