A Love Letter to NYC: 20 Years After 9/11

September 10, 2021 Marsha Mowers

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since 9/11. 

I’ve had a fascination with New York City since I was a kid.  I loved the city; I wanted to live and work there and had met with NBC executives twice in the late 90s trying to get into their page program and work around the immigration issues.  Every single person that knew me knew that NYC was “my city” and how special it was to me.

The morning of September 11, I was working at Citytv in Toronto and was picking up the morning newspapers from shipping when the first plane hit.  I, along with Donn and Steve in shipping, thought what likely others were thinking – how on earth does a pilot not see a tower? By the time I got to my desk on the 4^th floor, the 2^nd plane had hit.

My phone rang shortly after, a very frantic best friend crying that she couldn’t reach her boyfriend who worked in the building.  Turns out he was one of the ones who was late for work that day and was in the lobby when the first plane hit and ran out.  It still gives me chills even just typing that.

It was my champagne birthday that year in November (I turned 25 on the 25^th) and my cousin Bill and his wife Connie took me to NYC for the weekend to celebrate.  We saved a visit to Ground Zero for our last day and I’m so glad we did.  It was incredibly emotional; it is hard to put into words.

We took a cab to Lower Manhattan, and what was once a usually bustling area was eerily empty.  There were “Missing” posters on all the storefronts.  There was what felt like sand on the sidewalks, you had to be careful to not slip.  And the smell.  I don’t know what that was – I’ve heard it was a combination of burning bodies and buildings, but it was rancid. 

Ground Zero was still burning.  It’s hard to explain unless you know the area well, but we were standing about 100 ft from the site, before the barricades went up months later.  I could see the firefighters combing through rubble, their hoses pouring endlessly on what looked like just a massive piece of broken steel. There is a church at the corner and people had put up a big banner signed with messages of support.  We signed it “with love from Canada.”

While I was standing there, I think I just started to cry.  It’s harrowing to see in real life what you’ve watched on television.  And then, a man in a white hard hat with “Clergy” came over to me.  He put his arm on my shoulder and said, “are you ok?” I stood there in disbelief – I had just watched him talk to firefighters and police and he’s coming to see if I’m ok?  I said “yes, thank you.  I can’t believe you came to ask me that.”  And he responded, “We’re all hurting and just trying to get better.”

I’ve had an anecdotal theory about why the city is so amazing and I’ve come up with the fact that it’s because most people who live there, are there because they want to be.  A born and bred New Yorker exists, but they’re rare.  Most people you run into were born in another state or country and their love of the city brought them to live there. 

There is a bond that exists that comes from pride, strength, and love of the city, which makes it so resilient – the epitome of NYC.

If you’ve never been, I really can’t stress enough to change that and go.  It’s an easy flight (little over an hour from Toronto) and is a very safe city to visit.  There are so many options and things to do … I think at last count I’ve been 37 times and I can honestly say every visit has been different. There’s always something new and exciting to see.  

It’s Time for New York City. 

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