"Fire, Momma, Fire" *

"Like a scene from an uneasy dream, Doug Kanter's picture of a man standing amid the seemingly endless World Trade Center rubble, calling out for survivors, brings to mind the sense so many of us shared on 9/11 and in the days and weeks after.  After briefly taking shelter, he stepped outside into streets that "were pretty much deserted, and that's when the person in the picture emerged. He looked like he might be a maintenance worker, had a fire extinguisher in his hand, and was calling out to see if anyone could hear him, saying they should make noise, and people would come and help." Not long after Kanter took this photo, a police office hustled him away from the spot. Minutes later, the second tower collapsed."**

I am completely struck by this photo because I see so much in it:

Our collective desire to help, even in the midst of helplessness.

Angels among us, carrying fire extinguishers to five-thousand-alarm fires.

God, in the form of a lone man, standing with us amidst unspeakable tragedy.

An American flag that REFUSED to be taken down by hatred.

A photographer, whose life was spared as the second tower collapsed and whose picture survived to be exposed, because a police officer made him to move.

A beauty that transcends the ugliness of the scene.  I see the man with the fire extinguisher as (simultaneously) an angel, a regular man, God, you and me.  

And light...so much light.  In such a dark, scary moment.

I could, literally, stare at this picture for weeks and never see the same thing twice.  Just like I'll never see 9/11 on the calendar and think about it the same:  it is the anniversary of dear friends first and the date of a tragedy in our country second.

And, even though two buildings, a portion of the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania were affected by the events of that day, and countless lives were lost as a result, God WAS and IS still on His throne.

And, for that, even as we mourn, we can be glad.

*As Mike and I watched the TV the morning of 9/11 and Mike, frantically, tried to call the offices of the company he worked for, which were in one of the towers, Zach toddled over to the TV and began patting the first tower, saying this.  I will never forget that moment.

**This photo and the caption in quotations is property of Life magazine and the photographer, Doug Kanter.

Everything beyond that was lovingly written by God through MommaJ.