Still, compared to him, compared to the people we descend from, I am free of history. I'm so free of history I have to get in a car and drive seven states to find it.

Sarah Vowell
About This Quote

This quote is attributed to David Rakoff, who wrote the book of the same name. The story is about his father, who on the day of the 9/11 attacks, began looking for a place of safety. Once he found it, he called his son and said “Don’t go into that building. They’re going to kill you.” The author then recounts that he found himself in an elevator with another man, who, like him, was searching for safety.

When the door opened on the second floor, Rakoff stepped out and looked at his companion with both surprise and concern. “Where are you going?” Rakoff asked. “I’m going up,” said his friend.

“Up? Why? What are you thinking? I don’t understand why you want to go up there. It just doesn't make any sense to me that you would want to go up there in this situation right now. I mean how can you be so stupid in this moment just standing here in the lobby when you have so many other things to do at home? You have so many other things to do when they call you back.

Why would you want to go up there when there's so much else that needs to be done? I don't understand it." The two were talking about the attack on New York City when it happened at 9:37 AM that day. "I'm not going home," said his friend. "I'm not going back."

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