9/11: Two Images

As some of you may know, on the morning of September 11, 2001, I was attending a breakfast meeting in the ballroom of the Marriott Hotel at the World Trade Center. During the speech by the CEO of a major brokerage firm, the gentleman next to me nudged me and whispered, "Are we having an earthquake?" The chandeliers began to rattle and seconds later, there was a loud boom. All 250 of us jumped up and ran. My escape took me to Battery Park at the very tip of Manhattan and then to Jersey City via tugboat. After more travel in New Jersey and through Midtown Manhattan, I eventually got home in Brooklyn Heights at about 6:30 that night. The real journey that began for me that morning has taken me to a number of other places, up to and including the Geranium Farm and even beyond.

The image of the early days that has remained constantly in my mind's eye is this one.

One of the hardest parts of those days was the sense of loss that was aroused even from just looking out windows and seeing the empty space in the skyline. There was great symbolism in that emptiness. So, in recent months, my spirits have been lifted by the rising of the new One World Trade Center building. It is heartwarming indeed to feel the sense of renewal embedded in that structure. And it is particularly satisfying to see the 80 floors of structural steel as it appears this weekend:

Good wishes to everyone this weekend. May the commemoration of this occasion be worthwhile and gratifying for all of you.

----------------------------------------
The photo of the firemen is evidently in the public domain, since we found it on several websites. The striking view of the new Trade Center building was taken by Andy Ramirez of KNXV-TV, ABC15 in Phoenix, AZ, who is spending the weekend in New York; it is copyrighted by Scripps Media, Inc.