I can only speculate as to why I feel this way, but the images of people falling from the buildings and the sounds of them hitting the ground were the absolute worst for me. They are haunting. You knew thousands were dying in the buildings and airplanes and didn't discount that, but the sight of those falling made the human images more apparent and gave faces to those who died--and it was all the more horrible because you saw them alive and knew that they would die in just a few seconds. The hurt is still tremendous, even to someone like me who didn't know them personally.

I'm not necessarily angry and I don't seek vengence, but I do want justice and I do want punishments that will deter other terrorists in the future and help us close the book. I do grow impatient because justice delayed is justice denied. Why is it taking so long to find OBL? We need to step up our actions to find him and show the world that we mean business. Until then, as you say, let's remember the horror so that we never give up.

Posted by Woody at September 18, 2005 04:39 PM

Haiku on "The Falling Man"

Life rejects the flames
Cradled 'gainst gravity's breast
Heav'n and earth collide

Posted by civil truth at September 18, 2005 04:42 PM

I remember hearing firemen talk about the sight and then the sound of the falling people...It's just awful to even think about. What horrors they must have faced up in the towers...to make the choice to jump. One FDNY guy said that maybe the jumpers (an awful term, sorry) decided to take control over their own deaths. Damn.

Posted by Raven at September 19, 2005 07:52 PM

I always post that image and a link to that story on 9/11. I can still hear those bodies smacking on the pavement as I watched the live coverage. They weren't sure what the noise was till later in the day. Now they've collectively banned those images and video. No one could possibly imagine the horror of having to make the choice between burning to death or throwing your body from what was once the tallest building in the world.

Posted by joey at September 20, 2005 09:28 PM

we are a couple of school mates from staffordshire and the story of the falling man has gripped us and made us think what johnathan (the falling man) must of been thnking when he was falling, it makes us sad, JUST THOUGHT YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW!!!

Posted by Daniel, Jake and Jordan at March 17, 2006 05:36 AM

"angry that there is enough hatred in the world that this kind of thing can happen"? , well sorry but we need look no furthur than americas and the uk's treatment of countries like palisitine and aufganistan to see where the hatred stems from. why is isreal rich and powerfull and these other two living in poverty. Why do we help and trade with some but not others?, it is the doing of britan and the united states. pepole dont attack the west for no reason or because we share differnt values or religions to them, Its suppression. We have supressed them and now they are retaliating in the only way they feel they can. I am a londoner who has lived through not just the recent london bombings connected to this issue but also many before from the IRA. I In no way condone this kind of behaviour, but why would i?, i live in a nice house in a stable country where a bad day means missing a bus or stubbing your toe, not living in poverty in a suppressed nation because the world super powers are not prepared to do buisness with them. People can only take so much abuse, (and neglect is a form of abuse) before they act, (Wrongly or rightly). All im saying is pepole dont act this way for no reason. it's up to us to be inteligent enough to ask why and be prepared to find the answers a little closer to home.

Posted by Glen Bailey at March 17, 2006 07:26 PM