9/11 TWENTY YEARS LATER

There a number of things I will never forget in relation to 9/11. Twenty years later the horror of it all has not worn away, and indeed, I will never forget.

One month and one week prior to the attacks, I interviewed for a job with a company that was located on the eighty-third floor of One World Trade. 

The day my interview took place was one of the hottest days on record and a receptionist who identified herself as Margaret Mattic offered me a cup of water.

I was subsequently interviewed by Lashawana Johnson.

Ms. Johnson told me she enjoyed coming to work in the morning because she could shop for her young children.

Ultimately I did not get the position but when I heard the news over the radio as the first plane hit, I instantly thought of Ms. Johnson and Margaret Mattic.

Fortunately I had saved the contact information of a woman named Carmen who worked the night shift. I was able to reach her by phone and she gave me the sad news that everyone in the company who worked the morning shift had been killed.

To add to  Carmen’s horror, she witnessed the planes flying into the buildings because she had a view of the towers from her Brooklyn apartment.

I know of many people who perished including someone (Josh Rosenthal) who lived in the apartment building where my dearest friend VB was living at the time. 

Evidently that very morning he was joking about possibly being late for his job in an office on one of the higher floors of the towers.

Unfortunately for him he was not late in getting to work and perished with scores of others on that morning. The street where he lived was named in honor of his memory.

On a bittersweet note re 9/11, in the Dutch bulb supplier Hans van Waardenburg sent one million daffodil bulbs as a gift to the city. ... 10,000 initial volunteers joined the first planting efforts, and Mayor Bloomberg made the daffodil the city's official flower in 2007. 

Every time I see daffodils in the parks, public spaces, and tree pits, I think of those who lost their lives on that day; and I also think of those who now have 9/11 related illnesses. 

There are no words…

9/11: The 19th Anniversary

Today, September 11th, 2020  marks the nineteenth anniversary of the Nine Eleven terrorist's attacks. As I've stated in my prior entries re this tragedy, I interviewed for a job at One World Trade Center, just thirty-one days prior to the terrorists attacks: August 10, 2001.

Remembering Nine Eleven

It's already the eighteenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist's attacks! As I've stated in my prior entries re this tragedy, I interviewed for a job at One World Trade Center, just thirty-one days prior to the terrorists attacks: August 10, 2001.

Friday's Follow-up to my 9-12-2017 Post

Atop this blog entry is an image that I saw on an FB Page of someone that I knew (and haven't  seen since) in high school. The photograph instantly made me think of a recent entry that I made on TLLG's FB Page regarding NYC's Tribute In Light, which pays homage to the victims of the September 11th terrorists attacks on the World Trade  Center.

Last year in an entry here on Blogger, I wrote about the danger this tribute poses to migrating birds.

At this time, I'm so grateful to learn that NYC Audubon has made great progress in their efforts to minimize — if not eliminate — the danger this solemn, well-intended, tribute causes migrating birds.

The Seventeenth Anniversary of 9-11 (Tuesday's Truths WK 93)

The truth for segment ninety-three of my series, is that this day marks the seventeenth anniversary of the September Eleventh terrorists attacks. Please click here to see what I've posted about them in bygone years.

Here's Tuesday's Truths WK 57: The Tribute In Light Endangers Birds Migrating

It's the fifty-fifth week of my Tuesday's Truths series!

Today is also the somber day after the sixteenth anniversary of the September Eleventh Terrorists attacks, which occurred on September 11, 2001. Therefore I am dedicating this entry to a harsh fact regarding The Tribute In Light, which shines all night long on the anniversary of the September Eleventh Terrorists attacks. A photograph of The Tribute In Light (from a web-page associated with NPR), can be seen atop this entry.

This installation is the work of "artists Paul Myoda and Julian LaVerdiere (who on the night of the attacks) watched from Brooklyn as an ashy and gaseous cloud formed over the remnants of the World Trade Center. The lights that illuminated Ground Zero during rescue efforts set this plume of smoke aglow, and through it, both men felt they could still see the buildings. This mirage gave them an idea, which they eventually turned into 'Tribute in Light,' an ephemeral memorial that has served as a vigil for victims on the anniversary of the attacks every year since."

