I fell in love with the New York City skyline in movies and TV shows and pictures and paintings. NYC has such an atmosphere around it, it positively buzzes. Even though I've been a small-town girl my entire life, I knew that there was something about NYC that filled me with excitement and wonder. The first time we went to the Big Apple, I was in sixth grade. I had a bad perm. I wore my cousin Justin's cargo shorts on the plane. I ate a blueberry muffin. And I "started" all over myself on the plane. When we circled around the tip of the city, I looked at my Mom and said "Look! Mom! It's the Eifeel Tower!" Everyone sitting within a five row radius of us burst into laughter. Those are my first memories of seeing that famous NYC skyline from the window of an airplane.
During our first trip there, we saw Cats. We went to Grand Central Station. We had the stereotypical taxi driver who ran us all over the city looking for our hotel, shouting insults and curses at the people on the street. He tried to run over one poor man selling VHS tapes from the sidewalk. My Mamaw and Aunt Cathy were sitting in the middle seat of the van, praying and singing "Amazing Grace". My Dad and I were in the backseat - he was quoting scenes from "The Exorcist". My Mom was the brave soul riding shotgun - she screamed outloud a few times. I wish I was making this up. On second thought, no I don't. I'm so thankful for this memory of NYC.
I remember our ferry ride out to see the big lady - the Statue of Liberty. I remember looking back at the city and seeing my two favorite buildings: the World Trade Center. Why were these two my favorite buildings out of all the skyscrapers in NYC, you ask? There was a Rugrats movie or episode or something that had the characters as buildings. Phil and Lil were the Twin Towers - the smaller tower had a pink bow on it's antenna, just like Lil wore in her hair on the show. That's my memory of the WTC - that's how I remember those towers. With a big pink bow sticking on the top of one - brother and sister. Twins.
My senior year in high school, Mom told me she would take me on a mother-daughter trip. Anywhere I wanted to go, she said. There was only one place in the world I wanted to go...again. We stayed in a hotel that smelled exactly like garlic. We ate pizza and subs and took a bus tour to Brooklyn. We followed a man into underground Chinatown looking for knockoff designer bags - or stolen real ones for dirt cheap. We saw RENT and Lestat on Broadway. We went to the little church that stands in front of where the World Trade Center once stood. Mom bought a book, "The Little Chapel that Stood" and had the author autograph it. She said her students would enjoy reading this book and knowing that she was actually there when she bought it. I kept thinking about those towers, those people, those lives lost. I kept thinking how it was so strange to be back in a place where such tragedy had happened. I had seen the before and the after. I have pictures of myself with the NYC skyline behind me - one picture with those towers and one without. The skyline doesn't look the same anymore.
I was in 8th grade when it happened. I was in homeroom. I saw the damage for the first time on TV walking by the biology lab. I remember how everyone seemed silent and terrified. I remember slamming my books against an older boy because he made fun of something when they announced the Pentagon had been hit. I remember screaming at him that I had a cousin who worked there - he just happened to be out delivering orders that day, instead of at work. Who knows - I might've lost family that day. I remember wanting to see my Mom. I remember her telling me later that day that all she wanted was to come get me. When a plane flew low next to the school a few weeks later, I remember my heart stopping. The windows shook and the entire room fell silent. I remember feeling that surge of panic all over again. I felt even more miserable because it was just a fluke or a mishap or something - it wasn't even close to what happened just a few weeks ago.
September 11th, 2001 changed us all. It stripped us of our confidence, our security blankets. It made us feel vulnerable and weak and unaware. We were sad. We were angry. We were terrified. But at the same time, it energized us. It made us prepared. It made us grateful. It made us hold our loved ones a little longer and thank our men and women in uniform. They have always been there protecting us and providing us with the lifestyle we've all grown so accustomed to having. We were reminded to give our soldiers their due - they are the reason we live the way we do, in peace and comfort and the knowledge that we are safe when we go to sleep at night.
We learned to be compassionte again. We learned to love our neighbors and treat each other with respect. We reached out to one another and started caring for those around us. We remembered those lost and lent a hand to those left behind. We were united once again as a country, as people torn apart by grief but brought back together by love. 9/11 was a horrible tragedy, one I hope I never have to relive again. I pray for my fellow Americans reliving their darkest times today. I reach out my hand once again to say "I was there. I remember. I am still here today." - let us all remember 9/11 today. Let us never forget.
