Pictured here, Rocky helps us remember Patriot Day and 9/11 today. I lived in and around New York City in Queens, Hoboken, and Brooklyn for most of the 80’s. There, I got my training in reptiles at the Big Bronx Zoo reptile house, worked part-time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, sang off-off Broadway opera, worked in the Wall Street district, commuting through the former World Trade Center daily, and met and married my first husband, Dick (now deceased), who was a journalism professor at NYU.
New York City was a big part of my life, and every year on 9/11 I pause and feel deeply affected by the tragedy of the bombing as I remember those who lost their lives that day.
I belong to a group called CMCS: the Cape May County Songwriters. CMCS gives me a chance to write and perform non-turtle songs, as well as providing an inspiration for new turtle songs, too. We haven’t had our monthly meetings since covid, but we’ve met for many years. Our practice has become to do a monthly assignment, where a member picks a phrase and then everyone writes a song including that phrase. On the 9/11 anniversary in 2018, I wrote a song about my memories of 9/11 including the assignment, “dressed in black” (lyrics below):
Dressed in Black – A Song For 9/11 – (September assignment: Dressed in black) (9/11/18, © Karen Buckley)
Dressed in black When the towers fell
They never came back They never came back
Dressed in gray That terrible day
When the ash cloud Never went away
Dressed in white As the ash cloud grows
And the terror rose, The terror rose,
And dressed blues For the lives they would lose
We’ll never forget The attack, the attack
Dressed in red For the fire that spread
For the cries, for the screams When the lines went dead
Dressed to kill For that was their will
These scenes forever in our minds to fill
Dressed in yellow For every fellow
Who swallowed his fear To save someone near
Dressed in pink Who knew what to think
When the planes went down All around
Dressed in a rainbow of women and men
Who would never see their Loved ones again
Dressed in brown It changed each town
It changed our nation As the shock went round
Where were you when planes no Longer flew,
when we All held our breaths And counted the deaths?
Everything stopped Look up in the sky
No plane goes by, No planes go by
Wait, who’s next Hold on to your loved ones
Are we safe? The fear is racing
I used one of the Towers daily
Now reduced To dust and bones
Dressed in gray People on their way
Never knowing their lives would End that day
All dressed up In a suit and a tie
When they realized they were Going to die……
Dressed in green It’s a different scene
As one proud tower Rises serene
Dressed in black We mourn for the lack
Of the ones who never came back From the attack
ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT NOTE: today is also
National Make Your Bed Day! In honor of Make Your Bed Day, we thought we’d show you our beloved turtle quilt my mom made me on our bed.
For pictures and information about this wonderful quilt, click the “read more” button below.
