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Revisiting 9/11
Topics: 9/11, September attacks, world trade center, N.L. Belardes, magic realism, Latino author, chicano writer, Central Valley, California books, Bakotopia, Bakotopia.com, Bakersfield, Citizen Journalism
Posted by thenovelist Wed Aug 27, 2008 14:17:03 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments Location: Church St. & Vesey St., New York City, NY 10038

Revisiting 9/11
Three authors share stories...

By NL Belardes, Bakotopia.com contributor

With 9/11 around the corner again I thought it would be a good time to revisit a related manuscript I’d written a few years ago titled, “Thick White Crust.” It’s a memoir about moving to Bakersfield from Las Vegas on 9/11.

While the story is non-fiction based, it’s one of reality and dreams mixed with the horrors of 9/11 and the Mexican Day of the Dead. Tony O'Neill, author of “Down And Out On Murder Mile” recently said Thick White Crust has “a kind of dust-blown restlessness that manages to turn 9-11 into a backdrop for a much more interesting story."

Dust-blown for sure. It needed editing, more content and a decent dusting off. Sort of like our thoughts of 9/11 themselves.

I think it’s time many people confront their own stories of 9/11 before all the over-played election coverage makes everyone bury such thoughts.

I had started to write the manuscript just after September 11, 2001. It was just too close to tragic events to really do anything with it. I didn’t get the feeling that publishers would be interested in a West Coast 9/11 story. Besides, I was still living the story. It needed a rest.

Since I have revisited the book, I’ve begun serializing it online at LA Times Best-Selling Author Brad Listi’s TheNervousBreakdown.com. It’s been more than a good conversation piece. It’s been a way for people to share stories and talk about their 9/11 experiences.

Author Savannah Guz wrote her own piece titled, “9-11, Inside District Borders.” She worked at the Smithsonian at the time of the crash. She writes about the time just after 9/11:

In the mornings, I would watch the snipers pace the roof of the Justice Building across Constitution Avenue, disappearing behind the giant, wind-rippling flags, and then reappearing again. There were two that walked the periphery of the roof side that faced Natural History. They were dressed in navy blue, carried their rifles against their shoulders.

Writer Meghan Hunt, who attended a military college in Vermont as a civilian during 9/11 came forward with her own story, “I Wonder if Al Qaeda Knows Where Vermont Is…Or If They Even Know It’s a State.” Hunt writes:

I remember saying good-bye and grabbing a sweatshirt and bolting upstairs to find a TV and just as I arrived in that room, as I pushed my way past people to find my friend Nick, I turned and saw the second tower fall.

What I find fascinating is that conversations about 9/11 seem to outweigh those about the election over on TheNervousBreakdown. I think that says something about people having kept silent for so long. Just because people weren’t at 9/11 doesn’t mean their stories aren’t important, valuable, and necessary. Especially today.

Read five installments of "Thick White Crust" and stay tuned for more.

An interview on Thick White Crust will pe posted on L.A.'s GPod on 9/11.

Also printed in Bakotopia magazine, issue 36, 9-4-08

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N.L. BELARDES is a journalist, blogger and videographer. He writes several media blogs, including Noveltown’s Paperback Writer and Nick 2.0 (Formerly on ABC23). His work has appeared on the homepage of CNN.com and other news sites all over America.

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