Even those who decline to watch the inevitable replay of planes barrelling into buildings will have a hard time forgetting what day it is Wednesday. Sept. 11 will stare back from the face of a wristwatch, the page of a calendar, the bottom of the computer screen, the top of the morning newspaper — an anniversary demanding recognition from a country not quite sure how to give it. And there will be little rhyme or reason to how most people choose to remember a date few had the chance to forget. An eternal flame will light in New York, bells will peal in Alaska, porch lights will burn in Kansas. Some neighbours in a suburb of Washington will march in a parade; in Orlando, Fla., they’ll gather with candles at dusk on their front lawns. San Franciscans will line up to give blood. SWAT teams in Indiana will demonstrate their public safety prowess. Buses and trains will run with headlights on in Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Houston; San Mateo, Calif.; and Spokane, Wash. Fire trucks will blow their horns in Waco, Texas. In Honolulu, thousands of children will spell ‘‘Aloha 9/11’’ on a stadium field. And all over the country, Sunday pulpits will stir with Wednesday morning words of comfort. ‘‘Most anniversaries have a culturally relevant tradition that tells us the right way to do it — a visit to a grave, a cake for a birthday — and not a tremendous amount of innovation is required,’’ said Dr Paul Ofman, a New York psychologist at RHR International, a management consulting firm. ‘‘Here we have no tradition, nothing to hold on to. As a nation, we’ll have to figure out what works.’’ Honouring Sept. 11 is a national duty that came with no set of instructions, a collective bowing of heads with no director. The observances will move haphazardly through the day with the ceremonies most sweeping in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. At 8:46 am, the moment of the first attack, five bagpipe-and-drum processions marching from each of New York’s boroughs will arrive at Ground Zero as the city pauses for a moment of silence. New York Gov. George Pataki will recite the Gettysburg Address; former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will lead a reading of the names of the nearly 3,000 who perished in New York. While the WTC site will be the focus of the commemoration, virtually none of New York’s cultural institutions, houses of worship, fire stations or community organisations plan to pass the day without note. All eyes will focus on the Pentagon, the point of impact restored by workers who laboured around the clock for much of the past year, protesting when government officials ordered them to take Christmas off. Some 12,000 people, including President Bush — who will fly to New York afterwards — and several who were injured in the attacks and survivors of those killed are expected to turn out for a moment of silence at 9:39 am, when the plane struck. In Pennsylvania, as many as 50,000 are expected at a memorial for the passengers of Flight 93, whose rebellion probably foiled an attack on a fourth building. Surely, the day will be hardest for survivors of the attacks and loved ones of those who perished. While some plan to return to the sites, others could not stay far enough away. Among those present at the Pentagon will be Wayne Sinclair, 55, who installs computers for the army and was severely burned that day. ‘‘Sometimes I’ve found it’s better to discuss this and get it off your mind,’’ he said. ‘‘But some people can’t. Too many hard memories. Several say they are staying home, not going to work or anything. They just want to be by themselves and kind of sit and relax and don’t think about the day.’’ But it will be difficult not to. Television coverage will continue round-the-clock. The memorials will stretch through the week with displays of acknowledgment so eclectic that from afar, it might look like the Fourth of July. ‘‘For many, the anniversary will be so large, so sadness-inducing, so anxiety-provoking, people should not be surprised to find themselves more emotional, preoccupied, deep in thought and reflective — and unsure what to do with all of it,’’ psychologist Ofman said. There are calls for continuity. (LATWP)
