Looking Back: A Tribute

Much has occurred in my life since I wrote this post last year, however my personal ups and downs will not alter my feelings about that day eleven years ago. I woke up this morning with a chill in my bone, not knowing if it was the cool morning or just because of the symbolic day that was ahead of me.

First posted 9/9/11

Many of you may be surprised to learn that I worked in the Wall Street area for 13 years. To me it was thee place to be gainfully employed, dine at fine restaurants, bar hop, or just explore. I particularly loved seeking historic venues and unusual places of interest, and luckily there were many crammed into the small Downtown area. It had so many redeeming qualities, I always wanted to live and work there (and still would to this day). I visited the Fireman’s Museum, dined at historic Fraunce’s Tavern, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, ate raw clams at South Street Seaport, watched ticker tape parades along the “Canyon Of Heroes” and heck, I even met and fell in love with my spouse there. The most difficult maneuver was trying to navigate tiny pathways and crowded sidewalks. I would curse the chilling winds and icy streets during the winter months, but welcome spring so I was able to visit the cemetery at Trinity Church. The parades and the people I befriended were worth the price of being employed in the area. My ticker tape viewings included the Yankees (twice), Pope John Paul II, and American hostages released from Iran. I took this photo on October 19, 1978 during the Yankees celebration as I am standing in front of my office building on Broadway in the shadows of a magnificent structure (the South Tower is more prevalent in this photo). I would exit from this iconic architectural wonder five days a week from either my PATH or E train. I would leave the hallowed subterranean floors with no inkling of what the future held. I was there when it first opened in 1973 and was interviewed on the radio while escalating from the underground transit system (I didn’t get to hear it but I suppose someone did that day in April). I wish I had my own photographs of King Kong climbing it, Phillipe Petit walking across it, or George Willig scaling it (because I saw it all). I will only have the fondest memories and try to erase the images of that tragic day that befell upon it almost 10 years ago. I still weep with sorrow for the thousands who perished and their families left behind. I still cringe when I don’t see them in the skyline, I still whisper when I speak of that day, I still say a silent prayer when I think of it, but I still have hope for the future. Keep healthy and fit by paying homage to those people and places we have loved and lost.