Boatlift

It's so hard to believe that it's been two and a half decades. Today I rewatched a brilliant short film entitled Boatlift, narrated by Tom Hanks. It told of the ferries and boats that descended on Manhattan island and spirited people away from the fallen towers and the dust filled sky and transported them to safety. To see the images of boats, owned and operated individually, flock toward danger in order to help was so powerfully moving. It's impossible not to cry throughout the entire eleven plus minute film. The part that always makes me bawl is when Hanks says "...larger than the evacuation of Dunkirk in World War II, where 339,000 British and French soldiers were rescued over the course of nine days. On 9/11, nearly 500,000 civilians were rescued from Manhattan by boat. It took less than nine hours." It reminded me of how in the months following the attacks that people kept out their American flags all year round. They had bumper-stickers that read "These colors don't run." It felt like how the country is supposed to be - united.