Climbing the Stairs

I visit a memorial in Second Life each anniversary of 9-11. No one I knew died that day, but the world stopped for a time and everyone old enough to remember WILL remember. I decided to let the official destination guide point the way this year and at the top of their list was this firefighters tribute to lost comrades.  Pick up your gears (guys and gals sizes), grab a hose and climb the stairs.

The sim was crowded as tribute places usually are on this day. I only made it to 111 meters when they began to show an actual video taken ten years ago today. From there, going forward was not an option. Others I saw were further up the seemingly infinite staircase. Some had made it to the top. It doesn't really matter if I completed the whole journey; 111 meters with two turns to a floor is a long enough time for reflection. A meditation took over once I passed others on the lower floors; I climbed and turned as I watched the land below slip further away.

Whatever your point of view on the events of ten years ago -- how it happened, why it happened; we can all  agree that the tragic day did not need to happen. Too many people lost their lives that day. Only a portion of those chose to be there, among them the firefighters.