A day that will live in infamy. I was going to give you my recollection of Tuesday, September 11, 2001 and a day that I will not soon forget. If only I could. Though my PTSD has long since subsided, I still remember the day where I believed everything changed for me. My outlook on many things change forever at 9:00am on that Tuesday in lower Manhattan. I would retell my story, but why. You've heard it all before in so many way and, to be honest, I have moved on. Truly, it has long since past the time to move on.
Today, lower Manhattan will once again be a subdued scene of mourning with the families as it has been for 13 years. Perhaps the names of the 2,606 people who died that day will be read. Pardon me for being harsh, but there comes a time where one has to move on. I would imagine that there are very few family members who lost loved ones in the attacks at the World Trade Center who have not move on. For those who still need the yearly memorial, I can sympathize. I really do. But the site has long since shifted from a place of unimaginable devastation to a construction site.
I have witnessed that transformation from my office window almost every day since November 2001 when we were finally allowed back into our building across the street from the World Trade Center. Until just recently, all access to that area has been cut off. A few month's ago, the security wall were taken down around the Memorial Park Plaza and it was opened up with no barriers. And only few weeks ago, pedestrian traffic was allowed to cross Church Street at Cortlandt Street. This may mean nothing to you, but it a major event to me. You see, no one has been allowed to cross at that intersection north of the building where I work since September 11, 2001.
It was a beautiful day for me when I was allowed to cross. I took the time to cross with a sense of great ceremony and victory. Once I crossed, I stood there looking from a perspective that I have not seen for so many years and said a prayer. A prayer to all the innocent people who lost their lives that day and to the brighter future when one day I will again be able to walk across that area with no hindrance like I used to. To maybe go to a Barnes & Noble to look for books or to that Krispy Kreme to buy a donut like I used to or to just catch some rays at lunchtime.
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Today, lower Manhattan will once again be a subdued scene of mourning with the families as it has been for 13 years. Perhaps the names of the 2,606 people who died that day will be read. Pardon me for being harsh, but there comes a time where one has to move on. I would imagine that there are very few family members who lost loved ones in the attacks at the World Trade Center who have not move on. For those who still need the yearly memorial, I can sympathize. I really do. But the site has long since shifted from a place of unimaginable devastation to a construction site.
I have witnessed that transformation from my office window almost every day since November 2001 when we were finally allowed back into our building across the street from the World Trade Center. Until just recently, all access to that area has been cut off. A few month's ago, the security wall were taken down around the Memorial Park Plaza and it was opened up with no barriers. And only few weeks ago, pedestrian traffic was allowed to cross Church Street at Cortlandt Street. This may mean nothing to you, but it a major event to me. You see, no one has been allowed to cross at that intersection north of the building where I work since September 11, 2001.
It was a beautiful day for me when I was allowed to cross. I took the time to cross with a sense of great ceremony and victory. Once I crossed, I stood there looking from a perspective that I have not seen for so many years and said a prayer. A prayer to all the innocent people who lost their lives that day and to the brighter future when one day I will again be able to walk across that area with no hindrance like I used to. To maybe go to a Barnes & Noble to look for books or to that Krispy Kreme to buy a donut like I used to or to just catch some rays at lunchtime.
