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« on: September 12, 2002, 07:51:24 PM »
I had occasion to visit New York a few short weeks after the horrific events of September 11. A friend of mine who works in the news division of one of the networks took me down there on a Sunday afternoon.
As expected, the streets surrounding the tragic site were filled with people who came to pay their respects, and, in many cases, to try to understand it all.
My friend got us beyond the fences and police barriers and we watched as city crews and volunteers helped clear away the rubble.
Of course, we all saw the images on television, but I didn't realize just how deeply it would affect me--being on the site of this country's greatest tragedy of modern times. All I could think of is the terror those people on the planes and inside the World Trade Center must have been feelings and I prayed for their souls.
When we left, I was uncharacteristically quiet for a long time; finally my friend asked if I was okay. I told him that I was just stunned by it all, and by the fact that this could happen to our citizenry on our very shores.
A year later, it is still unfathomable that this could actually occur. As times passes--even more than for the victims of that fateful day--my heart goes out to those family and friends left behind in the wake of this senseless attack.