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Police and fire officers line up before the majesty of City Hall this morning. Photo, Meghan Sahli-Wells.
No matter how many of the precise images from 11 Sept., 2001, that we swore never to forget, have fuzzed and faded, there vividly remains a jarring patriotic solemnity when dozens of uniformed police and fire personnel stand together and salute America.
The tortured assassinations of almost 3,000 inhabitants of the Twin Towers in Manhattan was re-solidified by a lengthy period of respectful, mournful silence.
For 15 minutes, perfectly aligned Culver City fire and police officers formed straight lines across the front of City Hall, in the Courtyard, symbolizing an impenetrable cordon of unity.
At precisely 6:59 this morning, the exact hour when the first of two Muslim terrorist-driven airplanes calculatedly crashed the Towers, Fire Capt. Bill Heins rang a bell.
Its echo volleyed across the scattered crowd of bystanders, witnesses to America’s commitment to remember and honor.
A color guard lowered the flags, and to close, the haunting “Taps” was blown.
Along the sidelines, the most popular question was, Where Were You?
As for Councilman Jim Clarke:
“I was getting ready to go to work for my second day for Congresswoman Diane Watson. I had just come back from the Caribbean. I had flown to Los Angeles through Philadelphia, not Boston the day before.”
How did Mr. Clarke find out what happened?
The same way almost everyone else did.
“I was watching television,” he said.
Mr. Clarke recalled the strange post-catastrophe muteness.
“There was an eerie part of what followed. Diane Watson’s office was on Goldleaf Circle, off Slauson. For a number of days afterward, you would look out the window and never see any flights coming or going at LAX, because everyone was grounded.”
Mr. Clarke is confident that Americans have remembered. But the innocence of pre-11 Sept. never can be recaptured.
“We all remember ‘See Something, Say Something,’” he said. “When you go to the airport, any airport, it never again has been the same as it was before.”
As with all momentous moments, everyone remembers where he was.
Asst. Fire Chief Dave White, now a 25-year veteran, was on holiday with his family in Puerto Vallarta. Their plans to return home necessarily were postponed by flight restrictions.
Councilman Andy Weissman and former Councilman Steve Rose were following their regular early morning routines, casually watching the television news while dressing for the day.
Mayor Jeff Cooper was getting his two young daughters ready for school.
[img]1307|right|Meghan Sahli-Wells||no_popup[/img]The most unusual instance of all involved Councilperson Meghan Sahli-Wells.
She and her husband Karim were living in Paris. They were expecting their first child any hour.
It was afternoon in France, and by the time Ms. Sahli-Wells caught up with events on television, the full thrust of the tragedy was known. Immediately, she called her family in Los Angeles to be reassured about their safety.
