THE
TERROR
OF
A
SUMMER'S
NIGHT
AT
LINCOLN
CENTER
by
Cliff
McKenzie,
Editor
OVERVIEW:
Terrorism
can
strike
at
any
moment.
It
attacked
me
last
night
at
a
open
air
Saw
Doctor
concert
at
Lincoln
Center
when
I
was
with
my
children
and
grandchildren.
No
one
saw
the
attack.
It
was
a
secret
attack,
blowing
up
the
serenity
within
me,
reminding
me
that
horror
and
destruction
is
only
an
eye
blink
away.
GROUND ZERO PLUS 1076
DAYS--New York, NY, Saturday, August 21, 2004--I
was attacked by the Beast of Terror last night at the Lincoln
Center while watching the Irish band, Saw Doctors, perform to
the pleasure of my children and grandchildren.
No
one
knew
I
was
under
attack
except
my
Sentinels
of
Vigilance
who
came,
again,
to
my
rescue,
but
not
after
the
old
wounds
of
Terror
were
split
open.
 |
We
were
enjoying
an
evening
summer
concert
at
Lincoln
Center
|
It
was
a
beautiful
evening.
Each
summer
the
Lincoln
Center
offers
outdoor
free
concerts
and
music.
Last
night
they
featured
the
Irish
band,
Saw
Doctors,
a
favorite
of
my
son-in-law
who
comes
from
a
rich
New
York
Irish
heritage.
My
wife
and
I
came
to
the
concert
from
Central
Park,
where
we
root
for
various
softball
teams
all
year
long.
This
week
is
the
final
playoffs--softball
players
'Olympics'
where
they
vie
for
the
"Gold,"
"Silver"
and
"Bronze"
in
their
own
right.
I
was
feeling
good.
Or
so
I
thought.
It
had
been
a
strange
day.
I
felt
this
oppression
in
my
mind,
a
heavy
weight
that
drove
me
to
sleep
most
of
the
day.
I
wasn't
sure
if
I
was
feeling
sick
or
just
over
tired,
or,
perhaps,
anticipating
some
doom
and
gloom.
I
realized
later
that
I
was
on
the
cusp
of
Terror,
bracing
myself
for
yet
another
attack
by
the
horror
and
memories
of
Nine
Eleven's
third
anniversary
approach.
I
was
sitting
watching
my
two-year-old
grandson
play
with
his
grandmother,
enjoying
him
dancing
to
the
sounds
of
the
Saw
Doctor,
an
Irish
Folk
Music
band,
along
with
his
brother,
age
8,
and
his
sister,
6
years
old.
 |
We
were
dancing
to
the
music
of
The
Saw
Doctors
when
the
Terror
began
|
The
sky
was
filled
with
lights,
windows
igniting
the
sky
that
shimmer
like
stars
from
the
skyscrapers
looming
like
spears
teasing
the
underbelly
of
the
heavens.
New
York
is
a
vertical
city
that
arthritically
cranes
one
neck
to
appreciate
its
architectural
magnificence.
That
was
where
it
began.
I
was
gazing
up
into
the
sky,
appreciating
the
lights
and
the
wonderment
of
a
great
city
that
often
reminds
me
of
Babble
when
arrogant
men
tried
to
build
structures
that
would
enter
the
Gates
of
Heaven.
Then
I
spotted
it.
It
was
a
plane
flying
across
the
sky,
its
lights
igniting
the
dark
gray
gauze
of
the
evening
overcast.
The
city's
lights
illuminated
its
silver
underbelly.
I
felt
the
hair
on
the
back
of
my
neck
stiffen.
My
stomach
roiled.
I
had
an
urge
to
grab
my
grandchildren
and
run
to
the
nearest
subway
and
carry
them
deep
into
its
bowels
to
protect
them
from
the
impending
danger
above.
Even
the
subway
rats
would
be
a
relief
to
the
danger
from
the
sky.
