Gen. Colin Powell at the Kennedy Center last month

General Colin Powell at the Kennedy Center, Sept. 10, 2021/Photo by Patricia Leslie

General Colin Powell at the Kennedy Center, Sept. 10, 2021/Photo by Patricia Leslie

He was one of the special guests who welcomed the "sold-out" audience to the Kennedy Center in a concert to honor first responders of the September 11 and covid tragedies, the victims and their families. 

If General Powell were sick or ailing then, he covered his illness well. He paid respects to the evening's honorees and  spoke briefly about his upbringing in the Bronx, saying his greatest thrill was having 13 American elementary schools named after him.  That number will most assuredly grow.  

Thank you, General Powell, for your service to the United States and for your stable control and guidance during periods of national tragedy.  

Who can match him now?

See more of the September 10 evening here.

General Colin Powell at the Kennedy Center, Sept. 10, 2021/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The National Symphony Orchestra and "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band performed at the Kennedy Center, Sept. 10, 2021/Photo by Patricia Leslie

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A 'concert of remembrance' at the Kennedy Center

 

At the Kennedy Center, the conductor of "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band  led the Star Spangled Banner/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

It's hard to know where to start since there were so many outstanding pieces at the Concert of Remembrance Friday night at the Kennedy Center, but any program with Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man is a certain draw.  That performance by the National Symphony Orchestra under the tutelage of Maestro Gianandrea Noseda stood no chance of anything but "marvelous," "magnificent," "outstanding," and more since that is what the night brought in remembrance of September 11, its heroes and those of covid and all the victims of whom Dr. Francis Collins of the National Institutes of Health (which he called the "National Institutes of Hope") reminded us.

"The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band joined the NSO to open the evening with a thunderous Star Spangled Banner.

The conductor of "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band also led America, the Beautiful at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

General Colin Powell at the Kennedy Center's Concert of Remembrance said  having 13 elementary and middle schools named after him gives him immense pleasure/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Dr. Francis Collins from the National Institutes of Health paid tribute to the heroes and victims of September 11 and covid. The Kennedy Center chairman David Rubenstein introduced Dr. Collins and said the doctor has a rock band, The Affordable Rock 'n' Roll Act/Photo by Patricia Leslie

James Lee III who composed the stunning An Engraved American Mourning which premiered Friday, left the stage at the Kennedy Center before I could take a picture of him from the front. On the right is Maestro Gianandrea Noseda who introduced Mr. Lee/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard is congratulated by Maestro Gianandrea Noseda/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard is congratulated by Maestro Gianandrea Noseda/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The National Symphony Orchestra gets ready to play the Concert of Remembrance at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Concertgoers wait for tickets in the Hall of Nations at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Kennedy Center has hung historic programs and playbills in the shape of a big "50" from the ceilings of its Hall of Nations and Hall of States/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The mezzo-soprano, Isabel Leonard and the NSO mesmerized the house with four Leonard Bernstein selections, my favorite, Take Care of This House, from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue*, a production of which I was unaware, but the lyrics were entrancing, taking me back to last year and the sad preceding times since 2016 when "this house" was occupied by a recalcitrant.

Although I can't take West Side Story in any shape, form, or fashion anymore (too overdone), Ms. Leonard's rendition of Somewhere struck a chord in my cold heart, causing me to wonder for a few seconds about my objection. Still, I can hear Ms. Leonard. 

Other Bernstein selections were Greeting and Lonely Town.

You had to wonder who was in charge of the evening's program since some choices didn't seem to promote the night's message, likely because I was unfamiliar with Mother and Child by William Grant Still, sweet dullness that it was.

In addition to Copland and This House, my top three included James Lee III's NSO-commissioned An Engraved American Mourning which premiered Friday. Stunning in its absolute accurate portrayal of the wrenching emotions we endured that terrible day beginning with sad horns, the tension and bombastic percussion clashes, strong participation by the xylophonist followed by "sirens" and bells, to close with a harpist's strings on a rainbow of hope on a clear sky.  

The evening featured more bells, at least double the number  of any performance I have attended. It was the time.

Both orchestras joined to splendidly present This Land, God of Our Fathers, and America, the Beautiful to send us out on a high note in search of national unity. (Once Irving Berlin's God Bless America sufficiently separates itself from Kate Smith, or the PC tide rolls differently, that song may rejoin the retinue of national hymns.) 

Also on the program was a poem, Dispatches from Radar Hill by Angela Trudell Vasquez, read by Shirley Riggsbee.

* It's no wonder the title is unfamiliar: According to  Wikipedia, its reputation is chiefly as "a legendary Broadway flop." It lasted only seven shows, and sadly, was Leonard Bernstein's last Broadway score. It played briefly at the Kennedy Center in 1992.  

Take care of this house

 be always on call,

 for this house is the home of us all.

