In August of 2001, I took a trip to New York City. I had just returned from two weeks in Italy and I was exhausted. I got one day of rest before I hopped back on a plane with my mother, aunt, cousin, and niece to visit the Big Apple. Before then, I'd only seen the city in passing, having flown in and out of Newark for Europe. We were visiting to take in a concert at Carnegie Hall, the music of 'Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?'.
We crammed ourselves in a small hotel room a few blocks from the Hall. We attended the concert, had a wonderful night, and set out the next morning to see the city. We visited Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. FAO Schwarz was lots of fun and Tiffany's was beautiful (from the outside). We had a deli sandwich near Soho that was second to none and a cannoli in Little Italy. I loved Rockefeller Center and the breathtaking St. Patrick's Cathedral. Times Square was so bustling and bright and I finally got to see the Macy's. We hiked to the first bastion on the Brooklyn Bridge and back and as we stopped to rest near a hot dog cart, I saw the Twin Towers jutting into the sky and knew I had to get closer. I begged my party to walk just a bit further and reluctantly, they agreed. It was hot, our feet were sore, but we pressed on.
As we approached the center, my chin tilted higher and higher. Until then, I'd restrained myself from looking up. I thought it kept me from seeming like a tourist. But those towers were just so impossibly tall! My family was impressed too, but not as much as I was. I loved buildings and architecture. I stopped in between the towers and took a slow spin. I was dizzy with admiration. Paying no mind now to who saw me be a 'tourist', I got down on the stones of the Center and took a photo. The top 15 or so floors of both buildings were all that would fit in the frame.
We took the subway from the Center station and left the city behind. I remained amazed for some time, remembering the unearthly monoliths of glass and steel. On that morning, weeks later, I was at college walking back from my first class of the day when I saw one of the school maintenance workers stalking across the courtyard cursing. He wasn't normally the type to show such emotion. I asked him what was wrong and he told me. He yelled it, his fuming, trembling voice bouncing off of every surface. I stood there for a few moments, not knowing what to think. As I rushed to my dorm room, I shook my head. This couldn't be right. I remember standing in front of my television watching it all unfold. I had just been there. I had just seen those towers. I had just felt the cool stones on my tired back, surrounded by workers and other tourists. We were smiling.
September 11th, 2001 was a day that knows no equal. There will always be gaping hole in Manhattan, no matter how things may change. The skyline would never be the same; America would never be the same. I thank God for the opportunity I had to see the city as it should still be. I thank God for the lives that were spared, for the courage of America that day and the strength in the days afterward. I pray to God now to protect our nation from feeling that kind of pain again. God bless America and God keep us.
