In Honor of 9/11 Survivor Janette MacKinlay |
News - News Releases By AE911Truth | ||||||
Written by Mike Cook | ||||||
Tuesday, 21 December 2010 21:31 | ||||||
A Review of Her Artistic Book Fortunate After a battle with brain cancer, likely induced by the toxic dust of the WTC on 9/11, accomplished sculptor, artist, and 9/11 truth seeker Janette MacKinlay continued her journey deeper into truth, passing away on December 9, 2010. We present a small collection of stories from her amazing heart-filled little book. On 9/11/2001, Janette Mackinlay was living with her boyfriend Jim at 110 Liberty St – a building adjacent to the World Trade Center. Written eight years after the events of 9/11, combining imagery from the experience and selections from her prolific artwork with a personal and poignant narrative that is imbued with an artist’s sensibility, her book Fortunate: A Personal Diary of 9/11 persuasively conveys the shock, pain and tragedy of that day and its immediate aftermath. Her amazing graphic volume radiates sparks of hope and flames of triumph.
I wonder, as she did when she was writing her book, how to write about what seems beyond words. Jim’s thoughts in those critical moments of the blast were, “What a simple way to die… just here in the hallway… no high tech approach with tubes every which way coming in and out of your body… just over in a few seconds… just that simple.” Jim had long suffered from heart trouble. Janette’s reaction was a mixture of simple amazement that she was still living and a bemused wonderment regarding whether or not she was really dying.
Many striking sights are described in the book, many of them sad, but there are also times when, through the all-consuming tragedy, triumph shone. Symbolizing recovery from the the South Tower’s destruction, Janette created a piece called “10 seconds in September,” a green, leafy image reminiscent of grass growing through pavement, of nature’s relentless resilience and its unending passion to survive and even thrive.
It is that very determination that I hope readers of this work will perceive most strongly and take and keep with them. Life is indeed incalculably precious and often fragile. Most of us, blessedly, will never be faced with such a horrific near-death experience as Janette did. Yet, also like Janette, all of us will experience death. For each of us, our time here is very limited; how limited we’ll never know, and what we do with that time and ourselves is of utmost importance. Gandhi said, “Whatever you do may be insignificant, but it is most important that you do it.” Perhaps those of us who never come close to death until that final day are not only blessed, but also less “fortunate,” because without frequent reminders, we often forget to appreciate the wonder and opportunity of our all-too-brief existence. Janette never lost that determination. She spoke out on her doubts about the official story of 9/11 every chance she got, contributing what she could to what has become a worldwide movement. That movement, filled with many motivated people like Janette, has the potential to overcome the tide of destruction, hate, and lies, and turn it with an even more powerful tide of creativity, compassion and truth. I hope that others will be inspired by this account of the horror that Janette MacKinlay did not merely endure but transformed with so many beautiful works of art. Her spirit’s thrust for life can inspire all of us to contribute our best to this movement and to our world.
|