A couple of years ago, Robertson, Daulerio and I — I think Robertson came up with the initial idea, and we piled on top of it and of course took it over, because we are boorish by nature — briefly flirted with 9/11 Happened To Me, a site meant to compile all those embarrassing, self-indulgent, perspective-less missives everyone sent each other in the days following September 11. (I wrote a few myself.) After 10 years — or, in some cases, after 10 hours — many of these emails spoke to man’s inability to process even the most horrific tragedies without filtering them through their inherently narcissistic natures. I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and call it a coping strategy. I suspect if you filtered through your mailbox from 10 years ago, you’d find a few yourself. We’re all working on the 9/11 anniversary edition of NY Mag these days, and even though we’re not doing 9/11 Happened To Me as part of that issue (which is probably for the best), we are looking for some more emails sent in the days afterward that have perhaps not aged all that well. If you have any you feel comfortable sending, we’re taking submissions at will.leitch@nymag.com. I thank you. And remember: “Now, I understand war. I walked 90 blocks home and got here at 2pm.” (I was looking for a photo that best represented narcissism and landed on this one.)

A couple of years ago, Robertson, Daulerio and I — I think Robertson came up with the initial idea, and we piled on top of it and of course took it over, because we are boorish by nature — briefly flirted with 9/11 Happened To Me, a site meant to compile all those embarrassing, self-indulgent, perspective-less missives everyone sent each other in the days following September 11. (I wrote a few myself.) After 10 years — or, in some cases, after 10 hours — many of these emails spoke to man’s inability to process even the most horrific tragedies without filtering them through their inherently narcissistic natures. I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and call it a coping strategy. I suspect if you filtered through your mailbox from 10 years ago, you’d find a few yourself.

We’re all working on the 9/11 anniversary edition of NY Mag these days, and even though we’re not doing 9/11 Happened To Me as part of that issue (which is probably for the best), we are looking for some more emails sent in the days afterward that have perhaps not aged all that well. If you have any you feel comfortable sending, we’re taking submissions at will.leitch@nymag.com.

I thank you. And remember: “Now, I understand war. I walked 90 blocks home and got here at 2pm.”

(I was looking for a photo that best represented narcissism and landed on this one.)

  1. jeanprytyskacz reblogged this from rkb
  2. rkb reblogged this from leitch
  3. miceteries reblogged this from lindsayrobertson and added:
    This is such a great idea. I think, at this point, pretty much everyone who wrote anything about it considers it the...
  4. lindsayrobertson reblogged this from leitch and added:
    Send yours! Still debating whether...let Leitch use mine. It’s
  5. leitch posted this