20 years after 9/11, I am republishing what I wrote within days of the tragedy. I am going to start with the epilogue. About a week after the attack, I found out that a former classmate from Jericho High School perished in the collapse of One World Trade Center (the first tower that was struck). Leo Roberts worked for Cantor-Fitzgerald, a firm that lost 658 employees. I was not close friends with Leo but we talked over the years at school. Two other Jericho High School alumni, Gary Lutnick and Glen Winuk, worked for the same firm and died in the collapse. Gary was managing director and bond trader at the firm run by his brother, Howard, who was not at the office because he was dropping off his son for his son’s first day at kindergarten.
Cleave Law photo
After 20 years we remember those who perished, those who worked tirelessly for days and weeks sifting through the rubble, and those who lost their loved ones in what was the worst terrorist attack on the United States of America and that we will never see anything like this ever happen again, anywhere in the world.
Below is what I published to my cycling club’s newsletter (having the privilege of being the newsletter editor and publisher) in September 2001.
The World Trade Center twin towers dominate the Manhattan skyline on a beautiful summer day in June 2001.
May those who perished in this tragedy rest in peace.
As most of you know my wife, Nina, and I are native New Yorkers. The tragedies of this past week have hit us especially hard as The City (New York City) has always been a special place for both of us. There is no other American city that better defines one of our country’s greatest strengths ― diversity.
While growing up on Long Island, my family made frequent trips to The City, especially to visit the Chinatown district. My father spent most of his youth in Chinatown and our family enjoyed regular Sunday “brunches” of dim sum. Chinatown is located at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge, just north of the World Trade Center (WTC).
As a youth, I watched the Twin Towers rise to dominate the New York skyline. I marveled at the feat of their construction and was proud to know that (at that time) they were the tallest buildings in the world.
When completed in 1973, they became not only a fixture of the city skyline, but a key to the financial district, being adjacent to Wall Street. Though relatively recent in The City’s history, they were immediately integrated in its infrastructure and culture.
I always enjoyed taking the tour to the top of the south tower. The last time I was there was in 1989 when I went to New York with a cycling buddy to ride the Masters Cycling Nationals. We spent a day sightseeing in New York and the WTC was on our list.
This past June our family spent an all too short day in New York City. We took the subway from Queens into Manhattan. We rode the number 9 train to the last stop, South Ferry, in the shadow of the WTC, on our way to see the Statue of Liberty. I remember pointing out the towers to our sons and reciting some of their history.
Elsewhere on these pages is one of the photographs that I took from the ferry as we made our way to the Statue of Liberty. These images are how I will always remember the south end of Manhattan.
However, I will also never forget the images of the hijacked jetliners crashing into the towers and their subsequent demise as they crumbled from the intense fire that swept through them. I will also never forget the sickening feeling of knowing that thousands of people never made it out of those symbols of our great American city. I trembled at the thought of the people and families whose lives are now irrevocably shattered by the senseless acts of extremist terrorists.
I also wondered if any of our family or friends were a part of the tragedy. Fortunately, none of our family was involved and, so far, we know of no friends who have been impacted. Enough for now. Peace.
Cleave's Blant 