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Residents
of the the City of Los Angeles commemorated the anniversary
of 9/11 by participating in a number of activities ranging from
quiet, simple, grassroots events, to the ceremony on the south
lawn of City Hall, at mid-day, followed by a foot procession
that proceeded to Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral for an interfaith
remembrance service.
Others chose to viewing a rolling caravan of vehicles traveling
through the City carrying mementos, poems, and artwork, all
tributes to the fallen heroes of the tragic incident.
In many neighborhoods, communities came together to express
themselves and share their thoughts, not so much about what
had happened a year ago, but more about where we are now and
the future.
Here's a small sampling of events attended by LACP participants: |
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13 Grassroots
Events - 7:00am
Early Wednesday morning, a small group of Angelenos gathered at
the "Super A" Grocery Store on York Boulevard in Highland
Park. The 7am ceremony they'd come to participate in was being simultaneously
duplicated across LA, one at each of the 13 "Super A"
stores.
The stores each represented an original Colony ... this one stood
for Virginia.
Local firemen, the store manager and the market's staff, joined
residents from as far away as Riverside to read the President's
Proclamation declaring 9/11/02 as Patriot's Day. We observed a moment
of silence, and homing pigeons were released. Each had a leg band
that bore an inscribed with the name of a 9/11 victim.
It was all over in a few quiet minutes. We watched the birds swing
around in the sky, get their bearings, and begin their flight home.
We reflected that over 3,000 birds were in the skies of Los Angeles,
each representing a person who'd lost their life a year ago in New
York, Washington or Pennsylvania.
This unassuming ceremony was the dream of a small grassroots group,
and was the brainchild of two friends, Tom (Slim) Lattimer and Leo
J. Eiffert Jr.
They called their event "Respecting
Our Privileges"
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City
Hall and the Cathedral - 11:30am
On the Day of Remembrance in LA for 9/11 at the Los Angeles
City Hall and the Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels, my wife
and I attended the procession. We were there with others showing
solidarity in extending our sympathy to those who lost their
loved ones, and showing respect and honor to those brave souls
who lost their lives in the call of duty.
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We were there also in the call of duty from the Community Emergency
Response Team (CERT) sponsored by the Los Angeles Fire Department
to march from City Hall to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
behind the 100 or more firemen. As it turned out, since we had not
completed the training, and needed one more class, and not been
issued a green helmet, jacket and emblem, we were not able to march
with them. Very disappointing indeed, since they were able to attend
the Interfaith Remembrance Service at the Cathedral of Our Lady
of the Angels which was not open to the general public. We had to
settle for watching the service on a large outdoor screen on the
patio which was awe inspiring and enjoyable to watch and hear.
Our overall view of the procession beginning at the opening ceremony
was somber but yet it had a healing quality by having gathered together
city officials, community members, and Consulate representatives
from several countries at the ceremony at City Hall and at the Interfaith
Remembrance Service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
We hope that the City of Los Angeles officials and community members
took this day as an opportunity to heal any wounds encountered by
9/11 and move forward with a new understanding of how to deal with
each other's cultural and religious differences.
Everett and Mary Littlefield
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Neighborhood
Townhall - 6:30pm
The Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, in conjunction with Occidental
College, presented "A Conversation with the Community; Reflecting
on September 11th" which was followed by a student-led candle
light vigil.
The tasteful event was held in Keck Hall, and was hosted by Dalila
Sotelo of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council. Ross Aikins, President
of the Associated Students of Occidental College gave a welcome
address.
Opening remarks followed by Councilman Nick Pacheco, LA Fire Department
Battalion Chief Edward Bushman, and LAPD's Northeast Division commanding
officer, Captain Kyle Jackson.
The heart of the evening was a panel and audience discussion moderated
by veteran broadcast journalist Warren Olney. The panel consisted
of local residents, Ted Mitchell, Occidental College President,
Jervey Tervalon, an award winning writer, Carol Baker Tharp, Ph.D.
candidate, Dr. George Shapiro, Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce President,
Joanne Turner, The Eagle Rock Association(TERA) President, and Eric
Warren, President of the Eagle Rock Historic Society.
Each gave a short opening remark, and the discussion that followed,
which included community members keyed not so much on what had occurred
a year ago as on what the future would hold.
Afterwards, attendees were invited to proceeded to Gilman Fountain
to join a student sponsored candlelight ceremony, which featured
Interfaith Readings, Musical Selections, and a slide presentation.
The tasteful evening was concluded with a quiet reception in Lower
Herrick Chapel.
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