A decade ago, two and half hours was enough time to change the world.
The quiet Tuesday morning of Sept. 11 began as unremarkable and unassuming as any other in 2001. American children went to school while their parents trudged through morning traffic to get to work.
While at airports in Boston, Washington, D.C., and Newark, N.J., 19 men boarded four commercial airliners.
Starting with the first takeoff at 7:59 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, the four planes were hijacked, and three were flown into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. Aboard the fourth, hostages rebelled against their hijackers and the jet crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pa.
New York City firefighters and police officers rushed in to the Twin Towers to rescue those trapped, and many emergency personnel were killed when the buildings collapsed.
By 10:28 a.m., both of the World Trade Center’s towers toppled from fire and stress, a portion of the Pentagon’s outer ring collapsed, nearly 3,000 people were dead and the world had irreparably changed.
A decade later, many people can remember the places they were when they first heard the news of the 9/11 attacks.
A number of organizations in Sedona and the Verde Valley are planning memorial events marking the decade since the attacks.
♦ The Sedona Fire District will remember the anniversary at SFD Fire Station No. 1, 2860 Southwest Drive, starting at 6:59 a.m. The ceremony will be held at the flagpole located in front of the station, and the public is invited to attend. Firefighters will join in at their respective fire stations.
The ceremony will include the Tolling of the Bell, lowering of the American flag, a moment of silence, and the reading of the “Firefighter’s Prayer.”
Long before there were telephones and radios, fire departments used the telegraph to communicate, according to SFD Fire Marshal Gary Johnson.
When a firefighter died in the line of duty, the fire alarm office would tap out a special signal. That signal was five measured dashes, a pause, five measured dashes, a pause and five measured dashes. This became universally known as the Tolling of the Bell and was broadcast over all telegraph fire alarm circuits.
This signal was a sign of honor and respect for all firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice and has become a time-honored tradition, Johnson stated.
♦ World War II veteran John Cornelius will be outside Weber’s IGA Food Store in the Village of Oak Creek to raise money for veterans at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Prescott.
Cornelius has raised $72,000 in the past five years for programs at the center and will be outside the store handing out U.S. flags with other veteran volunteers Sunday, Sept. 11, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
♦ The exhibit Come Join the Circle, An Invitation to Peace and Stillness is a series of full-sized body-mask sculpted beings created by Liz Learmont to create an intentional space for compassion and love.
On 9/11, the vulnerability of the world and people was made clear to her, Learmont stated in a press release. She was compelled to develop the project over the next several years.
“Seeing the delicacy of human life, combined with the fierceness of the human spirit, touched something deep inside me. Artistically, I felt driven to express living energy through my art. I was ready to explore those four whispered words, come join the circle. To sit amongst these sculpted beings while intentionally inviting stillness and peace into your soul’s reality is to experience the magic of Come Join the Circle,” Learmont stated.
The circle was born from her yearning to express the “here and now” of life expressed through inner silence.
According to Learmont, LifeMasking in ancient times was a source of spiritual power. Today, it is an art form created from a living being, expressing a sacred moment.
Learmont says it is her hope “that this experience inspires peace and compassion in your heart as we commemorate 9/11 with an honoring of the human spirit.”
On Sept. 11, a silent meditation will be held for 50 minutes from 11 to 11:50 a.m. to represent one second for every victim of 9/11. The memorial will be free to the public.
♦ The Sedona International Film Festival and a local gallery are hosting “Remembrance … Celebrating America.” The program will feature patriotic songs, a salute to the Untied States and the American flag, a community sing-along and a screening of the classic 1942 film “Yankee Doodle Dandy” starring James Cagney.
The film is a musical portrait of the life of the renowned composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan. The event takes place at Sedona Performing Arts Center, at Sedona Red Rock High School, 995 Upper Red Rock Loop Road.
For full details, see Page 7 of the Friday, Sept. 9, edition of The Scene.
♦ A memorial service sponsored by the Beaver Creek Regional Council will be held outside of the Beaver Creek Golf Pro Shop on Sunday from 5:30 to 8:30 a.m.
The service will include a ceremonial flag raising using the Air National Guard retirement flag, which was flown at the New York City 9/11 site. Additionally, there will be national moments of silence and bell tolls corresponding with the times that the planes crashed.
Montezuma-Rimrock Fire District Fire Chief Mike Van Dyke will say a few words as a tribute to those who were affected by the tragedy.
Following the ceremony, there will be a short one-mile “freedom walk” around Lake Montezuma. Refreshments will also be served.
The Beaver Buggy, sponsored by the Beaver Creek Adult Center and Beaver Creek Transit, will provide transportation to and from this event. Call Kristyn Conner at Beaver Creek School at 567-4631 or e-mail kconner@ycvp.org.
♦ St. Joseph’s Catholic School at 2715 E. SR 89A, Cottonwood will be having a memorial service for the victims of 9/11 at 10:30 a.m. Veterans, police officers and firefighters have been invited to attend. Students will present a program with singing and a wreath ceremony to honor the victims of 9/11.
For more information, call Merrily Pychinka at 649-0624.
