History Gone in a Puff of E-mail

I had thought I’d be different this year.  Instead of posting pictures and recycled memories, and apart from my anticipatory post that’s down on what 9/11 has made of us, and even instead of posting a longer version of the down post that posits a better response and set of subsequent events, I came up with another idea.  E-mails from the day.

On September 11, 2001 I went to the computer to check e-mail and so forth, then went to MSNBC as was my habit before I read many blogs.  The picture made me run to the TV.

The rest of the day I went back and forth between the TV and computer, trying the web, but mostly on e-mail and Usenet.  I corresponded repeatedly with the receptionist at my client, where nobody did much work that day.  She was the only one who had no real chance to get away from her desk and watch the TV in the big conference room, so I was supplying news and rumor as I heard or read it.

I wanted to review those and, unless it seemed unworkable, excerpt them here to give a glimpse into the feel of the day.  Yes, I keep e-mail that long.  I do have e-mail from Spetember 2001 archived on this computer… but none from 9/11.

Which makes sense, because at that point I hadn’t configured my e-mail account at the client to forward me a copy via the internet.  So I checked internal e-mail.  Apparently at some point the September 2001 e-mail seemed Just Too Old to me.  Folder’s there; mail’s gone.  2002?  No problem.  Damn!

Which perhaps leads me back to posting nothing further at all, or elaborating on how we went astray.  We’ll see.  For now there is work calling me and it will not be denied.

Posted by on 09/11 at 10:09 AM

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