Today I walk along a site that is newly familiar.  I can remember who the sounds of people running in different directions scatter ants as if a child kicked the ant hill.  I look up high in the sky I see them the Twin Towers.  So majestic so high that from the street level you can’t see the tops of their heads as it’s burried in the clouds.  Nerves takes over as we walk up the steps and enter the building.

I can hear the humming sound of people’s voices echoing through the halls, so excited this morning will be the first of many for me.  This is my first trip the city that never sleeps and my first trip to the Twin Towers.  My excitement is quite overwhelming almost to the point where I would forget my fear of elevators.  Stepping into the elevator and up we go to kiss the cloudy sky. Out on the “Observation Deck” nothing to see because the city by the Hudson is engulfed under a blanket of clouds as if it’s tucked in bed not wanting to awake.  My stomach saying “feed me!” but again in my excitement I completely ignore the rumbling sounds of hunger because I was just aw-struck of the beauty of the sight that’s in front of me.  The wind hustled through the steel rails that protect us from falling out into nothing, we kept rushing back and forth from one corner to the next.  Greeting people as we walked in a short circle.  Even witness two marriage proposals both men bold to get down on knee and ask for her hand in marriage.  It’s perfect setting as the city awakes and the sun plays peek-a-boo with the clouds the Twin Towers wraps it’s arms around us in a warm embrace.  This is how I come to know the big Apple.  Little did I know in just a short period of time the life of everyone on this planet will change.

Today I walk along a site that was once familiar. The sounds of the city comes alive.  People still hustling around but now as we walk up the stairs the city noise fades into silence as water flowing becomes loud.  Walking closer the spray of mist rises up from a whole in the ground.  It’s the 9/11 memorial.  Walking along the walk I see hundreds of names echoed across where the Twin Towers once stood.  Name after name so many people lives affected.  Flowers and token of love set the backdrop, I come across a single white rose placed by the name Daniel W. Song. I can’t help to think about him.  I wonder what kind of person he was. What he meant to his family and friends. What would he be doing if he was still here. I look around at ground zero and I can’t help but to think about the younger generation, they will never know the city we come to love.  They will never know how life was post 9/11.

Each year since the attacks we gone from mourning our loss to celebrating their lives. Their stories of heroic acts will forever fill our hearts and burn as a beacon of light of hope.

We will always remember.