Hello everyone. How are you doing today? I’m so so. Why? Because today in Sept 11. You may or may not know this, but I am a proud New Yorker. I grew up in Rosedale, NY (Queens) and was raised there.
In High School, I did a year of internship at Smith Barney as a computer programmer. The building was located in downtown Manhattan; which was a few blocks from the Twins Towers.
Sometimes, I had to run errands at the Twins Towers a lot, but I didn’t care. It was cool being out of the office. In the Twins Towers, you had the New York and New Jersey train systems, an underground mall and offices. So I did window shopping in the Twin Towers and I got to see my friends.
In my circle of friends, it was a honor working in the Twin Towers because it meant you were making good money and had a steady job. It was just cool saying, “I work in the World Trade Center” aka “I wok in the World Trade Centa” (in New York language).
Before I left New York City to move to a backward country place called Arizona, I was offered a job at ILX in the World Trade Center. I didn’t take it and moved to Arizona. Now, thinking back, I could have died on Sept 11, 2001. 13 of my friends died on that day, my uncle was buried alive but found and my brother had to see a therapist because he saw the planes go into the buildings and the damage it caused.
But, as New Yorkers do, we survive, but it’s hard to forget. I never went to my friends memorials because how can someone died like that, it only happens in the movies. But, it did happen.
From a New Yorker point of view, New York has changed. There is more security in the streets. You have to ask a cop if you can take a picture of a landmark. When I go to ground zero, there is dead silence. New York has become a military country, within the US. It’s sad.
When I went back to NYC after Sept 11, I had to get used to the new New York City and now when I visit, I got used to the security which is sad and heart breaking because I miss my old New York and the mindset. I miss the rudeness, busy life, running to work, no security cameras following you and no metal detectors and searches before you go into the Empire State Building.
When I was young and before Sept 11, I would watch New York City getting blown up and damaged in the movies and on TV because I knew it will never happen in real life. But it did.
The movie Cloverfield, will be a movie I will never forget and should get award for giving us a reality check. Before Cloverfield, I could watch New York getting destroy and laughing about because who would think New York City would suffer a terrorist attack and when Sept 11 made us change our thinking. With Cloverfield, it made me enjoy seeing New York City getting damage on the big screen. Crazy monsters like Godzilla destroying New York, that’s funny and not real.
Sept 11, made me change myself. It told me, breathing air and living is not a right, but a privilege you should not take likely. Live life and enjoy it. Hug your friends and be open about your feelings. Tell your friends, lovers, families and spouses how much they mean to you in your life because you made not see them again.
For example, I was a bride’s maid in a wedding, in New York City. The bride was a real bitch. After the $30,000 wedding in Garden City, she piss off the whole wedding party. One of the bride’s maids, named Vicki was a good friend who used to take me to parties and functions. I was a geek at the time and she was the popular girl. She helped me to become popular, like all those teenage movies.
After the reception, I told her goodbye and she needs to visit me in Arizona. She said, “I will, because I need to see the Grand Canyon.” She never called me because she died in the World Trade Center; two months later. The bride never got the chance to say, “I’m so sorry, I was a bitch.” Now, the bride has a son, divorce and living with her mother. I never spoke to the bride again after the wedding because I don’t need craziness in my life.
For Vicki, she left behind a husband and young 1 year old child. Now, her husband moved to the South, got remarried and the child is doing well.
So, we need this day to reflect on our lives and thank God that you are blessed. Sometimes I forget, but I have Sept 11 and my friends to remind me.
So, be determine to live life to the fullest and enjoy it because tomorrow you may day. I want to die with a smile on my face because I know I have done everything to that point in my life and enjoyed it.
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