͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏On September 11, 2001, I remember looking up at a perfect blue sky on my walk to work. I didn’t know then that for the rest of my life a perfect blue sky would feel ominous. My route often took me past the Armory, which was unremarkable that morning. By the time I arrived at my office, the world had shifted.
The man who would shortly become my father-in-law had gone to work in the World Trade Center that morning. He had been there in 1993 when it was bombed, so in the early confusion he didn’t hesitate to leave. I was fortunate that day. I did not lose someone very close to me, but I know many who did.
At work, through a window, I watched as the first tower fell. Many of my coworkers couldn’t get home, so I brought them back to my apartment where we watched news coverage and tried to make sense of what had happened to our city. Days later, when we all started to go back to work, I intentionally passed the Armory every day so I could look at the fliers of the missing. I wanted to see and mourn those we’d lost – to look at their pictures and think about their families and loved ones.
When my mother died less than a year later, someone told me that with some time and distance, the sickness and sadness at the end will fade and the good memories will come back. I hope everyone who lost someone on September 11 or in the years following has had that experience and can find joy, comfort, and peace in remembering. May their memories be blessings.
Every September 11, I think about the bravery and selflessness of so many in New York City that day: firefighters, police, EMTs and just regular New Yorkers who ran in to help others get out. I don’t turn on the television. Instead, I revisit the Armory in my mind.
Wishing you peace on this solemn day,
Liz
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