[VOA]

...the sting of 9/11 was still with the guys who had been there firsthand.
the stories they tell are fascinating and harsh and sad and uplifting.
it was a tough day.

Well-done for joining the NYPD.
I hope you serve long and safely.

As for those NYPD 9-11 stories, here's my best recollection of one.
I'm sorry I can't recall his name, but the NYPD 9-11 story that
wiped me out emotionally was of the fellow that was turning in
his retirement papers, heard the call about the towers...
and then went back in to re-acquire his badge before hurrying
to the towers on his last day.

Hollywood couldn't (and these days WON'T) write a script that
heart-rending.

[geopyg]

Freeze (Part IV of “Fear”)
From the rock group RUSH, Vapor Trails Album, 2002

The city crouches, steaming
In the early morning half-light
The sun is still a rumor
And the night is still a threat

Slipping through the dark streets
And the echoes and the shadows
Something stirs behind me
And my palms begin to sweat

Sometimes I freeze - until the light comes
Sometimes I fly - into the night
Sometimes I fight - against the darkness
Sometimes I’m wrong - sometimes I’m right

Coiled for the spring
Or caught like a creature in the headlights
Into a desperate panic
Or a tempest of blind fury
Like a cornered beast
Or a conquering hero

The menace threatens, closing
And I’m frozen in the shadows
I’m not prepared to run away
And I’m not prepared to fight

I can’t stand to reason
Or surrender to a reflex
I will trust my instincts
Or surrender to my fright

Sometimes we freeze - until the light comes
Sometimes we’re wrong - and sometimes we’re right
Sometimes we fight - against the darkness
Sometimes we fly - into the night

Blood running cold
Mind going down into a dark night
Of a desperate panic
Or a tempest of blind fury
Like a cornered beast
Or a conquering hero

Sometimes I freeze
Sometimes I fight
Sometimes I fly
Into the night