Time Flies

The sixth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks was yesterday, and I have to admit, I didn't fly a flag, listen to a patriotic speech, observe a moment of silence, or even spend more time watching Fox news. Although I realize how terrible a day that was, to me it's ultimately nothing more than a group of zealots pulling off a successful (for their cause of terrorism) stunt. That's all that low tech operation was --a stunt.

Wifey reminded me that I was on my way to the office, and she called after the first plane hit (and it was thought to be an accident) to say she was glad my office was on the ground floor, so I wouldn't have to worry about that sort of thing. We joked about the great John Irving anecdote in "Garp," where the paranoid hero rushes to buy the house where a plane has crashed, because the "chances of that happening again would be astronomical."

As the morning unfolded, we learned the scope of the tragedy, of course. I was at the Brickell Morton's Steakhouse with my partner and our old boss, having just finished a big case, and we watched all the news reports on the bar's tv while we drank. Strange day.

What's more stunning to me, though, is how fast these past 6 years have flown by. I had a high school freshman daughter, and one still in grade school. Now daughter #2 is less than 3 years short of graduating high school, and daughter #1 is in the middle of her college studies.

I'm a good deal grayer and fatter. Wifey's actually much skinnier, and looking better as the years go by, especially as she recovers from a back injury.

Marvell was right, hundreds of years ago:at my back, I always hear, time's winged chariot hurrying near...

Of course, he was trying to seduce a young hottie, and I'm just trying to keep on keepin' on.

So six years ago this stunt caused such great sadness. Spouses lost spouses, children lost parents, parents lost children. Friends were left with memories. And yet time keeps flowing on, faster and faster, it seems.