One Moment In Time

In the vast number of tributes and reflections today, this is just another.

I remember walking into my office, here in Miami, when the first plane struck the World Trade Center in New York, thousands of miles away. The sheer implausibility and ridiculousness of even the possibility of that act made even the concept that such a thing could happen, incomprehensible.

I remember that, with tears streaming down my face, all I could think about were the individuals – the secretaries, the maintenance workers, the file clerks. A political statement was the last thing on their minds that morning. They didn’t ask to be part of history. They only wanted to live.

I remember the generosity of spirit that followed. People looked to fulfill their dreams: get married, buy homes, start families. Because in this new world, you just never know when a plane might fall out of the sky.

And I remember that all of that generosity, all of the good will was twisted and squandered by men perverting the memories of the innocents toward their own ends. And we lived in fear. And even the fear was perverted.

Enough. Enough fear and hatred and animosity. I will not live looking over my shoulder and looking at the sky as if it were my enemy. That is not their legacy, nor will it be my future. Don’t let it be yours.