As an American and native New Yorker, 9/11 is more than an anniversary to me. It was the day that I became painfully aware that no place is immune from the evil that exists in the world. Perhaps I was naive, and even arrogant, to think that something so horrendous could ever happen here in my country, in my city.
I woke up on that sunny September morning optimistic and ready to face the world and in the 27 minutes that it took for me to reach my office, little did I know that everything had changed. The Towers had been hit. I returned home confused, terrified, and angry. And, 12 years later when I think of that day, those feelings bubble to the surface. All that was truly lost that day can never be measured - so many innocent lives forever gone and so many broken hearts left behind. I still cry when the names are read every year during the 9/11 remembrance ceremonies. Epecially when I hear the name of my high school friend, Todd Isaac.
I was terrified to fly after 9/11 and had resigned myself to perhaps never getting on an airplane again. But almost a year after 9/11, on a sunny August day, I met a tourist from Ireland who stole my heart and we embarked on a whirlwind romance. One afternoon we held each other as we looked at the hole in the skyline where the Towers had stood and said a silent prayer. Before Garry returned home, he presented me with a photograph of the Towers of Light. He had purchased it from a street vendor but had signed it on the bottom "4 Wanda with love". He had wrapped the framed picture in a full-page newspaper ad touting discount airfares from NY to Dublin on Aer Lingus. At that moment, I knew that I had to see him again - fear of terrorism would not stop me from following my heart. So in October of 2002, I took my first flight since 9/11. I was scared but I learned that if you let love lead you, fear takes a backseat. Garry has since passed away but that framed photo of the Towers of Light still hangs in my bedroom as a tribute and a reminder that light and love have the power to transform the darkest moments and spaces.
Dedicated to the memories of Todd Isaac and Garry.
