It's a different feeling this time around, the annaversary of the national tragedy. Last time I was pretty distressed. This year, I feel like we're coming around. Which is not to say there still aren't plenty of sad notes, but the tone now is passion and progress, not mute pain and mourning.

Some people are still figuring out what a royal screwjob the post-trauma handling was. For instance, 24 months after the fact, we now know the air at ground zero was poisonous, which explains why my man Archie -- vetran NYC EMT -- at the corner bar mentioned that his lungs are fucked up the other night. Folks are starting to get a glimmer of an incling that the current national leadership might not be the best for guiding us forth from the mire we've wandered into, and I'm finding acres of purpose and a new career in helping that consciousness emerge.

So it's my hope we can figure out how to organize under a big banner of hope and community, avoid the flags of fear or anger or ego. It's going to be a challange over the next year, but I can think of no better reason for getting up early and staying up late. If we want a better tomorrow, it's going to come because we worked for it, not because someone offered it to us.