September 12

Everyone remembers September 11, 2001. Pretty much without exception they can tell you where they were when the Towers fell, what they were doing and how out of the ordinary that day was.

What about September 12, 2001? Who remembers that day? It wasn't very significant, comparatively speaking--sort of the Skipper Doll of days. What do I remember about that day?

One, it was the last day of Weight Watchers for me. I'd watched lives snuffed out in a blink, and heard all the men on planes leaving farethewell love messages on answering machines. That was it. I said "screw points" and had some Ben & Jerry's. Nothing says "live for the moment" like watching an unexpected mass fatality unfold on the television.

Two, it was the day that one of my coworkers was caught having an affair. Everyone else in the office was accounted for. He happened to have flown to Dallas to sleep with one of his field sales rep employees. Grounded flights meant he couldn't sneak home. Karma's a bitch, buddy.

Three, all TV was postponed so that every major network could cover the carnage. It got to the place, by the evening of the 12th, that felt like they were actually rooting for more carnage because the news was getting boring. When people asked me why I wouldn't watch one minute of televised Katrina coverage, I can only say "September 12, 2001." The constant barrage of anchors who seemed to hope that they would unground the planes so that more tragedy would happen was grisly and wrong. Even more wrong was that there was no TV. No place to turn to forget, for even thirty minutes, that the world was on backwards. I know that seems selfish, but if you remember that raw dark week, you know. You know the craving in the pit of your stomach for Muppets or Friends or anything that took place outside of the constant nightmare. Seems to me that's what entertainment is for. Think of it as the cultural version of getting drunk at a wake. One of the other recent defectees from Weight Watchers Points recommended that I rent "Knight's Tale" with Heath Ledger. Personally, I can't make the same recommendation to you.

I hope this September 12th is just another Monday. I'm glad we all lived to see it.