Day of remembrance

Hi family and friends!!!

So instead of me compiling a huge e-mail, I figured I could leave my thoughts on this blog for everyone to see. Now I promise I will do my best to keep it updated weekly, but don't hate me if I don't.

For those of you who haven't heard, here is my latest and greatest:
I FINALLY found a place to live. After searching high and low, I found a great place on the West side of SoHo. My apartment is right next to the Manhattan entrance of the Holland Tunnel, so I get some noise at night, but I'm already used to it. Also, you can hear the subway passing below me (not loud and annoying like, just noticeable) My roommates are both older and wiser than myself, and I am looking forward to getting to know them more.

As for my job, I LOVE IT!!! Now, ask me if that is still the case in 6 months and you might get a different answer, but as for now it is great. I would love to tell you more about it in detail, but due to confidentiality agreements, I would have to bring harm upon you and your family if I did (just a joke).

So, I'll keep you posted on my life here in the Big Apple, please feel free to check in and E-mail me whenever you want. I vow to do my best to keep you updated on my life, as long as you do the same. Enjoy my first posting. It is a recap of my first 9.11 experience as a New Yorker.

I hope to hear from you all soon.

-Trae




As you all know, last night was the fifth anniversary of 9.11.01. Many people refer to it as my generation's JFK assassination, as one of those days where you know exactly where you were when events unfolded. I never really had any direct ties to the attacks. Being from Texas, I had no family or friends who perished, nor did I know anyone who was directly connected. Sadly, it wasn't till yesterday when I realized the magnitude and vastness of this horrific event.



9.11.06 was my 18th day living in this great city. I never thought I would call this place my home, but here I am. Amongst the moving, settling in, and starting my job, yesterday was a day where everyone here just slowed down long enough to remember what happened five years ago. I heard countless tales of co-workers who witnessed that day first hand. Many of them, and Chelsea's co-workers too, said that they did not want to think about or hear anything about it. They have the mentality of 'I saw it once, and I don't want to ever relive it again.'

After work, Chelsea and I decided we would go pay our respects at Ground Zero. We had both been there before, but felt that this trip would be an appropriate way to really become connected to this historical event. So, we took the C train to the World Trade Center station in downtown. Upon arriving, we saw the mass of people that were gathered around a fence that overlooked the two gaping holes. At first, it was hard to navigate through the crowd, but after making it to the front, we could see the beautiful photography that had been placed on the fence commemorating that day's events. After standing there for a little bit and taking it all in, I heard a faint noise coming from my left. As I walked closer, I saw a homeless man, covered in dirt and filth, playing what seemed to be his only possession, his flute. The beautiful thing about it was not his ability to play this intricate instrument, but the fact that he was playing the National Anthem, over and over and over again. He was not accepting money from people, he would just simply say "I'm not playing for money".



Upon walking a little further down the wall, we saw a group of noisy people gathered in a circle. Being the nosy Texan I am, I decided to get a little closer to see what was going on. It turns out the circle was centered around four guys who were arguing. The discussion was based on the fact that two of the men were there to protest. The argument grew louder and I could tell that emotions were running high. Then I overheard an off-duty NY Firefighter say "I have no problem protesting, just not here, not today." The whole idea that someone would try and use that time and area as a platform to protest was really upsetting to me and many others around us.

Another thing that really upset me was seeing people trying to sell 9.11.01 memorabilia. I saw one table that had glow-in-the-dark twin towers. I think using this tragedy as a marketing tool is not right. I do understand wanting to sell books and things to remember the historical events, but when someone goes as far as making cheap plastic souvenir-like things, it is too much for me.

Probably the most emotional thing for Chelsea and I was when we visited the fire station across the street from the WTC. There was a large group of people waiting in line to see the memory wall that had been constructed commemorating the lost men from that station. As we rounded the corner, we saw the firefighter's wall where all 300-something names were listed on along the brass finished wall. The best way for me to describe it is by comparing it to the WWII wall in Washington D.C. People were kneeling down and etching names of loved ones onto paper that was provided by the fire house. There was even on guy, maybe an off-duty or former fire fighter, who was sitting in front of the wall with his head buried in his hands. The overwhelming emotion of sorrow and emptiness was too much for Chelsea and I to handle, so we kept walking along the path.

Eventually, we found ourselves in one of the surrounding buildings. As we were walking through, we talked about what it must have been like to be that close to the site. (Fast forward to my lunch break today when I was at Barnes and Noble looking at a WTC book, and I saw the same office building we were in last night covered in about a foot of ash. The picture was taken 9.23.01. It was a surreal realization.)

Wrapping up:
Last night brought a whole new perspective to this event that unfolded five years ago. Although I still do not feel like I am directly connected, I do think I have a deeper realization and empathy for what transpired. Being a new resident of this city, I can see that 9.11 is a commonality that many of these people have. It was apparent to me yesterday that no matter how crazy and busy things get in this city, people will always put aside their differences and remember together on 9.11.

If this IS my generation's JFK assassination, then may God have mercy on my children's generation as they endure their 9.11.