It had the eerie feeling of the Fourth of July, only four months early. Roads were crowded, parking was scarce, and people flocked to the riverside to watch the light show.

Only this was a much shorter, more solemn display. At 6:55 p.m. yesterday, Casey and I stood on the shore of New York Harbor in Jersey City looking across at Lower Manhattan when two bright beacons suddenly burst toward the heavens in tribute to the victims of 9/11, six months gone.

New York established the first public memorial to the victims of the terrorist attacks with two towers of light near the World Trade Center site. Standing in a small extension of Liberty State Park, Casey and I could easily make out the floodlights of Ground Zero, where recovery continues (five more firemen were found today). Just to the left, a little north of Ground Zero, on the other side of the World Financial Center and another building, the lights extended as two beams high into the sky, eventually coming together as one. Casey said it looked like the Bat Signal, and seconds later, another person near us in the park said the same thing. Watching news reports on TV a few minutes after that, someone in Hoboken said the same thing. If only Batman could have helped us then.

Driving back from Jersey City, Casey and I hit horendous traffic. Leaving Hoboken and entering Weehawken, traffic was not allowed to turn toward the river, into a hotel/shopping complex that connects to River Road. Further up, near the Lincoln Tunnel offices, same thing. As a result, it took half an hour -- the time it usually takes to get from Casey's house to mine -- to go just a short distance. On a bluff above the Hudson, cars lined the overlook and people stood and stared. Policemen directed traffic at stoplights and intersections.

When we got home, Lori couldn't understand the traffic, and when I told her, she was disgusted. "I can't believe they're even doing that," she said, referring to the memorial. Her uncle worked in the Trade Center, and though he made it out alive, he obviously knew people who didn't. He's not ready for it, and since it bothers him, it bothers Lori. I don't know whether they should or shouldn't do it, because I don't remember any discussion of it during the planning stages, but I figure that if people do want it, there has to be something good about it. Not everyone is ready for that kind of reminder, but some people may never be ready.

While at work Sunday, I had CBS on to watch "9/11" and paid attention to segments of it, but couldn't watch it continuously. I have the tape in my room, and soon I'll devote two hours to it. The parts I saw were amazing, and shocking. I've wondered what it was like to experience it firsthand, and I got a taste of that from the documentary.

So today would be Jack Kerouac's 80th birthday. I didn't get a chance to sit down and read On The Road as I'd considered a couple of weeks ago, but I'll breeze through it again soon. Until then ...

Flat on my back, I stared straight up at the magnificent firmament, glorying in the time I was making, in how far I had come from sad Bear Mountain after all, and tingling with kicks at the throught of what lay ahead of me in Denver -- whatever, whatever it would be.

On The Road, Part One, Chapter 4