Back in the summer of 1998, I drove my grandparents (who didn't want to fly), to see various relatives, one of whom (a cousin) was living in Englewood, New Jersey, at the time. Being so close to Hoboken, I had my cousin drive me over the first night we were there.
The next day (a Saturday), he drove us all into Manhattan, where we attended a performance of The Lion King (it was amazing; "The Circle of Life" opening is indescribable, transcendent) at the New Amsterdam Theater.
We also went to the World Trade Center, where we ate lunch and went up to the Top of the World Observation Deck.
If I'd known then what was going to happen to them three years later, I would have taken pictures of the buildings, themselves. But I thought the buildings were sort of cold, plain, and a little ugly. Besides their great height, there was really nothing that exceptional about them (aesthetically speaking). I wish now I had at least gotten pictures of the Austin Tobin Plaza. I did get some shots of the City from the observation deck, and I'll never forget the feeling of the building swaying beneath me in the heavy wind.
These were taken last weekend, and they're pictures of a hardware store in Nacogdoches that recently closed. Like most of us, the owners were swept up in the sense of patriotism in the days after 9/11, and they did this on the front window (where it remains, five years later):
But like the sense of common purpose, and restirred patriotism all Americans felt in the weeks and months following 9/11, the sign has faded and blurred. All those feelings of national unity and pride have been squandered on foolhardy endeavors. What a mess of things our "leaders" have made. What is next for America??
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