h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I can't believe it's been five years already - the day is still fresh in my memory. And yes, five and no, I'm not talking about the year 2001.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3098834.stm

I can't believe it's been 151 years already:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Meadows_massacre

Remember, remember, the eleventh of September ... mmm, no, doesn't scan quite as well ...

You know, I really probably shouldn't make light of it like that, but I'm already unusual in that I'm an American who (a) doesn't automatically take a "my country, right or wrong" attitude, and (b) wants to know precisely how his fellow countrymen who *do* have this attitude intend to deal with things if there *is* wrongness.

Never actually realised that Anna Lindh died on the 11th... And yes, it was a sad story, too. Though I cannot quite as vividly remember where I was on that day, I do remember it making a rather profound impression.

On the 2001 date, I was in Norway. With colleagues - some of which I actually like to call friends. A special/weird evening, with that mix of chaos and warmth...

Thank you Irv, for bringing yet another alternative perspective to the date 11 September...

Hm, L must be a teenager today...

On September 11, 2001, I woke up in room 005 of Gillenwater dorm on the campus of Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff, AZ. At the time I was posting on H2G2 under the name "Arlecchino" and I had an Instant Messenger user name to match. I had fooled a small number of my H2G2 friends into thinking I was someone other than Irving Washington. I logged into my IM account as normal, and was informed of the events of the day. Suddenly my little charade seemed very stupid, sophomoric, immature, etc. I sat there in my blue terrycloth bathrobe and decided to come clean to Lil, Gwen, Marv, and whoever else was in the chat at the time.

That said, the true meaning and impact of the events did not really hit home until much later that day, when I watched classmates anxiously waiting for cell phone calls from their family and friends back east. Perhaps the true meaning didn't sink in until 2004, when I discovered my entire country had gone 'round the bend.

I'm sorry to hear about the events of 2003. I was actually quite active in reading current events at the time, but somehow missed that entirely. I'm glad you're bringing it up now, as it puts a fresh perspective on things. Large numbers of people die in unprovoked attacks around the globe every year. I think Americans were right to be outraged that we were targeted, but too often we act like we are the only victims of terrorism.

Mm. I was a sophomore in high school, not really aware of the full impact of what was going on. I made a wisecrack to the effect of "If you ask me, it sounds like this was some sort of accident!" "... But it's been confirmed that it was terrorists!" "Then it's a good thing you didn't ask me, then!" (double "then" intended). I stole the joke from an episode of Pokemon. (At the time, I had a penchant for watching weekday-afternoon cartoons, such as Pokemon and Scooby Doo and Transformers: Beast Wars, as a way of allowing my brain to shut down after a day's worth of high school.)

I'm 90% sure that Pokemon stole that joke from an episode of Get Smart...

Dear Titania,

Reading you post made me realise that it was not only twin towers that happened on the 11th September 2001, but also the tragedy of the annihilation of a life which was so full of promise.

Thank you for bringing it to our memory.

will we ever learn - I sincerely hope so.

Christiane AlsoRan80

Met the host of the dinner in Norway on that evening of 2001 in Copenhagen today. He too indeed remembered the mix of feelings from that evening...