"I AM Jala*AN." (jlwn111) wrote @
2001-09-19 05:30:00
Mood: Grateful
Music: Howard 100 (SIRIUS Ch. 100)
The 911 Tragedy: My 1:11 NYC Skyline Is Gone [END 111]
To
those of us who "knew" (in our mind's eye) that something like this was
going to happen:
I trust that you are still safe and that you are still sorting out your
prophetic visions of the disaster. I too, for nearly 20 years, have had
visions, thoughts, premonitions, whatever you want to call them, about
something (like a plane) crashing into The Towers (or the Empire State
Building). I went to college in Hoboken, NJ in the early 80's and the
view of what my friends at the time called "the biggest 1:11 on the
face of the planet" stared us in the face each and every day as we made
our way around the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology. I used to
look out my dorm room window (which was right along the Hudson and
faced out toward NYC) thinking, wow THIS "is" ONE ONE ONE (the Empire
State Building and the Two Towers).
I also remember thinking what would
happen if a plane or some other form of aircraft slammed into any of
the three components of that 1:11 Skyline.
Disaster. Chaos. I could
actually see it happening. Once I had the vision the first time, it was
hard to shake it (meaning, I would see it every time I looked at the
skyline). My visions were so pronounced to me at the time, that I
"drew" these visions into the
cover of a humor magazine (DUCKLIPS) that
I helped found with several colleagues at the Institute. I used our
campus' student center building, which sits right along the Hudson, as
the target for the "incoming". The act of drawing this out, at the
time, was very helpful to me. I had transformed the nightmarish visions
of something crashing into the 1:11 Skyline into some kind of
exaggerated, humorous image (the magazine itself, called Ducklips, is
seen crashing into the tower on campus). We used it in the Fall of 1982
for the cover on a "best of" compilation. The quote under the DUCKLIPS
logo says "So just what *is* a ZERO HOUR, anyway?" (a reference to the
fact that during freshman year, all our tests were taken prior to the
1st scheduled class of the day --- in the ZERO
HOUR ['round 7AM or so
as I recall]). At any rate, that cover is seen above.
I felt a special connection to The Towers not only because they were in
my face all the time for all those years but because they were entirely
symbolic to me, at the time, of ONE ONE ONE. Not just 111, but 1:11
(with the ":" separating the Empire State Building from the Two
Towers). In 1983, I remember taking a series of photos over the course
of two days which showed the view of the Towers from the roof of my
building on campus and then the very next day we went to the
observation deck and took shots looking back at the campus in Hoboken.
Here are two photos from that sequence:
http://home.att.net/~jlwn111/HOB_2_WTC.jpg
http://home.att.net/~jlwn111/WTC_2_HOB.jpg
As I took a shot looking directly up the side of the building, I "saw"
the cover I had drawn in my mind's eye and the suppressed nightmarish
visions came back and I thought about how quickly I would need to run
if "something" slammed into the side of the building I had fixed my
cheap little Polaroid lens on. Here is that shot:
http://home.att.net/~jlwn111/WTC_lookingUP.jpg
In late 1988, I was in NYC driving around with Colorado plates on my
car having just returned from a year away from the east coast. "The
classic tourist", people must have thought, as I periodically jumped
out of my car (at stop lights even) and took video. Down near NYU, I
had parked the car and was filming all kinds of different shots of the
WTC. The Goodyear blimp was flying overhead. I filmed it as it crossed
the sky and as it appeared to fly directly into the side of a building
that was near where I was filming. I remembered my early 80's visions
of something crashing into my 1:11 Skyline. Since I could see how this
looked through the viewfinder, I said "BOOM!" on the tape just as the
blimp flew "into" the side of the building. It was bright daylight for
that shot. Right after the "BOOM!", the scene abruptly switches to a
crisp night shot of the Twin Towers all lit up. I then played with a
shard of light in the frame, making it splash straight across the shot
three flashes at a time. ONE ONE ONE. ONE ONE ONE. ONE ONE ONE. The
shot ends with a fade out on the brightly lit towers.
When I fixed the "completion date" for my experience with 111 as
November 1, 2000 (11/01) and when I put up that opening page showing
the "END
111" road sign, I thought about what that meant and what it
would mean to others who had been following my 35 year journey. "the
COMPLETED 111 experience of J'lahn: 1965-2000". END 111. Finished.
Done. Yes, END 111. This meant that I began, at that instant in time,
to make a conscious effort to see/feel my experience with 111 as
"completed", as something that was useful for a time (nearly 3 dozen
years), but as something that was now being discarded into the file
folders of my past. I remember thinking, "wow, even my good old 1:11
Skyline from the early 80's (that ONE ONE ONE skyline) is NO MORE a
symbol of 111." END 111. And now, to see that the "11" of that 1:11
skyline has simply been TAKEN AWAY, it makes me wonder why I had these
thoughts. Why END 111? Why? Somehow, at the time, it just made sense.
END 111.
And now to the date, 091101. Or 09112001. No matter how you slice it,
the 111 JUMPS OUT like a demonic 111 pitchfork. Its presence is
unmistakable. 9/11/01. 111 days left. END 111.
Best of Luck to all of us as we sort out our dark, prophetic visions.
We're not to blame, but it certainly is unnerving to have "known" about
this happening for so many years. Without a doubt, it's unnerving. END
111.
Peace to You & Yours During These Difficult Times Ahead,
Jim Jala*AN
p.s. - here's a shot of the WTC I took during a class trip in 1971. I
call it UNFINISHED,
1971.