This year, according to an article published by People (where the quotation above is also from), "The installation’s collection of 88 beams will illuminate the night sky above Lower Manhattan on Monday night, creating two pillars of light that will stretch four-miles-high. The display has become one of the most recognized and unique public art installations in the world since its unveiling on March 11, 2002...

... 'When the lights appeared for the first time, it was one of the most peaceful and silent events I had ever witnessed,' Myoda says. 'Until that night, I don’t recall ever being in New York and hearing so little. When the lights were on, everything seemed to stop. It was incredibly quiet.'

As one construction worker told the artists, after six months of looking into a pit, 'people could start looking up again. '

'That night was the first time that it seemed like everybody could gaze into the infinite, and not into an abyss,' LaVerdiere says.

Since then, the installation has been put into operation every evening of September 11, and turned off just before dawn the following morning."

I've seen the Tribute In Light, and it is a sight to behold, but, unfortunately, this installation has been traumatic for migratory birds. In 2015, Quartz reported that "New York’s Tribute in Light to 9/11 is stunning to both people and birds."

The aforementioned article states the "beautiful 9/11 memorial, the Tribute in Light, had to be turned off and on multiple times last night to make sure migratory birds in the area didn’t lose their way, Gothamist reports."

September 11th, 2017

The image posted above is of an ID card I received when I had a job interview on August 10th 2001 at One World Trade Center, thirty one days before the September 11th terror attacks.  I did not get the position I applied for, and this ID card is a stark reminder of how close I came to being there.

The woman who interviewed me, Lashawana Johnson, was killed in the attacks on that day, as was Johnson's colleague, Margaret Mattic. I've written about this and other situations related to the tragedy in bygone years here on Blogger.

I don't have anything new to add on the subject, except to reiterate my heartfelt sympathies for those who lost loves ones; for those who are haunted from witnessing the horror; and for those who continue to have health issues related to the event.

Tuesday's Truths WK 13: How The Bald Eagle Became America's National Bird AND Other Cool Facts!

Hello and welcome to week thirteen of Tuesday's Truths. The photo of a Bald Eagle atop this entry was taken yesterday at The Raptor Trust, a bird rehab facility in New Jersey. As you may know, dear reader, I initially learned of The Raptor Trust's existence from The Wild Bird Fund, the only bird rehab center in NYC. I made my first trip to their facility last Friday and posted this fact on Blogger on Sunday, October 9th, where I introduced Pearl, an American Robin, who is classified as "partial-Albino" by The Raptor Trust, as evidenced in the photos below.

In any event, within the aforementioned blog post, I promised that I would write about the other birds that I saw there. But I  didn't know that I would have the opportunity to return to The Raptor Trust today with a friend who wanted to give our mutual buddy (who has been recovering from an illness for a long time) an opportunity to have a day trip.

I only took a few photos yesteday as I haven't had the chance to use the ones I took this past Friday! But the photo of Pearl (directly above, as well as the image atop this entry, and the two directly below were taken yesterday.

I had hoped to get better images of the Bald Eagles who are permanent residents at the facility as I knew my intention was to post information re how the Bald Eagle became America's national bird.

National Grandparents Day 2016

MY MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS ARE FEATURED IN MANY BLOG POSTS

The picture atop this blog entry is of my maternal grandparents, taken long before I was even a glimmer in their daughter's eye, in fact, it was taken long before she was a glimmer in their eye! But one might surmise from looking at this picture, someone was sure to more than a glimmer in an eye, and be born to this couple, as my mother ultimately was!

I'm including this image in this entry in honor of the holiday known as Grandparents Day. According to Holiday Insights, "National Grandparent's Day originated in 1978. Then President Jimmy Carter declared it to be the first Sunday after Labor Day." 

As you know, dear reader, in this year of 2016, the first Sunday after Labor Day fell on September the Eleventh, which also happened to be the fifteenth anniversary of the 9-11 terrorists attacks on our country. Therefore, I did not post anything re Grandparents Day on its actual date, as I wanted to be quiet about other matters on the solemn anniversary. However, I still want to give a shout out to my dearly departed grandparents and to grandparents everywhere.

I've read that "the impetus for a National Grandparents Day originated with , a housewife in Fayette County, West Virginia. Her primary motivation was to champion the cause of lonely elderly in nursing homes. She also hoped to persuade grandchildren to tap the wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide."

