Oct 14, 2003 05:25 AM GMT

In Geneva, Illinois, a far far west suburb of Chicago Sept. 11, 2003 was red, white and blue day at the public school. Most parents didn't acknowledge the fear they talked about last year. A few neighbors put out American flags. September 11 this year cannot be a silent memorial to the dead in New York because people are still dying but now in Iraq. No one can forget that perhaps because of its tie to 9/11.

Siobhan Kolar, Geneva, Illinois

Sep 12, 2003 05:05 AM GMT

The trains were remarkably free of armed guards today, though word is traffic was a nightmare - Dick Cheney was paying a visit on a day pass from his undisclosed location, which no doubt called for the presence of half the NYPD. Steering clear of the hoopla downtown, the only indication it was 9/11 was the return of the twin searchlights reaching skywards from Ground Zero, which were lit for a month on the half-year anniversary, and again last September 11th. The lights are oddly comforting, in a way the towers themselves never were: more human-sized, even if they are 5,000 feet tall.

Neil deMause, Brooklyn, NY

Sep 12, 2003 04:44 AM GMT

The anniversary gave me something appropriate to think about during the government-mandated "Moment of Silence" in the Georgia public school where I work. Usually I just sit wishing the Ten Commandments would be removed from government buildings.

Name withheld, Gwinnett County, GA