During our first trip there, we saw Cats. We went to Grand Central Station. We had the stereotypical taxi driver who ran us all over the city looking for our hotel, shouting insults and curses at the people on the street. He tried to run over one poor man selling VHS tapes from the sidewalk. My Mamaw and Aunt Cathy were sitting in the middle seat of the van, praying and singing "Amazing Grace". My Dad and I were in the backseat - he was quoting scenes from "The Exorcist". My Mom was the brave soul riding shotgun - she screamed outloud a few times. I wish I was making this up. On second thought, no I don't. I'm so thankful for this memory of NYC.
I remember our ferry ride out to see the big lady - the Statue of Liberty. I remember looking back at the city and seeing my two favorite buildings: the World Trade Center. Why were these two my favorite buildings out of all the skyscrapers in NYC, you ask? There was a Rugrats movie or episode or something that had the characters as buildings. Phil and Lil were the Twin Towers - the smaller tower had a pink bow on it's antenna, just like Lil wore in her hair on the show. That's my memory of the WTC - that's how I remember those towers. With a big pink bow sticking on the top of one - brother and sister. Twins.
My senior year in high school, Mom told me she would take me on a mother-daughter trip. Anywhere I wanted to go, she said. There was only one place in the world I wanted to go...again. We stayed in a hotel that smelled exactly like garlic. We ate pizza and subs and took a bus tour to Brooklyn. We followed a man into underground Chinatown looking for knockoff designer bags - or stolen real ones for dirt cheap. We saw RENT and Lestat on Broadway. We went to the little church that stands in front of where the World Trade Center once stood. Mom bought a book, "The Little Chapel that Stood" and had the author autograph it. She said her students would enjoy reading this book and knowing that she was actually there when she bought it. I kept thinking about those towers, those people, those lives lost. I kept thinking how it was so strange to be back in a place where such tragedy had happened. I had seen the before and the after. I have pictures of myself with the NYC skyline behind me - one picture with those towers and one without. The skyline doesn't look the same anymore.
I was in 8th grade when it happened. I was in homeroom. I saw the damage for the first time on TV walking by the biology lab. I remember how everyone seemed silent and terrified. I remember slamming my books against an older boy because he made fun of something when they announced the Pentagon had been hit. I remember screaming at him that I had a cousin who worked there - he just happened to be out delivering orders that day, instead of at work. Who knows - I might've lost family that day. I remember wanting to see my Mom. I remember her telling me later that day that all she wanted was to come get me. When a plane flew low next to the school a few weeks later, I remember my heart stopping. The windows shook and the entire room fell silent. I remember feeling that surge of panic all over again. I felt even more miserable because it was just a fluke or a mishap or something - it wasn't even close to what happened just a few weeks ago.
September 11th, 2001 changed us all. It stripped us of our confidence, our security blankets. It made us feel vulnerable and weak and unaware. We were sad. We were angry. We were terrified. But at the same time, it energized us. It made us prepared. It made us grateful. It made us hold our loved ones a little longer and thank our men and women in uniform. They have always been there protecting us and providing us with the lifestyle we've all grown so accustomed to having. We were reminded to give our soldiers their due - they are the reason we live the way we do, in peace and comfort and the knowledge that we are safe when we go to sleep at night.
We learned to be compassionte again. We learned to love our neighbors and treat each other with respect. We reached out to one another and started caring for those around us. We remembered those lost and lent a hand to those left behind. We were united once again as a country, as people torn apart by grief but brought back together by love. 9/11 was a horrible tragedy, one I hope I never have to relive again. I pray for my fellow Americans reliving their darkest times today. I reach out my hand once again to say "I was there. I remember. I am still here today." - let us all remember 9/11 today. Let us never forget.
My senior trip with Mom - absolutely beautiful skyline.
Wow- I just walked that entire journey with you. Very well written and heart-breaking at the same time. Thanks for following me- I hope that you enjoy my blog as much as I just "enjoyed" reading this one. Not so much the topic, but oh you know what I mean. Anyways- it appears you're getting married. Congrats! I look forward to coming back and looking through your older posts.
ReplyDelete