I posted the following on a board dedicated to those of us who followed the Han Solo way of thought. Here it is, just in case you've ever wondered what I do at work...
I'm kind of glad this officially became the General Discussion forum and not the Angus Forum, because I needed to post something, and I wasn't sure if it belonged here or on Veela's. I know it's not SWG stuff, but I need to write some of this down to help preserve my own Smuggling outlook on life.
OK, here's the background....
On September 14th, 2001, I was on a Jet Blue flight from JFK International Airport to Long Beach Airport in Sunny L.A. I was, quite literally, one of the first flights leaving NYC after 9-11. The trip was one of the safest I've ever been on, mostly because everyone on the flight had the same outlook: "If one of you even sneezes wrong, you're getting dogpiled until we hit ground."
So I land in Long Beach, and spend about three days on L.A. before I go to work on a movie. We shot the flick up in the Sierra Nevada's for 9 weeks. During that time, it was working 6 days a week, 14 hours + each day. I'd come back to the rented house I was staying in, crash, then get up and go back to location for another stretch. My only day off was Sunday, which for obvious reasons, was mostly "laundry day". The house I was in was rented from a real estate office for the duration, so we didn't even have cable. The only computer under the roof was there for AVID editing of the film.
After the film wrapped, I headed back down to L.A. for another long hitch on location, so the months passed pretty quick. Next thing I know, it's a year and change, later. My car gets stolen, I remember that I hate L.A. and fly back to Long Island, NY.
CUT TO: Present Day
A lot of water has passed under the bridge, and I've found myself in a completely different field. Now, as September 11th, 2005 get's closer, I'm working as an archivist. For those of you who don't really know what we do, and there's a lot of you, we work to collect and presevere documents, photographs, films, news clipping, etc. that may one day have what is called "intrinsic value". Each archive has a speciality. Because there is so much to preserve to document human history, it's a necessity. I'm currently working at the Long Island Studies Institute located at Hofstra University in Nassau County. As you might gather, we specialize in documents that reflect Long Island's role in history.
Yesterday, I was assigned to a new project. We've had a 9-11 collection since shortly after September 11th, 2001. The archive is working to expand this collection as new monuments are errected and people donate documents to the collection. It currently stands at about 20 + boxes of docuiments, artifacts, photos, etc. We got a grant through the State of New York, so the archive was able to hire me as the Project Archivist. Pagan, Jaspor, Kohs, and HOTDOG, your tax money is at work. Smile
For the past two days, I've been acquinting myself with the collection. That means going through every single folder, in every single one of those boxes, and reading or examining the items therein.
Words escape me.
I know we've all seen the images on TV and we've read the reports. Just recently, the transcripts of the radio reports from the NYC and FDNY were realised to the public. If you think that they cover the horror that occured, you're close. Some of the things I'm looking at pale in comparison.
I think it almost wouldn't be so bad if it was all horror. I might even become numbed by it, in time. But for every 5 folders or first hand experiences, for every folder that has receipts from local businesses who bought water, air filters, and socks, etc. and sent it to Ground Zero, and for every other folder that has transcripts of emails and phone messages sent by those who were in Tower 1 and 2 on that day, I get a folder of Hope.
There are art projects done by 4th graders, celebrating the men and women who died on that day. There's a booklet composed of essays from immigrants to the US who learned to read and write English because they wanted to be American citizens. There's a story from a flight attendent on a cross Atlantic flight on that day, whose flight was forced to land in Canada. Because of the outporing of support they received in this small town, the passengers decided to create a trust fund for scholarships to the High Schools students of that town who helped them out. There's even a comic book that Marvel put out in the wake of 9-11, depecting some of the heroes in the real world.
I went into this after watching the events of the Gulf Coast for the past week. I feel that I've maxed out my tragedy XPs.
As I was reading the accunts of people, everyday workers in Manhattan, who found firetrucks on the street, unmanned because their crews had charged up those stair and died on that day, I wonder what I can do for NOLA and Mississippi and Alabama. As I look at pictures taken on the scene of 9-11, pictures of people standing in the windows of the towers, making that decision if they should jump, and thus take their last few moments on Earth into their own contol, I wonder what I can do. As I read the transcripts of phone calls made on that day from people who were trapped on the roof by a locked fire door, I wonder what SHOULD I do.
I'm not a rich man, but if I could /banktip my SWG creds to the Red Cross, I would. Since I can't, I'm going to give what I can.
The idea came to me today. If you're seriously leaving SWG, and you've got a toon's that either Jedi, or close, consider Ebaying it. Not as much cash for one as was paid back in the day, but whatever you can get, maybe donating it to a serious, established, rescue group would be a way to do you're part.
If you don't want to part with that character, just do what you can, people.
If it cracks my Smuggler facade, I'm sorry, but in a strange sort of way, I love you all. No matter what you think or do. Whether you dropped Smuggler to become Jedi, BH, or just because, you're all human beings, and that sure as hell beats the alternative of being former human beings.
Peace.
LT
