Hole in the sky
Nine years ago this morning I sat on a train and thought that it was one of the most perfect weather days, if not THE most perfect, of that year. Cloudless sky, dry not humid air, lovely mid seventies or so temperatures. During my walk from the Atlantic Street Station to our downtown Brooklyn offices I certainly regretted not calling in sick and spending the day bicycling or hiking or whatever. But soon enough I settled in to my desk on the 16th floor, which overlooked the sweep of New York Harbor from the Verrazano Bridge to the Statute of Liberty. My view faced south such that I did not see Manhattan from my window. While I was listening to WQXR, drinking my coffee and getting ready for hearings to begin a report was made on the radio of a twin engine plane having hit the World Trade Center. Within moments I noticed what looked like glitter floating above the harbor. It was only a short while later that I realized that the "glitter" was thousands of pieces of paper which were catching the light just so as they began to fill the skies above the harbor. Soon they were followed by gray and black smoke. When news of the second plane striking the towers came in ten or so minutes later, while a group of us were standing in a colleagues office, we knew that the morning was now a terrorist event.
Today the skies are cloudless. The temperatures are perfect. There's no humidity, our relentless summer's heat having finally broken on Thursday. And it's Saturday, not Tuesday. A perfect day to bicycle, or kayak, or roller blade, or play some tennis... or read a book on the front porch.
Next year at this time we will be tooling around Glasgow discovering the world of Charles Rennie Macintosh.
Much as I appreciate the fine weather today, I think September 11 in New York should always bring with it a few clouds to set it apart from what should have been a perfect day.