Travel

So I didn't end up in Florida last week, but I was in Boston for a fun long Labor Day weekend and then in NYC for two days last week covering the 9/11 anniversary.

I know most can remember how terrifying 9/11 was, but I think many of us really forget the human loss aspect of it. Thursday afternoon I was in a non-profit's office that is 20 floors up and right next to Ground Zero, or 'The Pit' -- as it's now referred to. What a powerful view. I had not been back to the site since I first covered 9/11 on-site in October of 2001. It was sobering then, and it was this time as well. I'll post some photos of that view ast week in my photo album later this week.

In any case,the human effect. I sat down at the window over-looking the site and chatted with the vice president of the 9/11 Families Association. He was amazing at describing the day of September 11, how the towers fell, and just the emotions of the day. He's a retired firefighter, and later revealed to me that he lost his son -- a firefighter -- in the South Tower that day.

"I still have to stop before I talk about him," he said to me, pausing for a moment. His eyes were a tad watery, but his strength really amazed me. He was able to talk about his son and searching for his body for three months at Ground Zero. That's right, this gentleman had worked with so many other firefighters at Ground Zero trying to recover bodies and also remove debris.

"That was my mission -- to find my son. There were a lot of other dads -- retired firefighters -- that came looking for their sons there soon, and brothers looking for their brothers."

I'm grateful to him for sharing his story with me and reminding me about the realities of the human impact of 9/11. I think so many of us can easily just gloss over those feelings, but it's important to be reminded, which is why I'm sharing this story with you.

He said so many people say today "It's been three years, why can't folks just get over it now?" Well, he said, only 292 whole bodies were recovered at Ground Zero. He said he was lucky because his son was among that count -- he found him three months later. Yet so many other families weren't as lucky, they had little or no remains of their loved ones. Some are still receiving numerous calls today as more remains are identified. Try finding closure with that being a constant.

I know the anniversary was Saturday, but I hope everyone took some time to really think about it. I've been very fortunate to have visited the Flight 93 site in Shanksville, Penn., and speak to residents of that tiny little town that was forever changed on September 11. I've also been fortunate enough to have seen Ground Zero a month after the attacks and then again last week. I'm also fortunate enough to have met the gentleman I spoke with last week, as well as so many of the amazing and wonderful people who have worked so hard to help NYC residents ever since 9/11.

Not sure how to end this, I'm just glad I'm able to pass some of these stories on.