The Fallen

I unexpectedly came across this article today, about a reporter who was trying to find the name of one of the unknown men who jumped from the world trade towers on September 11th. Some of you may have seen his picture before, the one that appears at the front of the article. It was printed only once in most of the major newspapers and then removed. Apparently due to outcry and the decision by the media that it was too graphic and disrespectful for America to see and them to show. This doesn't surprise me. America has never wanted to look too closely at suffering.

The picture is difficult to look at even after so many years. It is amazing how one picture of one man can become a symbol of so much to so many. I think the picture is a looking glass of sorts, in it you see a reflection of some part of yourself. When I see it, I think of all the difficult and heart wrenching choices that I have made in my life and watched people I know make in theirs. Choices that changed things so dramatically and that once committed you couldn't turn back from. Choices that people make every day. That are impossible to know, before you make them, what the effects will be not only on your life but on those who your life touches, and even those who bear witness to the choice.

This is what the author saw. But maybe he didn't jump from the window as a betrayal of love or because he lost hope. Maybe he jumped to fulfill the terms of a miracle. Maybe he jumped to come home to his family. Maybe he didn't jump at all, because no one can jump into the arms of God.

What do you see.......