Remembrance

Today is September 11th, a dreadful day from our recent history. Today is a solemn day, and frankly it has been a solemn week. I have not been able to focus on writing, or blogging because of what today is. This day changed not only a nation but my life directly as well as indirectly. It is a day that will live in the hearts and minds of most Americans, every New Yorker, especially those of us that once had offices in the Towers.

Ten years ago, what had been the nicest of days, not a cloud in the sky, warm but not hot and no humidity; by all accounts it began as a perfect day. Who knew, that before my scheduled ten o'clock meeting, the very core of our unity, strength and love for one another, first responders, military personnel and ourselves would be tested so fiercely.

I lost friends, co-workers, acquaintances, former classmates and old lovers on that day. Gone are the men from Ladder 10 that I would flirt with on my way to work, always with a smile and hello for me. Gone is the guy I would get annoyed with for taking forever to order his lunch at Sabarro's. Gone is the spot I took visiting friends to see my city from the greatest view. Gone. Gone. Gone. The most heart wrenching thing is that I was not alone in my grief. It was shared by thousands of families. Two thousand nine hundred and seventy-seven to be exact. That is how many mothers, and fathers lost a child, it is the number of how many people did not come home from work for dinner, celebrate another birthday, holiday or graced us with their presence. They died just going to work, doing what should have been just another Tuesday with one more day till the hump day.

Within moments of the attacks on the Towers, the Pentagon, and Flight 93 we were a country at war. It had come to our doorsteps and rocked us to our knees, but we did not fall. What we did was stand up, wrapped ourselves in Old Glory and moved forward. We were in unison ONE NATION UNDER GOD, we were the UNITED STATES. Now a decade later I cry again, not only for the pain of the loss of innocent lives, but for the division that exists in our nation today.  There is an old saying; "One finger won't make an impact, but you ball all those fingers into a fist, and you can strike a mighty blow." We need to be united to make that mighty blow, back to prosperity, and possibilities.  The division that exists today holds us back from achieving our potential, and defeats us at every turn.

This is also not honoring the memory of the fallen. Think on that for a moment, reflect back to September 12th when the streets were draped in American Flags, when we were proud and we did not see defeat. We did not see red states, or blue states, we knew only of red, white and blue.  We should all honor their lives, and live with purpose. We cannot change what happened that Tuesday morning not so long ago, but we can change our tomorrow. It is my intention to continue to do so in everything i do.

I have not been back to the site since that fateful day, it weighs too heavy still on my heart. There are some who have never been recovered, but we knew them. I try to make my life mean something, I made amends with a lot of people I swore I would never bother with, and forgave those who trespassed, as I hope they forgive my own transgressions.

What I do on this day is pray, reflect, cry and hope. Hope for a better tomorrow, a better future and a day when this can never happen again. So I ask you to join me and give them a moment of silence in a prayer, or hopeful thought  at 8:46am and again at 9:05am. 

Today I leave you with this quote, which still applies; “We are citizens of the world. The tragedy of our times is that we do not know this.”~Woodrow T. Wilson

In Remembrance to the Lives Lost on 9 11. 

To the families my heart is still with you. 

We will never forget. 

Farah Jeudy    Joey Maio    Christoper Scudder