I’ve visited the 9/11 Memorial several times, but this is the first time I’d visited at night. It was beautiful. There were flowers everywhere, and many people there to pay their respects. The Memorial has two large reflecting pools where the towers stood with fountains inside. Surrounding the pools are the names of each person lost in the towers, on the flights, at the Pentagon, or in the 1993 attacks. Nearly 3,000 names.
Each year during the week of September 11th, New York City also has two lights shining in to the sky, to represent the towers. Here is a photo I took from a distance a few days ago.
That tall building is the newly finished One World Trade Center. It is the tallest building in New York City at 1,776 feet. (The Empire State Building comes in 3rd at 1,250 feet.)
Today is a hard day to remember for all Americans. I can only imagine how difficult it is for New Yorkers that were here, and those who lost loved ones that day. I didn’t know anybody in the towers. I was in High School and had never lived anywhere outside of Utah.
As I sat in a classroom watching the news, I was sad that these buildings were on fire, but in my naive teenage brain, that was the only thing we were losing. Of course it would be bad if these buildings caught on fire and were destroyed, but surely there was nobody inside them.
That moment of asking “are there people inside those buildings?” to getting my answer. That was when I lost something. I lost a belief and trust in humanity that I have been fighting to regain ever since that day.
Sometimes I find it.
I have some cousins who spent the last week providing free dental work to those who needed it in the Domincan Republic.
My sister put a team together for the Walk To End Alzheimer’s and has raised over $500 from friends and family for a cause she feels strongly about. (Visit her page if you are interested in donating.)
Tonight as I was leaving the 9/11 Memorial, a man gave the only cab around to a woman and her child and said, “I’ll grab another one somewhere.”
Sometimes I find it.
What’s Tomorrow?
September 12
- National Video Games Day
- National Chocolate Milkshake Day
- National Day of Encouragement