9/11, again

There is a huge American flag hanging in front of my office building. I'm not on one of the floors whose windows it covers, but I wonder if they have red, white, and blue diffused light. Do they feel claustrophobic?

On early morning news, pre-coverage of the 9/11 ceremonies center their cameras on the flag. Was it there last year? Everything is more intense this year, why? Because it's falling on the same day of the week? I think it's also because the site of the ceremony has moved off the actual site into a nearby park, so it seems more streets are closed and subway station exits barricaded. So it affects us, who work in the area, much more, in a physical sense, and somehow, taps into our emotions more as well.