Flight 93, the movie

I have not decided whether to see this movie. It is among the few that I don't feel a need to watch because I know what it is about. The film is certain to be painful to watch and remember, and as long as I remain conscious I will never emotionally sink to a place that I need reminding. The emotional pain of that day left a permanent mark on my being. I did not have personal knowledge of anyone who was sacrificed that day, but the impact could not have been more powerful.

Our youngest child was a flight attendant for United Airlines and had been flying the transcontinental routes. By the grace of God she was on another crew a few days before 9/11 that experienced an in-flight emergency which later proved to be less dangerous than it seemed at the time. The flight had to be aborted, passengers and crew prepared for a crash landing, and only when they landed was the "emergency" found to be a false alarm. The stress, however, was enough to warrant a replacement crew and her removal from the assignment pool from which a fatal United Flight #175 would be selected for September 11.

There is more to tell, but I don't want to write about it just now. The reason for this post is to direct the reader to Gerard Vanderleun's just published essay about the movie Flight 93. Nothing I add will be anything but pedestrian in the shadow of his perfectly-crafted writing. He's a real pro with a flawless sense of proportion, knowing the difference between the sacred and the profane. This essay handles the sacred with profound reverence.