Mourning Eyes from One Island to Another

It's a beautiful morning in my Vineyard haven. The sunlight is peeping through the window, and all is calm in the forest outside my screen door.

The dog is content; his bladder is empty and his belly is full. He is at my feet, seemingly happy to be surrounded by the calmness.

My day started with gentle tears. Solo, my black Lab, woke me up. He can nudge open my bedroom door and communicate his needs. I patted him on the head and reached for my iPhone on the nightstand. An email linked to a newspaper column about how "we'll never get over it, nor should we." It brought tears to my morning eyes.

The country is still raw with emotion 10 years later. The DC and NYC regions must be feeling extraordinary sorrow with the burden of loss in their back yard.

I lived in a New Jersey suburb of lower Manhattan in 2001. Our town lost 13 people on 9/11 and a pair of lighthouses. The Twin Towers provided an all-important sense of direction and bearings for travelers in the tri-state area. On a reasonably clear day, the towers were visible for miles and miles.

The World Trade Center was a place for meetings and visits on countless occasions. It was almost like a town hall, but for millions of people. The restaurant, bar and observatory at the top of the North Tower were attractions for locals and tourists alike. The express elevator ride to the hundredth-something floor was a thrill in itself.

I worked with Dean Witter on the 74th floor of the South Tower until 1997. My husband was with Deloitte and Touche until the first Trade Center bombing in 1993. He walked down 101 floors on that day in February, and did not return to his office in the sky. His corporate leadership decided to relocate their offices across the street in the World Financial Center. Cantor Fitzgerald L.P. leased the World Trade Center offices. That company lost over 650 employees on 9/11.

It seems as if everyone has a connection to the World Trade Center buildings. And since 9/11, those buildings have connected the world. Our hearts are heavy with torment for all of the innocent people who unknowingly stepped into one of the death traps on that fateful morning.

As media envelopes us in 9/11, 10th anniversary memorials, the Department of Homeland Security advises citizens to be extra diligent and cautious. We are reminded that an enemy still exists, and has a vendetta to retaliate. It doesn't make sense.

The birds appear to be gossiping, the squirrels scampering, there is a woodpecker burrowing top-and-center of my home. Even on our sweet little island, there is grieving, fear and trepidation.

While we are fortunately sheltered from many worldly unpleasantries by living on this island, a post-9/11 country is deeply embedded into our peaceful little Vineyard havens.