09.10.11 - A Decade

As I drove to Saugerties for the Pfizer Million Grand Prix at HITS horse show, avoiding NYC bridges and tunnels and all the 9-11 retrospectives on the radio, the photo from a decade ago that has stuck with me the most is one from the American Gold Cup just days after.

My September 11th started with a sick dog so I was awake with the TV on for the break in the morning show for the first reports of the first crash. I called the newsroom and actually told those in the office what had happened. After the Pentagon I called my parents and told my father how much I was glad he had just retired, and was no longer in a federal building. Much after that was a blur, or just not memorable.

I appreciate being an American, but I don't believe we are the, "greatest county in the world," as so many tout us in jingoistic songs and bumper stickers. I enjoy the feeling of patriotism, but it is not something that only Americans feel. I like our flag, but don't care for the commercialism of slapping it in different manifestations on every surface that can hold color.

So I think what I like about this single grabbed frame from 10 years ago, is the subtle, personal patriotism.