Crippie Remembers Her Auntie

Hello,

Sorry for the lack of posts, it's been a sad week at Crippie's household. As mentioned in my last post, my aunt was very sick. She finally won her battle of lung cancer and passed away early Saturday morning. Naturally I am very sad but I'm doing my best to look on the "bright side" of this whole situation, which is that she is no longer suffering (btw... if any of my readers are smokers and/or are doing something that increases their chances of lung cancer... STOP NOW. Lung cancer is a terrible way to go. I cannot even begin to describe how much pain my aunt was in. I cannot describe how much the cancer destroyed her body. Please, do not be ignorant and think this cannot happen to you, it can happen to anyone. My aunt did not smoke cigarettes and yet it happened to her).

My aunt was an amazing person. She never really complained about anything, and like me, always looked on the bright side. The last time I saw her (which was two weeks ago) she was in very poor shape. We asked how she was doing and she said "Not terrible, I mean I wish I could walk but I'm mentally strong". She never believed in speaking ill about anyone. Regardless of how much a person might have been annoying her they were still "very nice". This is something everyone should try their best do, partly because anything bad they say can come back to bite them in the ass, but mainly because you never know if that horrible statement could be the last thing you say about them. She loved art and music. We both share a love for Simon & Garfunkel, her favorite song was Cecelia. She was a kind, loving, beautiful (even the Rabbi speaking at her funeral said she was hot) person. She will be forever missed and forever loved. Rise & Fly Auntie, love you lots.

The next couple of days and weeks will be difficult, but a quote from Stephen Sondheim's musical "Into The Woods" helps me and gives me comfort...

Crippie's typographic rendition of Sondheim's quote.

Crippie's Tippie- For more information on lung cancer, go to this link.

Remembering 9/11

Hi everyone,

As we all know, today was the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. I've lived in New York all of my life, so my memories of that day and the aftermath are very vivid.

Where was I when I heard the news- I was 12 years old. I was in my third period science class. The principal came on the PA system and said that two planes had crashed into the Twin Towers and an addition plane had crashed into the pentagon. After the announcement my teacher looked down on the ground for a second, shook his head, and continued with the lesson.

When did I realize that the world had forever changed- When I came home from school I saw the footage of the towers falling. I got a feeling in the pit of my stomach that the world would never be the same.

The Aftermath- My dad works in the city. He was on a rooftop when the plane that was going to hit the South Tower flew over his head. He saw the faces of the people in the plane. Over the next few days we learned about neighbors and friends who had lost someone in the attack. One of my little sister's classmates lost her father and uncle. I remember going to her father's memorial service. I saw that little seven year old girl dressed in black clinging to her mother and I thought "what in the hell did this girl do to deserve this".

How did this effect my life- Before 9/11 the world's problems didn't seem that terrible. It really was the loss of innocence. Everything changed from that point on, for worse and for better.


Crippie's Tippie- May we never forget the lives lost on that terrible day, may we never forget the people who were effected in some way or another. And most importantly, may we never let it happen again.