Things I need to say on the eve of 9/11

I've been thinking about this entry for a while.

Well, for about 10 minutes anyway. 

Last night I found myself at a local professional theater's production of Noises Off, and as I was telling my date (my colleague from work, don't get excited) how many times I'd seen it, I realized the last time was at Northern Stage in Vermont.  It was the show on our stage on the morning of 9/11/01. 

That morning is etched into my memory; the blue of the sky as my friend Colleen and I drove around town hanging posters, the haze of the air in the senior center where we first saw the TV footage, the texture of the couch I sat on when I realized a friend of mine had worked in the Towers and was traveling on business that week, the exact angle of my desk which allowed me to obsessively refresh my web browser while watching as people on phones paced anxiously, trying to track down loved ones.  I have other memories, too, but I'd forgotten that Noises Off was the play.  Now, looking back, I remember a tough conversation about whether we should continue with the run.  It felt wrong, somehow, to perform a farce after what had happened. But it also felt right.  In the end, we put on the show.  I think it was the right decision. 

Anyway, there are a lot of thoughts in my head right now.  I feel some despair at where my country is, so divided by politics.  But I also feel full of life and blessed to be where I am, enjoying the refreshing cool of autumn, the fun of my friends and the antics of my silly pooch.

Mostly, I just wish we could all make like the dogs at the park - sniff a few butts, pee on a few trees, and then run and romp about, just getting along and helping each other enjoy life.

To that end, I thought I'd share two very different posts that have given me faith that maybe the pundits and PACs that are trying to drive us apart won't win in the end.  Here they are:

• This post has spread like wildfire via facebook and the interwebs.   I love it, because it expresses what I've been trying to articulate to myself and to others for a while.  I'm not going to tell you what it says, cause I'd like you to read it.  :)

• StoryCorps has always been one of my favorite NPR features.  I routinely have to sit in my car until I stop crying after many of the features.  This one, about an 11 year old boy who remembers his grandmother (she died on 9/11 in the Towers' collapse) thanks to his mom's stories, was no exception.

Oh, and PS.  You should go see TheatreSquared's Noises Off.  It's damn funny.  We need some laughter, don't you think?