Skin color was covered by the ash of burning towers. This is a different country than it was a week ago. We're not as self-centered as we were. We're not as self-reliant as we were. Hands are out.
Knees are bent.
This is not normal. Maybe this, in his eyes, is the way we are called to live. And perhaps the best response to this tragedy is to refuse to go back to normal. Perhaps the best response is to follow the example of Tom Burnet. He was a passenger of flight 93.