Honoring Major Ernest Olds on this year's National POW/MIA Recognition Day

Today is the third Friday in September, which is a special holiday in our country known as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. It is observed across the nation on the third Friday of September each year. Many Americans take the time to remember those who were prisoners of war (POW) and those who are missing in action (MIA), as well as their families.

September 11th 2016

The image posted above is of an ID card I received when I had a job interview on August 10th 2001 at One World Trade Center, thirty one days before the September 11th terror attacks.  I did not get the position I applied for, and this ID card is a stark reminder of how close I came to being there.

The woman who interviewed me was killed in the attacks on that day, as were many others that I knew. I've written about this and other situations related to the tragedy in bygone years here on Blogger; and if you'd like to refer to my posts, please click here.  I don't have anything new to add on the subject, except to reiterate my heartfelt sympathies for those who lost loves ones; for those who are haunted from witnessing the horror; and for those who continue to have health issues related to the event.

"another year over AND a new one just begun . . . " PART TWO-G-1 (Sept. 1st — Sept. 11th 2012)

Today's entry here on Blogger is part two-G-1 of a series of posts pertaining to a year-end review for special occurrences in my rooftop garden for the year 2012 (the schedule for this series is described in part one as well as part two-A of this topic) and, because September 2012 was the month when my garden went through so much upheaval, I will be posting the review for that month in three parts.

In today's entry I will be reviewing events that took place in the month of September during the time period of September 1st through September 11th for the year 2012. Tomorrow's (January 14th 2012) will deal with the events from September 12th — September 19th 2012, and on Tuesday, January the fifteenth of 2012, I will conclude September 2012's review!

So without further ado, I begin my September 1st — September 11th 2012 review and much to my delight, the month began with the return of my "lone" visiting cardinal, Cam. Her motive in visiting seemed to check out what I had to eat, as you might surmise from the images posted above. However, Cam also checked out yours truly as seen in the image below.

Cam would prove to be most delightful to photograph as evidenced by the number of images on two of my Pinterest Boards which you may view by clicking here as well as here.  Moreover, I've posted "stories" about her in a number of entries here on Blogger and within my tumblr pages. Additionally, Cam has become a "regular" on TLLG's Facebook Page.

However, Cam was not the only one who returned to my garden for some food in September of 2012, for September also saw a "lone" visiting bee - the first bee to visit my garden in the 2012 gardening season, who also came to nosh! This was a welcome surprise for me as I had enjoyed watching bees munching on my Echinacea as well as Hyssop in bygone years.

Thoughts for All Soul's Day

Eight days ago, on October 25th 2012, at 5:26:01, I took this image of one of my house finches enjoying my Kiwi Vine in my roof top garden (in NYC); and he was even using one of its branches for a "launching pad" to take off, and fly around in peace for the first time that day! 

For as it happened, all day long, ruthless jackhammers had been being pounded below the surface of a building (a few doors away from me), which is being renovated. 

This renovation has been going on for months, and the workmen are pounding the jackhammers from early in the morning until late afternoon, disrupting all the folks who live within earshot. I had been concerned about how the noise has impacted the birds who visit my garden, but folks told me "the birds are used to it."

The Eleventh Anniversary of Nine Eleven

Today is the eleventh anniversary of the Nine Eleven, when terrorists flew planes into buildings, including the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan. At 8:46 AM they hit the north tower, a building I had been to only three weeks and one day prior for a job interview (at GENERAL TELECOM, INC), which was on the 83rd Floor of 1 WTC. I've written about this and other things related to the terrorist attacks in prior posts here on blogger, and you my refer to these entries by clicking here. It is a solemn day and a time to be silent so I will leave today's posting with heartfelt thoughts and prayers for the losses endured by everyone.

Nyctinasty: A Flower's Moment of Silence

Because my last posting to this blog commemorated September the Eleventh, it seems disrespectful on some levels to forge ahead (in terms of today's entry), without making some type of segue. Since this is the second Tuesday of September, which is when the attacks took place ten years ago, it seems, on some levels, more of an anniversary of the terrorist attacks than this past Sunday (which was the actual date, and of course, is when the various Memorial Ceremonies to honor those who died in the terrorists' attacks took place). 

