the space between

When I went up to Maine in July, we took I-95. As many people know, this freeway runs parallel to New York City for quite a while before it takes you across the bridge over the Hudson River, from New Jersey into Manhattan, (then into the Bronx, thru Westchester County and points north). Anyway...I took some decent photos of the NY skyline (which came out pretty well, considering I took them from a moving car!). But one thing was missing: the twin towers. The vast space between the Empire State Building and the southern tip of Manhattan didn't seem "right".

I've seen plenty of post-2001 pictures and all that, but it's just...weird that seven years after the 9/11 attacks, I'm still not used to seeing the skyline of the Big Apple w/o the World Trade Center buildings. It doesn't look complete. You know? The gap in the skyline is kind of like when you see a school-age child with missing teeth. You know that something belongs in the space and will eventually grow in. And there's an innocence about that. But the empty space in NY won't be filled.

Have I mentioned that I saw the World Trade Center towers in NYC exactly one day less than a month before September 11th 2001? On August 12, 2001, I flew back to Washington, DC after attending a friend's wedding in Connecticut. During the 1990's and early 2000's, I was a frequent DC-to-Hartford flyer, and I sometimes rode USAirways. Their pilots typically took a route that hugged southern Connecticut's coastline and Long Island sound, skimmed the New York/New Jersey coast, then went slightly inland over Pennsylvania (over the notorious Three Mile Island nuclear plant and the Susquehanna River), and finally made a beeline over Maryland, into DC/Virginia.

If it was clear out, there was always a spectacular view of New York City. On that particular August day, it was hot and hazy over the city, but I gazed down, thinking I was long overdue for a visit there. Little did I know that it would be the last time I'd see the World Trade Center buildings...

I think my brains might be turning into mush. I'd like to hope that's b/c it's late, today was LONG*, and it's bed time. Hopefully it's not because my head is overloaded on research and is seeking way to get me to procrastinate.

*I spent about THREE hours at the rheumatologist's office today. But, I like this doctor. She's thorough, and since starting to go to her last spring, things make a little more sense now...