Community After Tragedy

One Friday in November, I began a journey from New Jersey to downtown New York City to visit old work friends. It was my first visit since the tragic September 11th attack. Although I've traveled this same route--the commuter train to the Hoboken station from 1996-2000--there were now, of course, changes in the environment when I got to Hoboken.

For one thing, it was the first time I had to ask a fellow commuter how I would get downtown from the Hoboken train station, as in the past, I always took the path train to the WTC. I began to ask a commuter, and that's when I noticed the next big change: A great sense of relatedness and unity amongst commuters. Not that we were void of any sense of that in the past, but now we were faced with a massive perspective shift: As a whole, we've experienced a never-expected nightmare to our previously-thought "invincible" New York City.

The first gentleman I spoke to was extremely helpful and more than willing to offer his help on how I would now get downtown. His knowledge and love for the city was evident.

Then another gentleman came up to me and began speaking. This second conversation I had really reinforced my conviction of the universality and positivity of drumming. Make no mistake: The conversation began in a dark tone, as he depicted to me his firsthand witnessing of September 11th. This man is an employee of a large corporation located a few blocks down from the WTC. Yes, I've heard some details on the news and through casual talk previously. But to hear it from someone firsthand, while seeing the expressed pain and anguish was something else. In my past communication with commuters, yes, we would talk, but often to simply kill time. Now it was evident we were part of the same "family".

Once he found out I was a drummer, and I found out he was a keyboard player, the tone took a tremendous upward shift. It was amazing how that shift even allowed us to get into specifics. We were now glowfully discussing drum techniques such as Steve Gadd's work on "Aja", and Jeff Porcaro's hi-hat sound and groove from "Rosanna". I began to explain some hand technique including the moeller stroke. We started to laugh at the similarity, joy and appreciation we had! One can now sense that we had come to relate to one another on two levels.

No experience can ever erase our September 11th tragedy. However, the friendly environment change I witnessed between NYC commuters now was actually heartening. And, in the case of the conversation I had with this second gentleman, drums were a vehicle that significantly uplifted the mood of our conversation -- which, especially for this gentleman -- brought him a temporary escape from his painful, visual memories.

We know how widespread the positive effect of drums is. Is it any coincidence that drums are now being linked to health more and more? Or why REMO has a department called Health Rhythms? Or why there are programs such as Drums not Guns and Drumming for Success? Or why Dom Famularo and Zoro have such an inspirational effect? I think not ? Add this one to the list.

About The Author

Dan Britt is a NJ drummer/instructor, who conducts clinics in the public schools. His articles/stories have appeared in international magazines such as England's "Rhythm" and Australia's "Music Teacher International". For further information, he can be contacted via email @ danbsticks@aol.com or through www.dannybritt.com

www.dannybritt.com

recurring cleaning service Mundelein ..

In The News:

New phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

Community After Tragedy

Positive Attitude Tips