Saying Goodbye... 9/11 Twenty Years Later

 "It has been said, 'time heals all wounds." I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting it's sanity, covers them with scar tissue, and the pain lessens. But it's never gone."

~Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

I have considered ending my 9/11 tributes over the years. Not because I have forgotten about what happened that day, and who it happened to, but because after 20 years perhaps it's time to not take back the grief yearly, like it sits on a shelf, waiting to be recognized. That's not how grief works. So, how does one celebrate a life? David and Lynn Angell were wonderful people. As was Marisa DiNardo Schorpp, who fell to her death, from the World Trade Center, on that horrible day. I feel like I got to know them, through my research. I only came to know about Marisa in recent years, but she left an impression me, on 9/11, that stayed with me to this day. She was in a window, along with others, begging for help as fire burned behind her. She was wearing a beautiful black skirt and white blouse. Classic. I felt so bad for years, that there was no way to say goodbye to know of her life, or to say goodbye to her, then one day while watching a documentary about 9/11, a man described seeing her fall to her death. She was identified years later, after her purse was discovered among the personal effects of the victims.

 

 Her name was Marisa, and she had lovely taste.

 

Anyway, this is my last 9/11 tribute post. It's been twenty years, and honestly, the new world I thought would be carved from grief and new understanding of our kinship as Americans never came to pass. We have all but forgotten what happened all those years ago, and we, Americans, don't stand up for each other, instead we push nationalist agendas out of cowardice and selfish need to put ourselves first, as if what happens to our neighbor doesn't happen to us. Americans unite in times of trouble? That's as silly a notion at this point as reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Sigh. I really thought we would be in a different place by this time, but sadly, we aren't, and it will be at least another generation before we can hope to see the idea of an America that lives up to that ideal. At my age, I am unsure if I will ever see the idea of brotherhood in America, let alone the ideal itself. Its sad. I was hoping that from the ashes, an American Phoenix would arise. Sadly, we can keep honoring the victims, but if it's just to show the world how much we remember, we are stepping on the very lives we can never properly repay, or truly honor. Next year, I will reflect on these three extraordinary people, but in my own way, and to myself.

Rest In Peace... David, Lynn And Marisa

For David, Lynn And Marisa (A Post About 9/11)

"If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, 

we learn life is short and there is no time for hate."

~Sandy Dahl

Wife of Flight 93 pilot, Jason Dahl

I never thought about it until yesterday. September 11th, is a mere 10 days, before the world turns from late summer to early autumn! For most folks that really doesn't matter, it's just the turn of a season, but for me, autumn has always felt like the season that saved me. It wraps it's arms around me with the scents of baked goods, and holidays, and of course, leaves that I chase through two states, and long to, one day, make it three states! But summer... I have never liked summer, with it's hot, and humid long days, that never seem to end and that sometimes feels like the most mean-spirited of all the seasons put together, if a season can be mean!?

Anyway, today is yet another anniversary of that dreadful day in 2001. The day that completely changed America. I don't want to talk about the state of today's current political climate, I will save that for a different post, but politics right now, makes me feel like there is an endless summer happening, only the deep restlessness, and cloudy thinking won't be turning to cooler thoughts anytime soon. How about I leave it there. 

You get what I mean.

Right now, without delving any further into the cruelty or the pain that makes this a permanent day of remembrance, I just want to sit quietly and think about those taken that day, and be thankful for the time, we on Earth, were given with them, and how each touched my life personally.

I will never forget you...

David & Lynn Angell

And this year, I am adding someone who I, haven't spoken about before, but who want to remember each year, from now on. I never got a chance to meet her on earth, but I have read about her, and if I am very lucky, perhaps one day, we will me in Heaven. And what an amazing gift and honor that would be!

Marisa DiNardo Schorpp

She seemed like an amazingly beautiful and caring soul! She was loved very much, and somehow, as I have read about her life over the years, like with the Angells, I feel like I have come to know her. I think I would have been very lucky to have had her for a friend. We are the same age, she and I seemed to have some things in common. Her life was so full and so happy, and it's easy to imagine her sharing the happiness with others! The tragedy of her death, reminds me of how precious life is, and how moments and the beauty of the turning leaves should never be taken for granted! She has touched my life... from Heaven!

Rest In Peace

David

Lynn

&

Marisa 

Mood: Quiet

~Me

9/11... 15 Years Later

Flight 93 Memorial

Union City, California

2014 

 

"What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is the ability to mourn people we've never met."

