World Trade Center: The Movie

On Tuesday my sister would have turned 46. I celebrated her and her influence on me by going to see World Trade Center. I'm at the beach so I got a private viewing of the movie in a 200-seat theatre (guess 9/11 movies aren't a big attraction when on vacation).

Needless to say the movie was emotional. Watching bodies fall 100 stories, reliving those days, weeks, months was difficult.

As a family member of a victim, I applaud Mr. Stone and Mr. Cage in their performances. I was braced for the usual political commentary that Hollywood is so willing to bestow on me, but it never came. What I saw was a great story of the courage of the people - the heroes that day. The face on Mr. McLoughlin/Cage as he went into towers was not a 'rambo-let's go get him' face, but rather a 'I'm scared as heck but this is the right thing to do' face.

The stories told while they were stuck in the rubble were the stories that every one of us lived those days, some of us closer than others. It seemed time moved in super-slow motion during the weeks after 9/11. Not just for people who had family there but for the whole country.

When time moves that slow, it is easier to see those God has put in our lives. Our country lives in a 'need for speed' mode that makes us often miss those directly around us.

Viewing that movie helped me remember. No one wants to live the tragedy of 9/11 over again. But all of us should try to live the simpler, slower lifestyle that immediately followed that tragedy. Put the crackberry down, say no to over-commitment so that you can say yes to those surrounding you.

His speed..

G