I was very deeply affected by the story of Tim Brown. I wrote earlier this semester about my bond with my brother. We are very close and I love him more than any other human being. Being at college has been rough on me, but not in the way it is for most people. I miss my family and especially my brother Sean. On the video, Tim was talking about watching the tower collapse, and he said, "And I knew Terry was in there." That almost made me cry, and I definitely teared up. I imagined if that happened to Sean and I almost don't want to even say that out loud because the thought of that happening hurts me.
The time lapse in the video was very cool. You know how you won't see one of your friends for a long time and when, after four or five years you see them again? They're completely different and you're more fascinated by the ways that they didn't change than the ways they did. These videos were the same way. It was like you got to know the characters as the story progressed, not through their stories but by seeing how the coped and learned. I really liked Nick Chirls (and he looked good in a beard). His story of how he and his father were reconciled was great, and I love how he seemed at peace with the world. He never really let the disaster ruin him. It did, at times, shape him and push him in directions he later didn't want to go, but it never ruined his life. He graduated from college and has a bright future. Each of the stories were very neat in that aspect; they each showed us a redemptive quality to these stories. One of them was healing physically, one mentally, others emotionally. In every case, they all had become at peace with what happened.
My family is very important to me, and I don't know what I'd do if I lost one of them, but after watching this documentary, I feel a little braver. These people went through things that were terrible, horrible things, but eventually, they moved on and healed. Knowing that even in a situation like losing a wife or a brother you will still be happy one day is very comforting. I like having those "safeguards", that's partly why I became and engineer instead of an art student. I like having the comfort that even in an unpredicted situation, I won't even be lost. I'll always have God, too. :)
Ian, thanks so much for getting us rolling here on the blog with your thoughtful post. Tim did not lose his brother in the attack, but his co-workers and I wondered sometimes watching if he had family to turn to. I think his coworkers were his "brothers" and he was so lost without them, and I like how you made that connection to your own brother. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteMy family is very important to me too and losing one of them would be so difficult. Being able to watch this movie and see first hand that when tragic things happen people will eventually heal and be able to move on. I can tell how important your brother is to you and that is awesome that you have such a great bond with him.
ReplyDeleteIts awesome that you and your brother are so close! I think that feeling that kind of loss would be one of the absolute worst things a person could ever feel and I feel completely the same when I think of something like this happening to someone special to me I feel the same way as you, it really hurts.
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