Wordsmoker

The worst moment of the memorial service for the victims of September 11th, 2001, is the playing of “Taps.” A tune created during The Civil War, as a bugle call to signal “lights out,” it has since become a standard to be played at the end of both military and non-military funeral services.

It is not enough that it is played, but played in a syncopated fashion, multiple buglers sending the somber notes over the remains of the World Trade Center site, to fall lightly on those assembled below. The notes mix with the wind and the air that holds the memories of those who died that day, and it as if their voices are reflected in the solemn notes, reverberating like an ethereal chorus amidst the buildings. It breaks the hardness of even the hardest heart, to feel this melody waft along, encompassing one like a blanket of sorrow.

No matter what may happen at the site from now far into the future, let the playing of “Taps” continue to bring voice to the innocent victims, and continue to stir our hearts to feel the sorrow and grief, lest we forget.