Why It Was Significant
This was a perfect, and unintended, coda, essayed by the premier fire officer in tribute to his New York brothers for whom he obviously still mourns.
On the 6th anniversary of the defining terrorist attack in U.S. history, a blend of about 30 uniformed personnel from the Fire Dept. and Police Dept. linked arms to honor the memory of the 3,000 who were slaughtered in the coordinated strikes.
The police, tending toward the casual, showed up bareheaded.
Fire Personnel Gleaming
But the Fire Dept. personnel could have modeled in Macys show window, so resplendent were they in full dress uniform, from smart, gleaming white headgear to their polished toes.
Timed roughly to synthesize with the strikes in New York, this presents a practical problem on the West Coast where most people are driving to work between 6:30 and 7 oclock.
On all other weekday mornings, drivers roar through the intersection as if they themselves were on fire. This morning, they moved at a more reverential pace, seeming to sense that something special was going on.
Who Knew?
All but about 5 of Culver Citys 40,000 residents missed the ceremony, in part because City Hall declined to publicize even to announce the event.
The rest of the modest gathering was City Hall dominated.
It was spearheaded by 4 members of the City Council, led by Mayor Alan Corlin, and 3 City Hall department heads, including Comptroller Marlee Chang, Treasurer Crystal Alexander and Transportation Director Steve Cunningham, other Hall staffers, and Dr. Sharon Zeitlin, president of the Friends of the Library.
Mr. Corlin and Ms. Chang were the first to arrive, long before the commemoration was scheduled to start.
This was an unusual public event.
No speeches. No music.
Rather, this was meant as a treat for patriotic eyes and ears.
Displayed Out Front
Colorfully and spectacularly, three bright red fire trucks, headed by the elongated ladder truck, were majestically arrayed in front of the Fire Station along with the paramedics scarlet van and a black-and-white police car symbols of law and order, and of Culver Citys preparedness.
There were tender moments during the 6 minutes of muted ritual.
Perhaps the most moving was when the designated bugler, Officer Al Casillas of the Police Dept., sounded Taps.
For the Ears and Eyes
Another was when Fire Engineer Jeff Nisbet clanged the fire bell.
The somber topping was provided by Bill Boettlier, a gentleman from the Simi Valley. Necessarily, he arose long before dawn, donned his authentic Scottish kilts, packed his bagpipes and drove in to the safe and secure Heart of Screenland.
