Brendan Loy's Tribute in Lights

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51629368@N00/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

One of my favorite bloggers, Brendan Loy, took this photo and writes:

A breathtaking view from Staten Island, on the second anniversary of 9/11, of the "Tribute in Light" at Ground Zero; the illuminated Statue of Liberty; the red, white & blue Empire State Building, directly in between the Tribute in Light beams; and the Chrysler building. Oh yes, and Mars, just a few weeks removed from its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years.

I took this photo from the Staten Island Ferry dock, after riding the ferry across the harbor just to see what the view of the skyline would look like with the Tribute in Light. Although many photos were taken and published of the skyline that night, I've never seen another one from this particular angle, which I maintain was the most beautiful viewpoint in the whole city that night.

The bloghusband and I both worked in the World Trade Center at different times in our careers. After the first bombing in 1993, Wild Willy's office moved into World Financial Center, just across the street from the WTC. Luckily, he was in Hong Kong on 9/11/01. Eight years ago, I picked up the blogson from his second grade classroom. It was a very sad reunion and, as we walked back to the car, I tried to remove the fear, horror and sadness in my voice, while attempting to explain that a life-changing event occurred while he was busy learning how to write. I started by telling him, "something happened today, and we will never forget it for the rest of our lives." Before allowing me to continue with the news, and in his sweetest young voice, my eight-year-old said, "You'll forget it, Mom, you forget everything." That was the one and only smile of the day. Unfortunately, it's just one of those things we will never forget. What a day to be living. What a day to be living in Greater New York.