#89. 9/11 REMEMBERED

#89. 9/11 REMEMBERED

I watch two NYU students pause to look at the small, gray, engraved stone. It’s about two feet wide, but hard to find, especially since the tree that it’s under has grown tall in 20 years and shades the ground below it. But it’s worth their pause. 

                     “This tree was planted by the NYU community 

                        as a symbol of life and hope to commemorate 

                        the tragic events of September 11, 2001.” 

The stone, New York University, and the Washington Square Arch are forever joined. Until the Twin Towers fell, the Arch provided a perfect frame for viewing them downtown. And while they burned, the Park was filled with stunned watchers from NYU and the local community. In the panic that followed, 2,000 students were evacuated from nearby residence halls, just in case. 

Strange to think that the students I watch read the stone weren’t even born on that day. But I’m glad that they, and maybe you, read the stone, stand in the Arch. and from it view One World Trade, the building that rose where the Twin Towers once stood.