Recovery

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 6:00 A.M.

If the September 11 never happened, I'd have a false sense of security that nothing of their magnitude could ever happen on U.S. soil. I'm sure many Americans felt the same. Maybe they've gone through the same progression of feelings I have: helplessness, fear, anger, acceptance.

Part of me will always wish the attacks hadn't happened, but from them I think the U.S. has slowly developed more awareness of what can happen, which has helped foil subsequent plots.

On the day itself, I was home on Long Island and heard about the plane hits via texts with friends. I was fortunate not to lose any friends or family that day, but I empathize with those who did. The written word has always been my best means of connecting with the world and with my feelings. While the act of writing leads me to the greatest empathy, the act of editing is an empathic leap above that of reading. It prods me to think critically about what's written, and my opinions affect the final product. Editing Dave White's Thrilling Detective story "Closure" was a test of how well I empathize. You be the judge.

A piece of writing is of the moment it's written. In the fourteen years since "Closure" was published, undoubtedly Dave has matured as a writer, but just as we'd all like to do the right thing in the right place at the right time, I'm grateful to have been in a position to help Dave polish "Closure".