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9/11...from a distance

I'm not sure whether I'm chagrined or relieved that 9/11 passed here in Seoul and I wasn't even aware of it, at least not until I came home in the evening and logged on to Facebook to see all the profile pictures that had been changed to honor the victims of that horrific day, the rescue workers who served heroically, and the majesty of the towers themselves.

Sandy and I lived so close to the towers that we were almost too close to appreciate their grandeur. We did, however, take the subway and frequent the shopping mall beneath the towers daily. So while they were a place of work for some, and a tourist destination for others, for me they were the place where I met Sandy each night, the place where I did my banking and clothes shopping, and the place that, surprisingly, served as the backdrop for a weekly farmers' market. Only when my family came to visit the previous summer did I view the towers with the eyes of a tourist, from the observation deck atop the south tower. As magnificent as the view from that aerie was, I was even more impressed the night I stood in the middle of the outdoor plaza between the bases of the towers, craning my neck skyward and gawking at their seemingly endless immensity. I felt humbled, insignificant even, to stand in their presence, yet at the same time proud to think that human beings were capable of imagining such wonders, let alone building them. 

Comments

  1. MomSeptember 12, 2013 at 11:32 PM

    John, how well I remember that day when you took Dad, Tom and me to the very top of Tower 2, the year before the horror and destruction. As we stood awed, looking over to Tower 1, it almost seemed that the tower's monstrous TV antenna could pierce the sky. Thank goodness I took a photo of you and Tom on the roof; it's a wonderful memory of an unforgettable visit, although it pains my heart every time I see you both smiling out from the picture.
    Love,
    Mom xo

    ReplyDelete

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