Ronda Yeager, September 11, Currents

By Gus Bode

Candles, wreaths and flowers replaced the usual city litter in many cracks and crevices of Manhattan. Flames fought to stay lit as eerie, fierce winds blew through the labyrinth of New York City streets. One year later, the city stirs with life.

The morning of Sept. 11, 2002, owned beautiful blue skies that blanketed the city with a calm aura of reverence. People of all genders, nationalities and ages made their way through the city, with ground zero as their destination.

A 16-acre leveled sandpit is all that remains of the World Trade Center, where crowds gathered at its gated perimeters to view the skyline with its unforgotten gap. Friends, family members and the supporting public retreated in meditation or group discussion to remember the 2,801 victims of terrorism.

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Family members waited to enter ground zero and its central memorial to remember loved ones in an effort toward closure. Outside, people eased throughout the crowds, handing out patriotic tokens, origami birds and prayer cards to passers-by, demonstrating their opposition of terrorism and confirming their beliefs of peace and remorse.

Despite the physical and mental trauma caused to New York City residents by the terrorist attacks, ground zero was very much alive. People laughed, celebrating life; people cried in sympathy, but all engaged in spirit to say, “We survived.”

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