Today was the day I meet my grandson, Oskar for the first time. He doesn’t know how close we really were all these years. Julia has been telling him, that I am her Renter who occasionally comes to visit. She said we were never allowed to meet and I’ve been not so secretly feeling anxious about not knowing my own grandson. I know this may seem ironic, as I did not want to meet my son but this time it’s different. I don’t want to make the same mistake I did with Thomas.
Now I realize why Julia never wanted me to meet him. I am unstable, and I know that. I’ve walked out on her and our child. After meeting Oskar and listennig to how he speaks about his father not being there, I understand that it would be hard for him to meet me and watch me leave.
Oskar is very eccentric, just as I was when I was young. He asked me to dig up his father’s grave! But before that, he told me everything he could possibly imagine about his dad. About my son. He trusted me enough to show me the messages, he has kept secret, which Thomas left before he died. Oskar also showed me all the research he found on September 11, 2001, what Oskar calls “the worst day ever.” He inspired me to the same, and so I found this news broadcast from that day. When I saw these flames I couldn’t help but think about my worst day ever, back home in Dresden
Hey! What do you mean I’m eccentric?! Just joking. I am honoured that you have found a little piece of yourself in me; this is another raison d'être, of mine. I can’t believe you have been right under my nose, all these years! I was so oblivious not to realize that you and dad both shared the same name. But Grandpa, I found some more information on my worst day ever. Do you remember the times of the messages I showed you? Well they were:
ReplyDeleteDad’s Messages
Message One: 8:52 a.m.
Message Two: 9:12 a.m.
Message Three: 9:31 a.m.
Message Four: 9:46 a.m.
Message Five: 10:04 a.m.
(Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, 68)
Timeline from 9/11 Commission Report
8:46:40 — American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into the WTC’s North Tower (Note: National Institute of Standard Technology report says 8:46:30.)
9:03:11 — United Airlines Flight 175 flies into 2 WTC [the South Tower] (Note: N.I.S.T. report says 9:02:59.)
9:37 — American Airlines Flight 77 hits the west wall of the Pentagon
9:58:59 — South Tower collapses
10:28:25 — WTC’s North Tower collapses
("Fact Box." Times Topics. New York Times. Web. 21 May 2011. .)
Dad used to tuck me in at night and we would read the New York Times together. Even though it makes me really sad to even hear about that newspaper now-a-days, I thought it would be cool to see how they would print such a horrifying story, about their home city. Besides from that Front Page of the newspaper you posted earlier, I found this fact sheet that shows what time the planes hit the building and you can see:
- His first message was sent after the first plane hit.
- The second message was sent after the second plane hit.
- Dad’s third message was sent just before the third plane hit.
- The fourth message was sent before the South Tower collapsed.
- And Dad’s last message was sent just before the North Tower collapsed.
Dad was in the building for a meeting, and after that North Tower, nothing. That was last message. Dad was alive through most of the horror; he could have got out. He cared enough to call his family, multiple times, before he died. This evidently reminds me of how you and Grandma are always here for me. I love you, Grandpa and maybe you can add this to your collection.
Love Always,
Oskar.