:(
Feels like yesterday. Such a horrible day to be in NYC... and anywhere else.
Despite going to college, grad-school and working here in NYC, I somehow escaped knowing a single person lost that day... although I have a couple of friends who came close.
I know I will never forget a minute of that day and most that followed (the perfection of the weather that morning- crystal clear, blue skies, low 70s no humidity... and after, the smell of the burning towers for weeks, and the sheer togetherness that arose organically in the city- and lasted for months- it was really amazing). We haven't discussed it with my son (7) but will eventually- he is hyper-sensitive about these kinds of things, and I know it's going to really freak him out unless we word it just right.
Here's to all the first responders and other heroes who risked everything that day.
I haven't told my 5 y.o. daughter about it yet, though she is cognizant there were NYC buildings called the Twin Towers that fell down.
So a couple weeks ago I walked past Rescue One Firehouse, and like every FDNY unit they have a memorial to the guys they lost that day. And when I was about 20 feet past a little guy around 4 or 5 got excited and ran up to the encased pictures and shouted back to his dad he wanted to tell him a story. I stopped and pretended to be reading my phone, and he excitedly told his dad how some bad men once flew planes into buildings - "That's the buildings right there! In that picture!" - and all the New York City Firefighters went downtown to try to fight the fires. But then the buildings fell down, and all the firefighters died. These men here? These are pictures of the fireman who died.
A few years ago that would have been too haunting or disturbing and I might have even gotten angry.
But I thought it was pretty cool his folks had figured out a way to explain it to him and present those firefighters as the central story. Like Mr. Rogers said, when bad things happen, look for the helpers. Those are the people who inspire us when tragedy strikes.