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In memoriam Flight 93 Sept. 11, 2001

The name of one of the passengers and her unborn child listed on the Wall of Names at the crash site  of United Flight 93 in Stoystown, Pennsylvania September 11, 2001/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the entrance to the Flight 93 National Memorial and visible from Highway 30 is the unfinished Tower of Voices, 93 feet high with 40 wind chimes, a "living memorial," the National Park Service writes in its brochure, dedicated on Sept. 9, 2018, a musical monument unique to the world.  About 10 of the wind chimes have been installed (there is presently no sound at the Tower) with the rest to be added at irregular times, according to Wikipedia. (A simulated sound may be heard at the NPS website.)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Tower of Voices at the Flight 93 National Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Tower of Voices at the Flight 93 National Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Inside the Tower of Voices at the Flight 93 National Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the visitor center about 1.5 miles away from the Tower of Voices is this walkway which leads to the Western Overlook of the site, following the plane's path before it went down/Photo
At the Visitor Center, the times and locations of the other three plane crashes are carved in stone on the walkway to the Western Overlook. This says: "9:37:46 AM   Pentagon   American Airlines Flight 77"  /Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Western Overlook at the Visitor Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the Memorial Plaza below the Western Overlook and Visitor Center, the victims' pictures and names are shown with other displays. A cell phone tour  is available at no charge. Victims' names are also listed in the memorial brochure and on the Wall of Names/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Wall of Names looking towards the Visitor Center on the top of the hill. The locations of the Wall and the Visitor Center follow the trajectory of the plane as it crashed. Paul Murdoch Architects conceived the site with victims' names carved in separate white marble slabs, in a design reminiscent of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. For any memorial of this magnitude, of course there was controversy, and the architect changed the design/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Looking in the opposite direction at the Wall of Names towards the locked gate (in the distance) which leads to the crash site, a holy place where victims' families are permitted to enter. To the left in the distance beyond the black wall border is the crash site/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Beyond the black granite border at Memorial Plaza on the right is the crash site. Places for visitors to leave tributes are fashioned into the wall and collected. Visitors may also leave cards at the Visitor Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This direction is opposite the picture two above, with the black granite border on the left defining the crash site. Beyond is the Wall of Names/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 At Memorial Plaza/Photo by Patricia Leslie

/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On this Memorial Day we also remember and pay tribute to the victims of United Airlines Flight 93, the 33 passengers and seven crew members who ended terrorists' efforts on September 11, 2001 before the plane could strike Washington, D.C.*

Only 20 minutes from Washington, the heroism, strength, and bravery of the crew and passengers prevented another tragedy of an aircraft, intending to destroy a national monument.

Flight 93 was the only one of four planes hijacked that awful day which missed its target.

Rather, this plane barreled upside down into the ground at 593 mph in a Pennsylvania field leaving a crater measuring 30 feet by 15 feet deep which the coroner ordered covered. Remains of every victim were found and returned to families and also, left here.


Now a 17-ton sandstone marks the point of the impact with a cluster of hemlock trees nearby.

Flight 93's grave is one of solemnity and peace whose design and place are marked by a sense of guilt and pride that passengers and crew members on a plane took over with nothing more than sheer determination, mission, and force on their side.

Although it is a sad place, still I was left with astonishment over the bravery and charge of strong men and women who did not hesitate to seize control from the perpetrators and save our nation from more terror. The victims made deadly life-changing decisions in seconds. They are forever heroes whose legacy remind us of what we can do on a moment's notice when called to stand and serve.

I wondered what I would do on a plane like this. How about you?
  
American heroism grows stronger, never ceasing to overcome adversity and challenge like that we face today.  We, too, can stand and serve our nation and do the right thing.

* The exact target, the U.S. Capitol or the White House, has never been determined.

What: Flight 93 National Memorial


When:  The park is open seven days a week from sunup to sundown, however, the Visitor Center is still closed for covid-19 reasons. When open, the Visitor Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. all week with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.

Where:  6424 Lincoln Highway, Stoystown, PA 15567. (Searching for the park's name will take you to the wrong entrance.) It is a trash-free park.


How much: No charge but donations are welcome!

Getting there: Directions are found on the NPS website. From D.C. it's about 3.5 driving hours away.

For more information:  (814) 893-6322 or the NPS website 

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September 11, do we have to?

The sad and lifeless Pentagon Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Every year it's the same.

Every year we relive the horrible memories of that terrible day.

We recall the fires, the planes crashing into the buildings, the smoke and ruin, the unbelief and helplessness we experienced then and which we experience every September 11.

You think we've forgotten?  That anyone can forget September 11?

Do you think the terrorists would be pleased we recognize their vicious attack all day every September 11 with pictures, video, and words?  That we memorialize their actions with our constant reinforcement of what happened? That this might have been on their agendas?  That the reminders serve to strengthen our enemies and offer incentives to do it again?

Why don't we recall the deaths of our 4,489 soldiers and the 32,021 wounded in Iraq after Bush and Cheney struck that nation on March 19, 2003? 

Why don't we honor those brave men and women, their families, and  their sacrifices with memories?  We forget them, but we don't need pictures and words to instantly recall the goals of the terrorists on that beautiful September morning that is always the same.

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The Pentagon Memorial is a sad and lifeless monument

The Pentagon Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Have you been? Is there any memorial which is more uninspiring? 

