I remember I was supposed to be studying for my boards that day but found myself unable to move away from the TV.
Jay said he had Report Day that day (McRae, Ga.) and learned of the attacks from a parolee. He was not able to see it until about 8pm that evening.
Two years later, Jay and I visited Ground Zero on our Honeymoon and there was still a hole...
Not only in the ground but in the hearts of Americans. It was a very somber experience. Two years later and the New Yorkers who walked passed still chose not to talk, most not even to look. There was unimaginable hurt and pain there and it was all each of us could do not to simply break down and cry right there in front of all of them. Not because we were tourists who felt a connection with them but because we were fellow Americans.
Jay shared with me of his family's trip to Canada when he was in the fourth grade. During several hours of delay between flights he and his mom and dad had the opportunity to explore New York. One of the locations they visited was the Trade Centers. Jay has a picture of him standing on the top of the North Tower, the Empire State Building standing proudly in the background. The North Tower was the first to be hit and to fall. He originally visited the 110th+ floor as a young boy who was scared to get anywhere near the edge; a boy who viewed the world as if it was filled with nothing but love and compassion for others. However, eighteen years later, the boy who was now a man, stared speechless at that hole, amazed that what he had once innocently experienced as a child had been reduced to nothing simply because of others who possessed not love, but hate. The world changed that day...September 11, 2001.
We spoke very few words at Ground Zero that day. We took a few pictures, held hands, sniffled a little in the rain, and then walked away. MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Sorry for the quality of these pictures...We were looking through fences and glass.
(Notice the cross and the flag at the center of Ground Zero.)
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