Did you hear the bell ring for the 9/11 fallen heroes yesterday? 24 years ago, New York City first responders, police, firemen, and newscasters flooded the streets and the media with traumatic news. People ran from their buildings under a shower of dust and darkness. Cement covered the streets as people tried to find a passage over the Brooklyn Bridge. While I did not witness all of this in person, I felt the weight of fear and grief as did the Village of Rockville Centre in Long Island, New York, where I lived.
Forty-nine people in my village died during the 9/11 catastrophe. The Patch news named it the "deadliest terror attack on American soil". Of those people, Cantor Fitzgerald, American financial services firm, lost the most lives, one of whom was the mother of my daughter's senior high school friend. Because their friend suffered such a loss, my daughter and her two friends organized a candlelight vigil parade. Three hundred people gathered together. Tears flowed throughout this silent passage from the high school througout the village. For a long while life was worrisome. Memorials were erected so people could remember that horrible day in 2001 and be hopeful about the future.
I remember September 11th each year and so does the world. Families gather together to honor their fallen loved ones. A bell tolls like the sound of grief. Names of 9/11 victims are read as tears flow like water. Now life continues with a different thought. It is the time to bind the world together as a connected global society. Rid the world of hatred and unkindness to find peace.
September 11th