Perhaps I find myself thinking this way because Sundays and Tuesdays are very different days in Lower Manhattan: on most Sundays it's nearly a ghost-town, while on Tuesdays, especially in the morning hours (the time of day that the planes flew into the World Trade Center), the area is bustling with thousands of people hurrying to work, school, or other obligations. Therefore, this past Sunday when the Memorial Ceremony occurred in Lower Manhattan, while it was a day set aside for solemn remembrance — as it should be — it might have been hard for those who are not from the New York City area to have a sense of the effect that the September the Eleventh had on those who were not working at the World Trade Center, but who by way of their daily routine witnessed the horror: the ones who worked in areas surrounding the World Trade Center, or who went to school near there, or who were there for other obligations. They were also deeply affected upon seeing the devastation and witnessing persons jumping out of the burning Twin Towers.

September the Eleventh: Ten Years Later

As most of followers of this blog know, as per my schedule, I do not normally post on Sundays. However, when I was walking home from my weekly volunteer work, I happened upon this American flag, hanging from a window of a brownstone that is located on a quiet street, and I thought I'd include it in my blog on this solemn day for anyone who happens to be stopping by the LLG (Last Leaf Gardener); for  my seeing the flag evoked other thoughts that I'd like to share — even though I have written about the events of September the 11th both last year on the ninth anniversary of the attacks, as well as yesterday (on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the attacks).

Presumably, the flag was hung in the window to commemorate the anniversary of the September Eleventh terrorist attacks which took place ten years ago today. Seeing this flag prompted me to wonder if the folks who had hung it from their window, had lost someone near and dear to them in those attacks; and also my seeing the flag caused me to remember that, in the aftermath of the attacks, and for a number of years to follow, someone had hung an American flag in a window of a building which is directly north of where I live and a building that my garden faces.

9. 10. 11

While many folks wanted to honor this day because of the sequence of numbers ("9-10-11"), with a celebratory event, tomorrow is a somber day for it is the tenth anniversary of September 11th, 2001. I live in New York City now, as I did when the attacks took place.

Moreover, I came very close to working in the World Trade Center (WTC), a fact that I discussed in a blog entry, which  I made on September the 11th last year; where I made mention of the names of two women, Lashawana Johnson and Margaret Mattic; whom I had met at a job interview which I had had with General Telcom Inc. — a company which had been located on the Eighty-Third floor of One World Trade Center. My interview was ten years, and one month ago today, and that is also when I received the WTC ID (posted below) which I also included in last year's blog post

Nine Eleven: A Dedication to the Memory of Lashawana Johnson and Margaret Mattic

It is a beautiful September morning, much like the September morning nine years ago when planes flew into the World Trade Center, where I had been just three weeks prior for  a job interview. The photo-id posted above was taken moments before that interview at General Telecom Inc.

It had been a brutally hot Tuesday morning, and upon my arrival at the interview, a woman who introduced herself as Margaret Mattic (the receptionist).

Another woman, Lashawana Johnson, who interviewed me was very young, and she told me how she loved coming to the World Trade Center early in the morning to shop on the ground floor for her three children before heading up to work. 

As soon as I heard the news that airplanes had flown into the towers, I imagined Lawansha was there since she loved early morning before heading up the elevator from General Telecom Inc. Lawansha had not hired me for the position, and she had let me know this by having someone from the night shift — a woman named Carmen — phone me to let me know I had not been selected for the position. 

Because this interview was only three weeks before the attack on the World Trade Center, I still had my notes on circumstances that occurred, and I still had my WTC ID, therefore, I was ultimately able to track down Carmen.

Reflecting On 01-01-01

Happy New Year to you and welcome to my blog, The Last Leaf Gardener. Since tomorrow is the start of not just a new year, but a new decade, I find that I look back to how the decade began. The year 2000 began with all the Y2K frenzy. The following year 2001, came in much more peacefully, as evidenced in the photo above of a snow sculpture of the Madonna with Child, which I saw in Central Park on 01-01-00, after a winter snow storm. 

Unfortunately, that peacefulness would ultimately be shattered within nine months and eleven days, on September 11th, 2001 when airplanes flew into the World Trade Center, murdering thousands of people.

Today as I return to this peaceful image snow sculpture image, I'm reminded of the freedom to create. Snow sculptures that often pepper Central Park after a snow storm are one result of that freedom. I imagine the snow sculptures bring joy to those who create them, and joy to those who, like myself, see them when they walk in the "winter wonderland" of Central Park. However, since snow melts, these are fleeting moments.