What is the difference between a memorial and a cemetery? The Pentagon Memorial dedicated to the 184 victims of the September 11 plane crash at the Pentagon is certainly not a place to visit for hope or encouragement.

It is not a structure which adequately pays tribute to and memorializes those who died on that wrenching day.

It is a monument with no link to the strong and energetic nation which briefly united and came together to work to fight evil.

When you stand and look at the Pentagon wall which the American Airlines jet struck, the memory of the photograph forever etched on your mind comes into immediate view: the firemen and rescue workers unfurling the gigantic American flag down the side of the building.

Where is that spirit that energized the nation?

It is not to be found at the stone and gravel heap which sits below the once damaged wall.

The Pentagon Memorial is a cemetery on a faraway, barren planet.

 

The Pentagon Memorial looking toward Crystal City/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Rather than celebrating the lives of those who died in the Pentagon crash, its effect leaves a visitor dispirited and unmoved.

What a contrast to the arrival of springtime in Washington, D.C. with colors bursting out all over the city.

What a contrast to Arlington Memorial Cemetery with its evergreens and grass.

What a contrast to the soaring Air Force Memorial on the hill nearby which lifts a viewer higher and higher into the great beyond of exploration and wonder until the mind returns to earth and realizes the ground beneath is a paved graveyard on a desert of brown and grey pebbles.

In the distance (center) is the Air Force Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Air Force Memorial/Wikimedia Commons/User.Noclip

A stainless steel bench, a "memorial unit," not intended for seating, is dedicated to each victim. The benches are built over small rectangular pools of flowing water and pointing in one of two confusing directions. Their design suggests buried tails or rudders of airplanes. A suitable reminder? 

The Pentagon Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Depending upon whether the victim was at the Pentagon that day, a bench with the victim's name points towards the building, and if the victim was on the plane, the bench points to the plane's path into the Pentagon.  The names of family members who also died at the Pentagon September 11 are listed at each bench, but their names are obscured by scattered pebbles which have been kicked and blown into the water.

Family members of Zoe Falkenberg whose names are obscured by pebbles, all September 11 victims of the Pentagon crash/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Years of birth segregate the victims (aged 71 to three years). How are their ages related to the events of September 11, 2001? They didn't die based on their ages.

This memorial seeks to accomplish too much and fosters confusion.

Of 20 or so area residents I queried about trips to the memorial, only one area resident had visited, and her assessment matched ours ("bland" and "lifeless"). Remarks at Yelp show some of the same impressions. Compare residents' lack of interest in the Pentagon Memorial to those who have visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial which opened last fall, more than three years after the dedication of the Pentagon Memorial on September 11, 2008.

It is time to change the ineffectual design and make it more than the concrete cemetery it is now.

The Pentagon Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

How much would it cost to change the pebbles for grass which would not hide family names and would offer a respite of color?

How much would it cost to plant flowers?

Private donations could fund expenses. Rather than dead bushes and trees which show no life for much of the year, what about evergreens which are...ever green?

Eighty-five trees, dedicated to no one, says an information sheet, will eventually provide a canopy of shade over the site, but for now, they are long sprouting sticks in a grey, monotonous mass of desolation.

Perhaps the only time to visit this memorial is at night when darkness hides the drab grey and brown landscape, and reflected light offers glimmers of life

beyond.

The "Memorial Unit" or bench dedicated to Zoe Falkenberg, age 8/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the entrance to the Pentagon Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The September 11, 2001 victims of the Pentagon crash/Photo by Patricia Leslie

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Musing after the Newseum

WOW! For news junkies, yes! For others? Not sure $20 will be viewed as a good value by them.

Why, with all these news stories and adulations, has nothing been written about the high admission price? Does the hierarchy at the Newseum really think this fee is okay? How was it set? Why $20? Perhaps the Newseum is not non-profit, after all.

The museum (sorry, that's what it is) is phenomenal: seven floors of old newscasts and history and lots of front pages. There is part of the Berlin Wall and part of one of the World Trade towers and part of one of the planes which crashed that dreadful day engulfing the crowd, now silent..


Pictures taken by a photographer on his way to his death by the fall of a tower flash by. Video of his wife being interviewed suggest she still is numb for she speaks non passionately. His photo bag and equipment, damaged by the falling tower which took his life, are on display. Not to miss.

The Pulitzer Price photos are shattering. Two days later and the tragic shot of the little girl and the vulture both on the ground in Africa live vividly. The repercussions to the photographer are understandable. All the pictures are unforgettable and one tastes a bit of greatness. Video and comments by some of the photographers are shown.

The hosts recommend starting with a confusing film on the bottom floor and taking a glass elevator to the top and descending, not by stairs but by ramps like ones found at stadiums. (It does have that feel.)

Upon entering on opening ("free") day April 11, I immediately spied on the street level Senator Chuck Hagel being interviewed on the radio. Members of the crowd turned and asked each other "who's that? Who's he?" When told, some still had no idea who he is. Not everyone lives and breathes news and politics!

A spectacular building, a spectacular day, and the views! Must sees! Even when "full" (which is doubtful post-April 11) there is plenty of room to move around and witness. What fun the television reporting (additional fee) is for, mostly, the young at heart and body.