“I never thought it would look the same again. There were no fighter jets flying over, no helicopters. Just a cloud of smoke that blanketed Manhattan.”
I recently traveled with my Dad back to Ground Zero, where the twin towers fell as result of a coordinated terrorist attack on the United States. Since his escape from his office at 2 WTC, he has not returned there since. Together, we took the ferry across the bay from New Jersey to lower Manhattan, just as he did during his regular commute to the World Trade Center years before.
Though initially hesitant in making his return, we patiently walked back to the routes he would take to work. I learned stories about each minute of that day, ranging from the early morning board room meeting on the twenty fifth floor, the confusion and panic below, the quick thinking to run past the unguarded emergency door in the lobby, to feeling reality sink after watching a television news screen in upon a tightly packed ferry fleeing New York.
After picking me up from elementary school later that day, I curiously asked why he was so emotional at the dinner table. “I lost my Palm Pilot in there”, he replied. “All 600 of my contacts, GONE”.
Love you, pop.
Scenes from a chaotic White House Correspondents Dinner. Law enforcement detained a lone gunman who attempted to break through a security checkpoint with multiple weapons, firing at one Secret Service agent who returned fire after being hit. For @apnews
Kymone Freeman holds an American flag while demonstrators stream past him over the Frederick Douglass Bridge during the No Kings protest in Washington. For @apnews
Dr. Casey Means, President Trump’s nominee for U.S. Surgeon General testifies before the Senate Health, Education Labor, and Pension Committee. Chairman Sen. Cassidy, a former gastroenterologist, reacts while listening to Dr. Means’ responses. For @apnews
First Lady Melania Trump, inside The Beast presidential limousine before traveling to Capitol Hill ahead of President Trump’s State of The Union Address. For @reuters
