The Malibu Times asked residents how they felt as we approached the anniversary of the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11. Are memories fading? Do you feel safer now?
Questions and photos by Ryan and Heather O’QuinnDon Sawyer
“I feel safer now, thank god Bush is in the Whitehouse. Time heals all wounds. There’s going to be some fading, but you can’t forget how we were attacked, the way we were attacked and that they’d come at us again in a heartbeat if they felt like they could get by with it.”
Denise Skeeter
“I certainly don’t feel safer. The memory [of 9/11] isn’t fading. I feel less secure and more vulnerable. I don’t want to feel this way, but I have to fight off the feeling of hopelessness about it.”
Melanie Goudzwaard
“I don’t feel safer particularly, I think it’s only a question of when something will happen and I don’t believe they’ve given up on using the airplanes yet. So I think all we can do is be extra vigilant and just hope for the best … “
Julia Townsend (age 10)
“I feel kind of safe. I feel we’re doing really good in the war, and we’re getting them and attacking them and showing them that they did wrong. I love my country and we survived. I think about [9/11] a lot because I want to remember it … “
Janine Townsend
“As with any tragedy it sort of fades, but you never, ever forget, and you just think something can happen at any time again. I still think it’s scary. You think about it when you drop your kids off at school and what can happen during the day.”
Maria Wusinich
“It’s a hard thing to think about. If I try to envision the families whose lives have been completely changed, it’s very uncomfortable and painful to think about. I think that it really affected everyone. I don’t think anyone can look at the date 9/11 in the same context anymore.”