Time to Remember 9-11
My Dear Friends,
Is it really September 11th? With the ever increasing chaos of our global pandemic, we've been so self-focused on ourselves, our well being and the well being of those around us, it's hard to look at a calendar and think about the past six months without wondering, "Where did the time go?'
So, when I looked at today's calendar, I realized it was September 11th. It still bends beyond the reaches of human comprehension to wrap my mind around everything that happened and was destroyed 19 years ago. We all remember where we were that day and sadly many of us know someone who died or was impacted.
I was living in New York at the time, just beginning my venture into the jewelry business. I worked in Midtown and commuted to work each day by subway. It was definitely a "hustle-bustle" experience. Each day was an adventure in the city that never sleeps.
I was at work already when the first building got hit. We heard a tremendous noise, but the truth was we had no idea what had happened. Earthquake? We quickly put on the news to discover that a plane had hit one of the towers, but we also knew that small planes had hit towers before. Within moments, the second plane hit and we knew that it couldn't have been an accident.
People immediately fled to the streets and smoke and debris began to fall everywhere. We didn't know how we were going to return safely home. Because we didn't want to take public transport home, I actually walked to Forest Hills. It took nearly four hours. My feet were a wreck by the time I came home.
We stayed at home, reeling from the devastating news that this was a terrorist attack. Times with friends were solemn events as we were trying to understand the, "why," and at the same time, mourning the "who".
We suffered tremendous loss on September 11, loss to an enemy who deliberately wanted to cause death and destruction.
Our novel losses during the pandemic are due to an invisible and insidious enemy who doesn't discriminate based on location, race and religion.
We are getting close to celebrating the Jewish New Year, of Rosh Hashanah. May this coming year see all types of enemies squashed, quashed and unable to continue to take innocent lives.
Yours,
Danny