While cleaning out my parents’ home after they both passed away, I found something I had no idea they had saved: a perfect-condition pennant of the twin towers at the World Trade Center, and with it, the report I had written about them in second grade. Oddly, my parents didn’t save my sisters’ or my own childhood artwork or projects from any era. But this one report must’ve meant something to them.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was not a coincidence, as the 25th anniversary of the devastating events of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks approached. The assignment was to visit my favorite place in New York City and write about it. I remember this assignment vividly because I got to choose my favorite place and visit it with both of my parents.
I was what was known in the ’70s as a latchkey kid and looked after myself after school because both of my parents worked. And this assignment meant I was able to spend time with both of my parents at a place of my choosing. My favorite view from Brooklyn, where I was born and raised, was the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, which overlooked the East River and showcased the lower Manhattan skyline.
At that time, the prominent twin towers of the World Trade Center anchored the view. My second-grade mind knew immediately that was the place I wanted to visit. My parents probably had an interest in visiting too, since they didn’t even try to talk me out of it—something they did often when they didn’t want to go along with their 8-year-old's magical ideas.
To quote from my second-grade report, “There was an hour and a half wait to get to the elevator. There were a lot of families waiting on line.” I honestly can’t imagine waiting that long in line now for anything. Thanks to the internet, we buy tickets in advance and minimize all inconveniences.
The elevator travels at 1,600 feet per minute, so it takes only 58 seconds to reach the observation deck from the concourse.” I remember my stomach doing flip-flops. I’d never experienced going this high, this fast, in an elevator before. I still remember the sweeping views of the entirety of Manhattan from the observation deck.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
