9/11 Never Forgotten

Tweet

The stories are many and the horror of what happened on this day will never be forgotten. That year it was a Tuesday. I was an ocean away in Riga, Latvia but when it all happened at 9 AM I saw it on a big screen TV at 4 PM when the news reached us. Just some facts not to rehash what has been said a million times before. It was no less horrid for me because I had worked downtown Manhattan and I worked just a few blocks from the Twin Towers. Those few blocks would have thrown me into a world I could no longer recognize. Had I stayed in NYC what would have saved me was that I preferred working in the old buildings. I worked for marine insurance and many companies which had people I knew working for them had moved into the towers. One of my bosses from the very first job I worked escaped from the horror with burning papers and ashes all around him. Only to succumb to a disease a couple of months later and die just the same. My mother passed away in 1996 but if we had stayed in NYC I know she would have really been shocked because for her it would have been l like stepping back in time and reliving WW II all over again. So at least she was spared this. One of my very best friends worked for a post office branch in the WTC and at this time had been transferred to the main post office in Midtown. His guardian angels were looking out for him. In Riga, we sat in shock and listened to all that was happening. My late husband and I were also aware that luck had been with us. The last time we traveled to NYC was in 1999 and we went up to the top of the WTC. I always say special prayers on this day and I know it will never be forgotten even as time marches on. There is a song that the lyrics remind me of this “and I’ll never see you again”. It is a song I particularly like “Sweet September” by Tony Christie.