~ David Levithan

It's been 15 years. I think every year I repeat my astonishment that so much time has gone by. The world is a much different place than on that day, all those years ago. This year, more than any other since then, I have an overwhelming desire to make a political statement, but I won't. I can't. I have too much emotion right now to make any real sense. There will be time in the coming weeks to say all the political stuff I need to say. Today is about remembering those souls lost to families, friends, fans, children, grandchildren and friends that never got to be made. So, for today, I will be silent, for them. For all of them. But as I said, in the coming weeks, my words will also be about them and who we were that day, who we are now, and who we have the potential, and perhaps the danger, of becoming.

 Today, as on every anniversary of 9/11,

I remember the lives of 

David & Lynn Angell

Murdered

September 11th, 2001

American Airlines Flight 11

I will never forget your generous and loving spirits!

 

 

~Carly

 

Remembering The Love, Laughter And The Life Of The Angells

"I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like the most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person."

~Audry Hepburn

If you have been reading my blog for a year, or more, then you know that every September 11th, I honor and remember two extraordinary people, David and Lynn Angell, whose lives were cute short by the tragedy of 911. The Angell's were aboard American Airlines, Flight 11, when it slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. 

That day saw a lot of tragedy. The Angells have always stood out to me on a personal level because I had enjoyed Mr. Angell's many contributions to the world of television. He had a gift. He made people laugh through his writing and ability to make us laugh with projects such as Wings, and Cheers and Frasier. 

He made my life better... just by sharing his talent with the world. Both of those shows got me through some tough times. What a wonderful escape it is, to come home from a bad day, turn on the TV and enjoy a good solid laugh by way of a sitcom. Mr. Angell made my life a happier place, and I will remember him often, but especially on 9/11.

I didn't know much about Lynn Angell until after I began researching the life of David Angell, but what I found out about her was awesome! She, like her husband, had a wonderful ability to make those around her feel at ease. She loved children and was devoted to bringing some help to them, and those less fortunate through charitable hearts that continue to shine today by way of the Angell Foundation, which provides help and teaches self-sufficiency to those who need a hand up in life.

The Angells were extraordinary people who made the world a better place, and because of their love and kindness, their legacy continues to this day! I can't help but smile when I think of them, and I am grateful to have learned about their lives and the example they set for all of us! They remind me to be grateful, and pass on whatever good fortune that comes my way. They remind me to smile. They remind me to go forth each day, trying my best to be the change I want to see in the world.

I will always honor the Angells in my heart. 

You don't have to have ever met someone in life, to love them!

Today I will be honoring them by smiling as much as possible.

Please join me in that tribute.

Thank You, David And Lynn Angell, for making the world a better place!

Mood: Reflective

~Me :)

September 11th, 2001... He Said Hello, Then I Said Hello, And The World Changed

"We are all ordinary, we are all boring. We are all spectacular. We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes. We are all helpless. It just depends on the day."

~Brad Meltzer

September 11th, 2001

I think to a degree, I am still dealing with what happened on September 11th, 2001. It still seems so surreal... and yet all too real! I remember Alan calling me on the phone, to tell me what had happened, but his words now seem blurry. I do remember that what he was telling seeming so absolutely absurd. You see I had been sleeping really deep that morning, a rarity for me at the time, so when his phone call came I was still in a bit of a dream state. But as I picked up the phone, and before Alan said anything, I mused to myself that the very same episode of  I Love Lucy, on TV Land that I had fallen asleep to after he left for work, was playing again. How odd!

Then I said hello and he said hello and the world changed.

It was all just so FUCKING ABSURD.

Just so absurd.

Yesterday, after years of putting it off, I paid a visit to the Flight 93 Memorial in Union City, California. I don't know why I have been avoiding it... (silence) but I have. But yesterday, was a day that wasn't very different than September 11th, 2001 in temperature and color of the sky. So, I got my cameras out, and made the trek. I was glad I did. It is a peaceful place, filled with remembrance and tributes. It has a beautiful tree, planted with actual dirt taken from the field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania where the plane crashed. It's leaves are beginning to change. It's beautiful. It's hopeful. There is a pathway, with monuments marking the names of each of the passengers and crew members. And there is an American flag, and at it's base small artistic tiles, done by young people of many Bay Area schools.

After all these years, (silence) it's still so FUCKING ABSURD!

Today, I am also remembering the lives of David and Lynn Angell, who were killed on September 11th, 2001, when the plane they were in, American Airlines Flight 11, crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Thank you David and Lynn, once again, for all the laughter and joy you brought to so many, and all you did for the children who needed you. 
I will remember you always!

It is an honor to remember this couple, and I will continue to do so for as long as I can. I got to know them, and about their life, when I honored them for the 9/11 Project, several years ago. They were extraordinary people, who made the world a better place. Please, if you are unfamiliar with David and Lynn Angell's life and work, take a moment to visit the links below. 

