10 years later

“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around.” - Love Actually

I took this picture a few months ago while in NYC for a conference.  I had time to spare so I decided to walk the 15 or so city blocks back to the train station b/c even though I live so close I never seem to get there and I wanted to experience the city.  The noise, the hustle, the people, the spirit that is uniquely NY.  I happened by a makeshift memorial to the victims of 911 at a construction site that had been fenced off.  It was a random location, nowhere near where the towers fell, but a full half block of wire fence was packed full of hundreds of colorful handmade tiles expressing love and peace.

Today, it's been 10 years since that terrible day.  I remember.  I remember everything about it.  The disbelief, the horrific tragedy of it.  I was at work and I was looking for a coworker when I walked by one of the offices.  It was a tiny office (converted closet) and it was big enough for 2 people, but there were about a dozen of us squeezed in there b/c there was an old black and white TV with rabbit ears.  I walked in (not knowing what had happened) and the image on the TV was the North Tower smoking.  Before I had a chance to ask the people around me what happened I watched in complete disbelief as an airplane flew directly into the South Tower.  People were gasping and I whispered, "was that pilot error?".  A coworker said no, that it was deliberate.  Deliberate?  I couldn't fathom it.

The days and weeks following that terrible day were spent heavy hearted but also in admiration.  Story after story came out of the ashes of those towers and in that Pennsylvania field.  Stories of courage and heroism, sadness and loss.  I think the messages and last phone calls touched me the most and hardest.  Our world was forever changed on that morning and I've never been more proud to be an American.  Proud that when faced with the most horrendus conditions we rise above, we refuse to cower in fear, insist on celebrating love, teaching tolerance and respecting diversity.