The city was in a fog … literally. The smell of dust and debris and god knows what else was still in the air as I walked up 8th Ave. Then the strangest thing happened.
“Good Morning,” a middle age woman said, as she made eye contact with me. It may not seem that strange to you, but I had never seen or met this woman before. As a Native New Yorker, I had walked the city streets for over 40 years. Rarely did people ever make eye contact and even stranger that a person that you don’t know says “Good Morning.”
During that month in September, 2001, I witnessed many beautiful acts of compassion, random acts of kindness and a courageous presence in New York. It was though our city was looking at the rest of the world in the eyes and saying “Good Morning.” And the world was looking back and seeing the beautiful, strong, resilient city.
The heart of the world was with New York. During that time, I remember hearing the song “New York, New York” on the radio. I had heard that song hundreds of times in my life, but in that moment the song became a coping mechanism to make it through. The words took on new meaning … “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.”
Fifteen years later, we are still coming out of the fog. The world changed on 9-11-2001 and we are seeing that globally in acts of terrorism. What happened in New York was symbolic of our world today, yet as history has shown, we all have an internal strength that can rise in the most horrific of challenges. We all have a bit of New York within us; we can be resilient, strong, compassionate, kind and courageous.
It is these traits that we must call upon in these challenging times. I invite you to tap into the power of music and take 5 minutes to listen to the song “New York, New York” and its ability to empower us to make it through! Send out love and compassion to those who were lost in 9-11, their families, New York and the World.
