Thursday, July 10, 2008

A Painful Reminder



Spectators gaze in silence



Dear Postcards from New York Reader,

As we walked up the street filled with summertime tourists, she drew my attention to it; She said, "Look Joseph, there it is, the Atlas..." As I turned, my heart ripped in two--all the pain of 9/11/01 filled my soul. The beautiful sculpture was damaged and beaten, but still elegant and beautiful; could it be more beautiful?

Thoughts of friends lost, especially Melissa Vincent, only 27 and full of hope, she was one of the first bodies recovered from the terror. I couldn't cross the street; my mind was struck still but my body wanted to run and scream. I stopped and was able to distance the searing pain through my camera lens.

Yes, Atlas* is more beautiful, a strong symbol of what is so right with America; it is now caressed by trees that will someday be ancient, and surrounded by people fighting back by living and enjoying the majesty that is New York City.

Joseph Knight
For Postcards from New York

Address to Remember: Battery Park, New York, NY 10004.

Directions: From Times Square MTA 1 to South Ferry, walk along State Street to Battery Park, R, 0r W to Whitehall Street, short walk south to State Street to Battery Park.


To learn about initiatives and programs that support children who lost parents on that fateful day visit http://www.tuesdayschildren.org/

* Sculpture The Sphere by Fritz Koenig 1969



Photo by Joseph Knight


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