As it does every year, September 11 has come once again. I stay away from news reports and television specials about that day, as experiencing the horror once was hard enough. However, I have one good September 11-related memory.
A few weeks after 9/11, one of my Icelandic cousins got married in Iceland. An opera singer of some fame attended the reception. Long ago, he had been a student of my aunt and uncle and they remained friends.
He spoke first of the love between the bride and groom. Then he said a few words about 9/11, and how he had watched how Americans, in the face of tragedy, had expressed in their words and behavior unity on a scale he had never seen before. He hoped that the newly married couple could experience that kind of unity in their marriage.
By then, my American cousin—sitting next to me—and I were teary from the juxtaposition of marriage good wishes and 9/11 emotions. Then he sang.
He didn’t sing an aria or a hymn. He sang “Love Me Tender” with a voice simple and heartfelt and genuine and devoid of operatic flourish. If there was applause at the end, I don’t remember. I remember a waterfall of tears, a mix of emotions, and gratitude for this unpretentious man who sang for my cousin and her husband.
There has always been more to life than 9/11.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Sunday, September 11, 2005 at 5:52 PM
Memoir •
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