Ten years. A decade has come & gone. I -- like everyone -- know exactly where I was on that horrendous, unbelievable day. I have since learned that a friend of mine from the military went missing on that day. He had worked in 'Windows On The World' restaurant in the top of the north tower. Jose was a good friend. We hadn't been in touch too often in the late 1990s. I finally tracked down his wife - Eva. I knew that Jose worked there for years. I asked her--tentatively-- if he had worked that day. I almost didn't want to know. She said that he left early that morning just like always. He regularly checked in before his shift started. Her cell phone never rang that day. Jose was never found. His family was originally from Cuba. We always would hang out, shoot pool & drink together on our days off duty. I recall his easy manner & funny laugh. He called me - "Astro Blaster" - because of the way I crashed through life back then.  He always had my back in some tough times. I wonder on his last moments. I hope he went quickly. I wonder if he saw the plane approaching...  ominous... death on two silver wings. Disbelief. Frozen in motion. Horror. Mind-breaking....  "Oh God! This cannot be....."  

tributes

grief

We know --all too well-- what then happened. Cataclysm. American Airlines- Flight 11 blasted through the glass at 400+ mph....jet fuel atomizing, melting metal... people blown out of shattered  windows. That is  a long time to scream & twitch, plummeting from the 96th floor.  I think of those people. At work. Just another day...  but it wasn't. I went to NYC in the spring of 2002. I visited with Glen E. Friedman. I stayed at the Ritz -Carlton in Battery Park. Ground Zero was right there. I walked around that night. It happened to be the last night that the spotlights were on above the area. I walked for hours. Crying. There were messages from children who had parents & family missing...  tributes. It was a horrible outpouring of grief. The city groaned in disbelief & loss. I have never been the same... I think we need to remember that hate & intolerance are lame. I see it around me everyday. I witness intolerance in friends, in skating...  a little hate can go a long, long way.  The wrong way. Let us think on these things. Thanks to Glen E. Friedman for the image of NYC Aug 2001.  The rest are from my visit. - Ozzie

Ground Zero- notice boarded up adjacent buildings