The Changing Skyline

Whenever the country commemorates September 11, 2001, like most Americans, I remember where I was, how I felt and how we, as a nation, went forward, forever changed. Yet there are some thoughts that don't necessarily have a tie to that exact day, but well up inside, every time the calendar draws near.

I am a native New Yorker who never visited the World Trade Center until I was an adult. Years ago I'd had known a friend who worked on one of the upper floors. I tried taking some business classes at NYU near to the site. I was between jobs and working a temporary position at a corporate office inside the towers. That having been said, despite being (what I thought was) a jaded Manhattan resident, I walked into the lobby of the landmark one morning circa 1986 and caught my breath. I had never seen anything quite like it.

As a prideful New Yorker, looking at the skyline of my city never got old. Of course, it has changed over time when adding and accommodating new construction. But when 9/11 happened and there was air and space where the towers once stood — it was like witnessing an emptiness our collective hearts could feel. And although the blue lights, creating endless towers reaching to the sky was a wonder, I never had the chance to see them first hand.