Every so often a day comes along that makes you stop and take a second look. This morning was one of those days. The temperature was cool, the air was still, and the sky was a subtle blue unmarred by any cloud cover. As I stood in my back yard with my dogs two hawks slid by overhead. Nothing else was moving. The day was perfect.
A few hours later as several Lions worked the Thrift Store chaos that is Mark Ingalls’ weekly bizarre bazaar a fire truck came up Washington Street, under flashing lights and full siren. It was followed a minute later by an ambulance, also proceeding under full siren. I did not see them return from their call, and no one outside the Store appeared to notice them pass.
Just another gallery of busy life on an otherwise not so ordinary day.
Twenty years ago, September 11th also started out as a cloudless perfect day; its blue sky a cruel prelude to what was to follow.
Two citizens with connections to Easton, Steve Adams and Father Francis Grogan, died on September 11, 2001. Steve Adams, who was graduated from Oliver Ames High School, was the beverage manager at Windows of the World on the 107th floor of the North Tower. Father Grogan, a priest in the Congregation of the Holy Cross, was a passenger on Flight 175 which was flown into the South Tower. Several days after the attack Easton residents gathered at the high school football stadium to remember the victims and grieve.
Twenty years later we are still struggling to come to grips with the memory of the day. The emotions have softened, but the wounds that we carry have not healed.
Many have tried to take back 9/11 by using it for good. And while the day will always be one of remembrance it has also become synonymous with citizens performing a day of service.
As September 11, 2021 becomes September 12 let us carry the memory of those we have lost with our desire to extend service toward making this a better community for all.
Andrew Parker
