Nine years ago yesterday, I was standing on top of an apartment building in Greenwich Village with my friend, Cherry Jones, watching every minute of the tragedy unfold before us. We were awestruck as you can imagine since we were only a mile away. It was my first visit to NYC. Cherry and I had been on the ferry to Ellis Island the day before and all about the area surrounding the Twin Towers. My flight was scheduled to leave on Tuesday afternoon but after the attack and with all air traffic grounded for days, I was finally able to reach North Carolina by train on Friday. My husband drove five hours to get me at the AmTrak station. When we arrived home there were reporters from my small town newspaper waiting on our doorstep wanting to hear my story and see my pictures. I was emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted. One of the women's clubs in town called to asked me to speak about my experience. In three days, after developing thousands of pictures, I prepared a scrapbook to share with them as I told my story. Little did I know how much that book would come to mean to me and to others over the years. It has been a healing tool. Every year, I am contacted by the newspaper by usually a new reporter to tell my story again. It continues to help to relive the experience. Sometimes I even hope and pray for a different ending. In 2001, my youngest son, Sawyer, was ten years old. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever imagine, nine years later, he would be a soldier in the Georgia National Guard 560th deploying next December. In November, I will be going to NYC for the first time since 2001. Cherry is making her return to Broadway in a George Bernard Shaw play, Mrs. Warren's Profession. On my agenda, is to visit Ground Zero and the museum. It will be another part of the healing process.

Elise, what a touching story..........thank you for sharing this with us.......pj > Nine years ago yesterday, I was standing on top of an apartment building > in Greenwich Village with my friend, Cherry Jones, watching every minute > of the tragedy unfold before us. We were awestruck as you can imagine > since we were only a mile away. > It was my first visit to NYC. Cherry and I had been on the ferry to Ellis > Island the day before and all about the area surrounding the Twin Towers. > My flight was scheduled to leave on Tuesday afternoon but after the attack > and with all air traffic grounded for days, I was finally able to reach > North Carolina by train on Friday. My husband drove five hours to get me > at the AmTrak station. > > When we arrived home there were reporters from my small town newspaper > waiting on our doorstep wanting to hear my story and see my pictures. I > was emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted. One of the women's > clubs in town called to asked me to speak about my experience. In three > days, after developing thousands of pictures, I prepared a scrapbook to > share with them as I told my story. Little did I know how much that book > would come to mean to me and to others over the years. It has been a > healing tool. > > Every year, I am contacted by the newspaper by usually a new reporter to > tell my story again. It continues to help to relive the experience. > Sometimes I even hope and pray for a different ending. > > In 2001, my youngest son, Sawyer, was ten years old. Never in my wildest > dreams would I ever imagine, nine years later, he would be a soldier in > the Georgia National Guard 560th deploying next December. > > In November, I will be going to NYC for the first time since 2001. Cherry > is making her return to Broadway in a George Bernard Shaw play, Mrs. > Warren's Profession. On my agenda, is to visit Ground Zero and the museum. > It will be another part of the healing process.