I went to the city today. Walked around ground zero. Strange, I've lived in NY my whole life and this was the first time I've been there in the seven years since it happened.
On that day it was like a third world country - infrastructure collapsing, people fleeing in fear, no telling where your loved ones were or even if they were still alive, no public transportation, phone lines were overloaded, people were in a panic.
After a few weeks they were still digging through the destruction 24 hours a day with hundreds of volunteers and workers going in and out. Even after working 10, 12, 15 hour shifts, people had to be dragged away to get rest and let others help.
After a few months only the professionals were left digging through the rubble but people all over the country, all over the world were still watching the news more than they watched anything else on TV.
After a year, we stopped for a few moments that day, spent the day watching the news, and attended memorial ceremonies.
Today, after seven years, the mood was just a bit different. I noticed it from the moment I got on the bus to the city. Everyone was a bit more still, a bit quieter, a sadder look on their faces.
Then I rode the subway downtown. The subway a bit more empty.
I got to ground zero. Everyone walked a bit slower, a bit more sadness on their faces, a bit more polite, a bit more patient, a bit nicer. Everyone remembered what had happened but it was clearly a world away.
It would be nice if we could treat each other this way everyday.
Never forget.
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