Critical Correspondence

MRPJ#24/Fragile: Extras

The concept of separateness, absolute uniqueness, is an illusion. We all rely on each other, we do not exist alone, but are connected in many complicated and diverse ways. As individuals, our cells are connected to each other—we function as a system. Outside of ourselves we are connected to each other, through our families, our schools, through work, through political and religious affiliations, our country and then the world. Everything that happens anywhere affects everyone else everywhere, whether we can feel it or not. — from “Letter to the NYFA” by Susan Klein

The evening of September 11th I came home to try to rest. A man I’ve never seen before was on the next-door roof just a few feet from my window. He was standing on a plank of plywood laid on top of a wooden chair, peering southward through a pair of binoculars. The clouds of smoke were golden and enormous in the setting sun. A group of twentysomethings were playing loud music and drinking on an adjacent rooftop. Suddenly the man on the roof began yelling, “Great party—turn up the music!” They yelled back, “What?” He screamed again, “Great party! Turn up the music!” They still couldn’t hear him. He yelled again, “Great party! The ashes of 1,500 people are floating over Manhattan. Is this how you show respect?” Seven hours later, after I’d gone out, to eat and watch the news with friends, he was still standing there, alone in the dark. The city was silent.

-Casey Ruble