One
plane
after
another
inched
across
the
sky
above,
as
though
part
of
a
celestial
train
linked
by
some
invisible
threads,
pulling
and
chugging
against
the
force
of
gravity
toward
some
unseen,
unknown
destination.
The
scene
triggered
the
memory
of
the
morning
of
September
11,
2001,
when
I
was
sitting
with
my
computer
at
Starbucks
near
the
World
Trade
Center
and
heard
a
strange
roar
above.
I
looked
up
and
saw
the
silver
underbelly
of
a
jetliner
screaming
low
in
the
sky.
I
tracked
it
questioningly,
wondering
why
a
plane
was
flying
so
low
over
the
city.
Trouble,
I
thought?
 |
I
witnessed
the
horror
of
the
planes
slamming
into
the
World
Trade
Center
|
That
moment
is
frozen
in
my
mind
in
living
color
and
sound.
That
moment
was
a
reckoning,
a
prelude
to
something
that
has
scarred
my
soul
and
cast
deep
shadows
on
my
primary
purpose
as
an
adult,
an
American,
a
grandfather,
a
farther,
and
a
member
of
the
world
community.
I
witnessed
the
ensuing
horror
of
that
plane,
and
its
allied
plane,
smashing
into
the
World
Trade
Center,
torpedoing
America's
sense
of
security
and
threatening
the
lives
and
sanctuary
of
our
children
and
their
Children's
Children's
Children.
Last
night,
that
old
wound
cleaved
wide.
I
felt
the
scabs
split.
The
infection
of
Fear,
Intimidation
and
Complacency--tools
of
the
Beast
of
Terror--spread
malignantly
through
my
system.
I
thought
perhaps
after
writing
more
than
2
million
words
and
posting
over
1,000
stories
on
Terrorism
I
might
find
myself
braced
for
any
attack,
emotional
or
physical.
But
last
night
I
felt
powerless,
as
I
did
on
September
11,
three
years
ago.
I
looked
at
my
grandchildren
laughing
and
dancing
to
the
music,
and
the
joy
on
the
hundreds
upon
hundreds
of
faces
savoring
the
Saw
Doctors'
wonderful
music.
I
felt
I
was
the
only
one
in
the
world
who
saw
the
sky
was
falling.
I
braced
myself
to
contain
those
feelings
of
Fear,
Intimidation
and
Complacency.
I
called
upon
the
Sentinels
of
Vigilance
to
help
bolster
my
Courage,
Conviction
and
Right
Actions
for
future
generations.
It
wasn't
easy.
I
found
myself
gripping
the
side
of
the
brick
wall
I
was
sitting
on,
clenching
my
teeth
and
trying
to
avert
gazing
up
at
the
sky
and
seeing
not
stars
and
beauty,
but
ugliness
and
horror.
Going
home
after
the
concert
I
didn't
speak
of
the
feeling.
I
thought
it
had
passed
until
this
morning
when
I
awoke
with
a
start.
I
was
blinded
by
the
sun
spitting
off
the
underbelly
of
the
plane.
I
remember
the
harsh
reflection
of
it
striking
my
face
that
morning
three
years
ago,
like
a
bully
slapping
a
helpless
child
just
before
pushing
the
child
to
the
ground
and
kicking
it.
I
knew
I
had
much
work
to
do
on
my
own
Vigilance.
 |
I
can't
let
myself
be
blinded
by
the
Beast
of
Terror
|
And,
I
wondered
how
many
others
have
let
time
evaporate
the
threat
of
the
Beast
of
Terror?
I
feared
that
if
they
did,
they
would
forget
he
is
doing
pushups
in
the
sky,
the
bushes,
waiting...waiting...waiting
for
Complacency
to
bury
Vigilance.
I
took
my
Vow
of
Vigilance
this
morning.
I
took
it
hungrily.
I
hoped
others
would
too.
Go
To
Yesterday's
Story
"Sentinels
Of
Vigilance
Drive
Away
The
Beast
Of
Terror
In
Athens"
»
leave
your
thoughts
about
this
story
in
our
Guest
Book
.jpg)