David Angell *Wikipedia

The Angell Foundation - David And Lynn Angell Biography

Union City Dedicates A Memorial To 9/11's Flight 93

Mood: Reflective

~Me

Remembering David And Lynn Angell

"Death ends life, not a relationship."
Mitch Albom, Tuesdays With Morrie

I never had the pleasure of meeting David and Lynn Angell in this life, but I came to love them through the research I did about them, for my post honoring them as part of the 9/11 Project some years ago. On September 11th, 2001, I didn't know that they were killed when American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. I also didn't know that it was Mr. Angell that had brought me so many moments of laughter, through his work on the television shows, Cheer's, Frasier, and Wings. He made the world a better place by sharing his gift of humor with the world, and his wife Lynn through her love and charity towards children. They were unique, kind and loving people, and the world is a darker place without them. No, I never get meet them in my lifetime, but I will never forget them, they will always have a special place in my heart.

David And Lynn... I will remember you!

Love, Carly

I came across this blog post, written by a friend of the Angell. Please visit the links below to learn more about this amazing couple and their legacy.

9/11 And David And Lynn Angell
By Their Friend, Ken Levine

The Angell Foundation


"Though lovers may be lost, love shall not; And death shall have no dominion."

~Dylan Thomas

Mood: Quiet

~Me

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 123~ Remembering David And Lynn Angel

"It's so curious: one can resist tears and behave very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slops from a drawer... and everything collapses."

~ Colette

 

It's 9/11... isn't it? How could it already have been a year? Sigh. Oh my, time goes by so fast, but here we are again. As with all the September 11ths since that one all those years ago, I have David and Lynn Angell in my heart, prayers and memories. I got to know this couple through the years, by reading articles and testimonies from their friends and loved ones, participating in some online projects honoring those lost that horrific day. The more I learned about them, the more it saddened me that not only are they gone to us, the world, but I will never have the chance to meet them and be able to say... Thank You... for making my life better... Thank You for making me smile and laugh... Thank You... just Thank You.

I have written about the Angells many times since September 11, 2001. But this year, rather than researching into yet another article about them, I would take a step back and just say that it is my hope one day, when I go skipping off into that all important next step of eternity, that I will to be able to sit with them, maybe at some cosmic comedy club, and hear their laughs, and the sound of their voices... and... just be able to say... Thank You.

I will remember you.



~Me

9/11 10th Anniversary: Remembering David and Lynn Angell

"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."

-Thomas Campbell

David and Lynn Angell were extraordinary people. I have gotten to know them over the years through my researching of their lives for various 9/11 tributes I have participated in since 2004. In that time I have come to know of their love and generosity, the love of their friends and family, the respect of their peers, and their immeasurable talents. I wish that I could have met them in this life, but that wish cannot be fulfilled. David and Lynn Angell were killed on September 11th, 2001, in an act of unimaginable hate. 10 years later, it still seems impossible. Like that day was all a bad dream, and we have all been engaged in the longest of shared nightmares.

Our world changed that day, and 9/11 means a different experience for each of us. For me, when I think about 9/11, I think about David and Lynn Angell and all the joy we lost when they died. David Angell brought a lot of laughter to the world, through his work in television as a brilliant comedy writer and his work as co-executive producer and co-creator of such shows as Cheers, Wings and Frasier. Both David and Lynn worked together through various humanitarian projects, children's charities in particular, to the better of the world. As I said, they were extraordinary people, and I will never forget them. They will be remembered in the memories of many, and live on in our hearts forever. I remember them not for that dreadful day, but for the gifts they left for us... laughter and love.

Thank You David and Lynn :)

He kept a true good humor's mark
The social flow of pleasures tide
He never made a brow look dark
Nor caused a tear, but when he died.

-Thomas Love Peacock

Love, Carly

In Remembrance Of David And Lynn Angell

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

~Kahlil Gibran



On the morning of September 11th, 2001, David Angell and his wife Lynn, were killed when their flight, American Airlines Flight 11, struck the north tower of the World Trade Center. I have written about the Angells, on the anniversary of 9/11, since 2004, and was honored to be a part of the 2996 Project, which honored those who were lost in the terrorist attacks of that day. I never knew the Angells, but they still managed to touch my life as I learned about them as people, and realized the many laughs I had found through the brilliance of David Angell's talent. My life is better because of the talent and joy David Angell shared with the world. Lynn Angell touched the lives of many through her charity Hillsides Home For Children. They were extraordinary people.

Thank you so much David & Lynn Angell.

-Carly

David Angell (Wikipedia)

David Angell (IMDB)

9/11: Remembering David Angell (Huffington Post)
By Ken Levine

Hillsides Home for Children

Remembering David And Lynn Angell

David Angell was unique among the comedy writers I've met. Like David himself, his humor was gentle and kind, yet deeply funny. He had a brilliant comedy mind, but more importantly he was a good man, and a nice person."

