Remembering 9/11 20 Years Later

It was one of those events you remember exactly where you were when it happened. For me I was in all places Los Angeles, CA on a business trip. I had only arrived the evening before, and I typically try to stay on Eastern time for a couple of days if my trip will not be too long. So, I was up early by local time watching the national news on TV. I see one of the World Trade Center towers with smoke coming out of it. The television reporter says no one knows exactly what is going on but the thought is a small plane crashed into the tower. Then as I continue to watch this unfold on live TV, I see a second plane crash into the other tower. It was in the split instance I knew this was no accident and no small plane involved.

Thankfully, I knew of no one directly that lost their lives in this terrorist attack. But I was drawn to follow the news story with interest. Perhaps it was because I originally was a New Yorker. Perhaps it was because I have a cousin that was working in the basement of the same building when a bomb went off years earlier (he was OK).

I used photography to remember what happened. I can’t remember if I photographed the first tribute of light, but I was drawn to it light a moth to a flame. Then I realized it was possible to get close enough to photograph the remembrance I started to do it. I didn’t go yearly. Some years the weather was poor, or my schedule was busy. But it was nice when I was able to go.

I typically go to Liberty State Park in NJ along with thousands of others. On my bucket list is being able to get up close to the lights and photograph them from “within.”

As the years have gone by Liberty State Park added more memorials for everyone to remember what happened.

What’s you 9/11 story? How has it impacted your life?