Good design helps us remember

I awoke on Monday with my heart heavy and declared a news blackout. Instead of hearing about September 11 from a variety of thoughtful angles on NPR, John P. Strelecky read me his book, The Why Café.

Question one, “why am I here,” is still inspiring internal discussion. Question two, “do I fear death,” was easy to answer, even on the fifth anniversary of such a tragic day. “No.” Perhaps the events in 2001 helped me live my life so that the answer would today be, “no.” Hours were no longer something to “fritter and waste … in an offhand way” (Pink Floyd, “Time,” Dark Side of the Moon, 1973; Lyrics). But was I fulfilled (question three)? That, too, would require more pondering.

Waking before 5 a.m., I looked out the window and tried to make sense of the thin band of light glimmering across the lake. Following it up to the heavens, I stared in wonder until the answer made its way to my consciousness: Tribute in Light (Wikipedia). Elegant. Simple. Powerful. Appropriate. Good design! I stood barefoot on the deck in the 51°F chill to admire the shaft of light (two merged into one from my vantage point in Morris County, NJ) and the sparkle of the stars while route 80 hummed in the background.

I remembered seeing the smoking towers from my office window, smelling the acrid air, not knowing the fate of the people (or the world), looking up into a sky devoid of airplanes in this busy section or airspace. Watching the lightening sky, I spied the red port side light of a small jet. Gradually, the sunrise replaced the 88 searchlights. A new day.