September 11 again

Another beautiful sunny early September day, and nine years on, the trauma still lingers, underlined by the lovely day, just like the one which created a Before and an After in so many lives.



Before, I was a single woman, closest friend an able bodied man, both of us with a flourishing petcare practice, I also with an busy art exhibit and teaching schedule.

After, a coupled woman, partner gradually, then suddenly, totally disabled, with no petcare practices, and a different sort of artwork.

So much is different now. Friends who fell away when our lives became harder and more circumscribed, other friends who stepped bravely forward and generously did what they could to help. New friends appearing who never knew us before anyway.



Neighborhood changes, now with Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists and friends of other beliefs all around, our dearest neighborhood friends, a friendly mosaic of a street.

Neighbors who are devout gun owners and hunters and fishermen, one of whom firmly believes the Preserve should be opened up for hunting and fishing, otherwise it's a waste of nature! others who will not even willingly kill an insect, nor ever even touch meat. But all are our friends, who have shown themselves to have true grace under pressure.



I wish this for everyone, particularly today. That a little neighborhood that can live in peace and amity, newcomers among families who have been here hundreds of years, letting each other follow different customs, that neighborhoods like ours become more and more common in this country.

Then we'll know that the grownups have won.