I made my first trip to New York City in 2006. I was newly married, Christmas decor was starting to show up on the city streets, and my world couldn’t have been happier.
As we toured the city on the Greyline bus, we drove past an area with tiles hanging from a chainlink fence.
After the attacks, people were leaving notes on this fence for loved ones. It was the closest they could get to the Twin Towers area. The notes weren’t sustainable, though, so they started hanging tiles. Five years after the attacks, the city was still remembering daily, not just on September 11th.
A little further down on the tour, we drove past Ground Zero.
People were in and out, trucks, tractors, and equipment were buzzing around. No real plan had been made for the site at that time. But people were there–remembering–in November. Remembering loved ones, lives lost, tragedy on our home soil. I pray peace for each of those families today. I pray protection for the first responders throughout our country who race in as others are running out. I’m thankful for this country where we have so much freedom.
This is my last glimpse of New York City in August of 2013. The memorial is up in the photo, but it wasn’t quite finished. This was from Newark airport.
I love that skyline, and I can’t wait to go back (I can’t believe how long it’s been) to the city that has experienced so much.
