By Charlotte K. Jarmy
Reflections
September should be a time of looking forward. While summer warmth lingers during the day, there is a clear indication of cooler weather to come. We started thinking about electric blankets, although our ceiling fan turns languidly above. Two of our favorite trees create a transition between summer and autumn when deep red leaves start to reach for the tops of the trees. Children walk past our house on the way to school again, some with reluctant steps, many whizzing by on bicycles. I no longer feel that tug to join them and even rejoice in my sense of liberation from the never-ending grading and planning. The high schools themselves look wonderfully new, shrugging off old memories and problems.
September will always be the month of remembrance for me, bringing up my first wedding and all the anniversaries that followed. So many times I sang the somewhat melancholy melody of “September Song” to my young husband - so many hopes and dreams woven into the lyrics. They are part of the nostalgia of the past, no longer arousing sorrow or tears. Life pushes us forward, and I listen to it and feel the urge to move on to new adventures and perhaps better times.
This is also the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashana which always offers wishes for happier days for all the world, despite the continuing stories of strife and anger. Many of us have a “ground zero” in our past, but much smaller than the one memorialized on Sept. 11. We need to heal but must always remember the shock of that day, unique and terrifying with a sudden awareness of our vulnerability. The flags, the prayers, the stirring speeches cannot blot out the knowledge that the United States is viewed with searing hatred in many parts of the world. I hope that the leaders of the free nations will move cautiously. Will another war help despite the known horrors any war brings? We face such unknowns in the new kinds of weapons that our nation’s leaders seem split in their ability to make decisions.
It takes special courage to keep a vision of peace in the midst of the anger spewing forth. There is an ancient pain when news of rising anti-Semitism comes out in statements from terrorists who say, “I hate Americans and Jews.” German polls reveal an increasing negative tide of stereotypical attitudes toward Jews. Some even praise Hitler who they say would have been a great leader if “there had been no Holocaust.” The mind reels.
In times like this we need great men who lead with strength and offer liberating ideas that will lift the darkness and offer us hope. Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt had the insight and self-confidence needed to rally our nation. 9/11 brought out those qualities in the mayor of New York and President Bush. Our firefighters became the heroes in our country with their acts of unselfish sacrifice. There are many fires burning here and, metaphorically, all over the world. We need to search for men and women who can see past their politics and personal ambitions to put out the fires that threaten our future.
Charlotte Kaye Jarmy is a Los Altos resident and longtime contributor to the Town Crier.
