I have no photographs, they are on a locked external hard drive that cannot be opened. I have pictures of the WTC site, the trees being delivered to the Winter Garden after it was destroyed, views of the Hudson River from my apt in Battery Park City where I lived. I have many photos of the memorials hung on the fence at St. Paul Chapel from all over the world, all gone. But memories linger, never forgotten.
So let me tell you my story. In the spring of 2001, we decided to move to NYC to give Carla opportunities to pursue her dream of singing and acting, but decided not to make the move until my other daughter Nina graduated from HS in June 2002, so we had a year to plan. My father has passed away on Christmas day 2000, so we had no reason to stay in Chambersburg PA - no family, few friends. We decided to finish work on the house we had purchased to make more living space before putting the house up for sale and moving to NYC.
Then 9/11 happened. I was at work, and the nearby Army depot was closed for lockdown. We kept refreshing our computer screens for the latest information and realized we were being attacked! At home Lily was having kittens, so Shelly had no idea what was happening. Our office closed, and I spent the rest of the day watching TV and for the next few days, weeks, stunned.
We stopped, we evaluated, we pondered, then after a couple weeks decided to continue with our plans. We finished the house, put it up for sale on Valentine's Day in 2002 and it sold within a week, not what we expected. We ended up with 4 people cramped in a 2 room apt for 4 months in anticipation of moving to NY. We finally moved in the spring of 2002 to a 1 BR apt in Battery Park City, across the street from the WTC site. It was on the Hudson River Esplanade, with views of the river, marina and Winter Garden. It doesn't get better than that - a doorman building with great neighbors that I will never forget. The front of the building where I lived was blown off from the collapse of the WTC buildings, but it was repaired by the time we moved in. I got a transfer to the Social Security office in Midtown off Times Square and life was great. But the stories of the residents and my co-workers will haunt me forever.
On the 1st anniversary of 9/11 attacks, our neighborhood was inundated with TV trucks parked everywhere, so we went to a local pub to have dinner. The place was crammed with people, firefighters and police officers and everyone was having a riotous drunken time after the ceremonies, until a bagpipe group walked through. I will never forget the tears of grown men that night. I will never forget walking past the pit every day on the way to work. I will never forget the streets being watered to keep the dust down, the sound of fire sirens when a body is found, the 24 hour lights as workers searched for remains and hauled debris.
The lights of the towers will forever haunt me. I was there, and saw them and was awed to tears. I walked past the pit every day on they way to work. I saw the crowds of people who came downtown to see the pit. I saw hawkers selling books, t-shirts and hats. It was like a circus, but I sympathized with the tourists who came. They needed to come. Most of them. I didn't mind that they invaded my neighborhood, blocking my way to work. They needed to be there. It was reverent.
I can never forget those days.
I don't have the pictures,
but I have the memories.
Peace.
