Phantom Towers: Reconstructing the Normal Essay -- Personal Narrative

Phantom Towers Reconstructing the Normal Every night before going to bed I used to stare at Manhattan at its best. The pontifical buildings with the lights on give you the impression of diamonds laid on black velvet. It is such a treat to stick out on the 26th floor, to not have the suffocate sight of walls and windows obstructing the view.But the scenery has changed drastically since September 11th. White smoke was everywhere. At night the smoke became even more apparent with the shine of the pipe bowl lights at Ground Zero that aided the workers making it through the night. From my window you would not pay attention to the buildings that survived the attack, your eyes could not leave that spot where the fume and light were glowing. In the same way you see a hurricane from a distance, its dimension, its movement, its strength in the same way you could see that spot on the atomic number 82 of Manhattan where light hit the tiny molecules of dust giving an eerie impression of dea th and spirits.The word debris was in the news, in my neighbors mouths, in the press simply I couldnt think of debris per se, people were scorched to death. The Twin Towers became a crematory of innocents. The souls of the deceased were roaming about before going to the other world, the after-life. No number the distance, you could see that uncanny cloud even from New Jersey.I stood at my window for hours, hoping to see the black smoke turn to white a intimately signal that fire was being extinguished. For a moment, I saw it happening and felt relieved. But the sudden and unexpected surrender of the towers after those agonizing hours fill up me with disbelief for I knew I was witnessing thousands of deaths, as John Updike describes the tragic scene.The follow... ... Professor Gilbert explains, it is what one does with time. I wonder how long this country can live in the fallacy of predictable and understandable normalcy while seeing a world that is neither.Works CitedFilling th e Void. The New York Times Magazine 23 Sept. 2001 80.Gilbert, Kathleen R. What is Grief? 2 Jan. 1997. 9 Dec. 2001. <http//www.indiana.edu/hperf558/sprng97/unit1.html.Kearls Guide to the Sociology of Death. Kearls Guide to Sociological Thanatology. 9 Dec. 2001. <http//www.trnity.edu/mkearl/death.html.Longaker, Christine. The Normal Process of Mourning.Spiritual Care Program. 9 Dec. 2001. <http//www.spcare.org/practices/suddendeath/bereavement- processofmourning.html.Updike, John. Reflection. New Yorker. 24 Sept. 2001. 11 Nov. 2001. <http//www.newyorker.com/THE_TALK_OF_THE_TOWN/?01092ta_talk_wtc.