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01.
Prelude / 8:07 AM |
06.
8:39 AM |
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01.
Prelude / 8:07 AM |
06.
8:39 AM |
7:46 PM
Later that day Leonardo stood still on the rooftop with his brothers as night began to fall, their bandannas removed, all of them silent with thoughts known only to themselves. Leo stood stoic, almost statuesque in his posture and demeanor as he gazed across the smoke-filled cityscape, his reddened eyes set on the Ground Zero of the WTC tragedy a block away as the mounting rescue effort continued to pick up momentum.
What could he say? What was he supposed to think — what were any of them supposed to think?
There were no words, simply no words.
Leo felt the eyes of his brothers on him from behind but his gaze was unflinching, unwavering in its intensity. He was supposed to be the leader, the role model, the pillar from which they were to draw their strength in the absence of Master Splinter...
... and Splinter wasn’t going to be there forever.
From elsewhere on the rooftop, Michaelangelo consoled Donatello, both Turtles weeping bitterly. After embracing each other for a long moment, Mike decided to try and approach Raphael. He found his best friend sitting quietly on the opposite end, slowly, somberly twirling a sai in one hand. Mike took a seat beside him. When Mike realized his brother’s face was soaked with tears he was taken aback, but soon put his arm over his back. His brother pulled him closer.
He had never seen Raphael shed a tear in his entire life. Nobody had.
"I-I’m... I’m not crying from my own grief, Mikey... not today..." Raphael spoke solemnly, glancing weakly over at Leonardo before quickly looking away, "I-I’m crying... because he won’t."
Michaelangelo gave his brother’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before moving away. "It’s all right, Raph... it’s okay."
Hearing what his brothers had just said but saying nothing to acknowledge it, Leonardo turned from his observation of the bustle of the ongoing rescue effort continuing in Ground Zero — the firemen, the medic teams, the police, members of the National Guard — and walked past his brothers towards the fire escape. One by one the four Turtles began their descent.
The world, modern day society... they might never welcome Leonardo and his brothers with open arms — none of them had any delusions about this. But after today Leonardo felt he and his kin had come to the realization that maybe — just maybe — this city and its people were not so different from them after all at the end of the day. They had a right to a place in it as much as anyone, even if their role and skin color might be a little bit different.
There was, after all, always hope. Today that would be enough.
But one day. One day...
"It’s our city, too, my brothers," Leonardo spoke determinedly. His voice was as stern as it was resolute. "Never forget that."
And they never would.
"The key to our success as a city, the reason we are the most famous city in the world, and the reason why we really legitimately are the capital of the world, is really just one thing: immigration.
"We have never been afraid of people. We’ve never been afraid of people no matter what their color, religion, ethnic background. We’re a city in which our diversity is
our greatest strength.
"And keeping ourselves open to people.
"It doesn’t matter if you came here rich or poor, if you came here voluntarily or involuntarily, if you came here in freedom or in bondage. All that matters is that you embrace America and understand its ideals and what it’s all about.
"Abraham Lincoln used to say that the test of your Americanism was not your family tree; the test of your Americanism was how much you believed in America. Because we’re like a religion really. A secular religion. We believe in ideas and ideals. We’re not one race, we’re many; we’re not one ethnic group, we’re everyone; we’re not one language, we’re all of these people.
"So what ties us together? We’re tied together by our belief in political democracy. We’re tied together by our belief in religious freedom. We’re tied together by our belief in capitalism, a free economy where people make their own choices about the spending of their money. We’re tied together because we respect human life. We’re tied together because we respect the rule of law. Those are the group of ideas that make us Americans."
- Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s Farewell Address, Dec. 21, 2001
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