Reflecting on 911 Sept 11, 2001

Flag of Honor

On December 31, 2001, NYC opened a boardwalk to the public so people could pay their respect at the location of the World Trade Center attacks. My family, along with thousands of other people stood in line for hours in order to witness this hallowed ground.

My husband and I have returned every year since.

Excerpt from the book "When It's All Said and Done"

 

"For those of us who were changed as a result of September 11th 2001, it is a time to count our blessings. I will never forget that day or the memories that followed.

Our son was 9 years old and playing in a youth football league with Dave as his coach. On their first practice after this terrible event, the boys all “took a knee” and prayed.  They were young, and likely didn’t understand the full impact of what had happened. No, these boys of fall only really knew that, for the first time in their lives, the adults in their community walked around in an open state of mourning. I’ll not forget the first Saturday that followed. How a small neighborhood of families came together on a school field to watch these young ones play some football! I watched as parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers and friends walked into the sunlight morning to come together in solidarity; steeled game faces with tear stained determination.

My parents came that day too. The visibility of their pain pierced my soul. I knew the older people were in shock to have witnessed, in their lifetime, this heinous crime against their country. I believe that every able man on that gridiron that particular September day would have gladly taken up arms to defend their homes and country. The bombing of the World Trade Center was personal and the wound was deep. For weeks, even months, people treated one another with decency, graciousness and sympathy. "