-Bruce Rasmussen, Executive Producer, The Drew Carey Show

From For Ellipsis

Three years ago, I participated in the 2,996 Project which paid tributes to the heroes and victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001. I requested to honor David Angell & his wife Lynn, both of whom were killed when their plane, American Airlines Flight 11, struck the World Trade Center.

David and Lynn Angell brought light and laughter to the world. I requested to honor the Angells, because I was familiar with his work as a comedy writer, producer and eventually co-creator of the sitcom Wings. I don't know how many smiles he may have brought me over the years... maybe a 1,ooo or so, and I will never get to thank him properly, but I can continue to send a BIG THANK YOU to the heavens, especially on this day, and share how much he meant to me, even though we had never met. A world with a little less humor in it is a sad place indeed.

Please take a moment and visit my original post from September 11th, 2006. These two people were just exceptional individuals and deserve to be remembered for their kindness and humanity.

Thank you David and Lynn for making the world a much happier place in the time your were with us.

-Carly

Hillsides Home For Children
940 Avenue 64, Pasadena, Ca 91105
(323)255-9005

September 11th, 2001

"September 11 began like many Tuesday mornings in Washington, D.C., as the notorious D.C. rush hour traffic slowed lawmakers and their staff making their way to Capitol Hill, the worst of their thoughts was surely centered on Congress's always partisan budget battles. The day was the end, however, in a national nightmare as all came to grips with the worst domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history."

-Terry Everett

"The most important thing is for us to find Osama Bin Laden. It is our number one priority, and we will not rest until we find him."

-George W. Bush 9/13/2001

Can you believe it has been six years since that horrible day? Can you believe it has been six years, and Osama Bin Laden is still out there somewhere, still taunting us, and still free to continue with his plan of hatred and terror toward the United States? George Bush, as our president, has been worse than a complete failure, he has let all of us down, and indeed future generations as well. There is no excuse, there is no reason, and there is no justification for the fact that Bin Laden has not been brought to justice. It escapes me why President Bush hasn't been impeached for his many transgressions,including his blatant disregard for American lives.

He didn't listen to the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Report, or the Iraq Study Group. We are not safer from terrorism then we were on 9/11, and we still have a liar, and dare I say, traitor, in the White House. Sigh. It hurts. I hurt for all of us here in America, and I hurt for what we have done to the Iraqi people. I hurt for the men and women of our armed services, who went to war, and died for a war based on lies. I hurt for those brave soldiers who made it back home, and found themselves without proper medical care at Walter Reed Hospital. I hurt for the people who lost their lives on 9/11, like David and Lynn Angell. Last year I wrote a tribute to the Angell's, for the 2996 Project, but I had written about David and Lynn Angell before, the first time was in 2005, on my AOL blog Ellipsis. You can find that entry here.

The Angell's were a wonderful, loving couple. They loved each other, and they loved their work. They had a charity that was close to their hearts called the Hillsides Home For Children. Less than a month before their deaths on 9/11/2001, they celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. They were together on the morning of 9/11/2001 as they boarded American Airlines Flight#11, at Boston's Logan airport, bound for Los Angeles, but they didn't make it home that day, because of pure evil. Their plane was hijacked and crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center at 8:45 A.M. EDT.

When the Angell's died, the world lost two magnificent human beings. Two people who were the complete opposite of the evil that ran rampant that day. I never got the chance to meet David and Lynn Angell, but through my research of them I have come to know them, and respect them as people. I mourn their deaths... deeply. It angers me that nothing has been done to bring Bin Laden to justice. It angers me that we have wasted human lives and resources on an unnecessary war in Iraq, but I have become resolved to the fact that until George Bush is impeached, and congress, both democrat and republican grows a backbone and stops George Bush, we will have to live with the true terror of Osama Bin Laden, and the Al Qaeda terrorist organization. We are not safe anywhere, at anytime, indeed it is just a matter of time before we face another day like 9/11. I am deeply,deeply sad right now. We must email the White House, and our elected officials and demand that we stop this unnecessary war in Iraq, and concentrate our efforts on finding Bin Laden.

Please take a moment to read my entry from last year. It was a non-political tribute to the lives of David and Lynn Angell. It gives you a glimpse into the lives of this loving and generous couple. They shouldn't be forgotten. I know I will never forget them, not ever. Shame on you George Bush!

The 2996 Project: I Am Honoring The Life Of David Angell


"So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him... to be honest."

-George W. Bush 3/13/2002 (Less than a year later).

-OndineMonet