On Thursday, September 1st, I decided to eat breakfast at a diner and restaurant in Carteret that is popular with some people that I know. I also wanted to go to Carteret because sometimes I get flyers in the mail from that city which features different events at their Waterfront park. I was determined not to leave Carteret until I visited that park.
As we were walking on the deck of the marina, they happened to have a couple of viewfinders where you could see across to the other side, which shows the top photo.
When I read the plaque, I was near that viewfinder and taken aback. That grassy hill is sacred ground which houses the remains of those that were killed at the World Trade Center and surrounding areas. It was once a landfill. Now, every spring and summer the grass grows green and there is an American Flag on top of that hill. Also, on that hill I noticed that there was a single car parked there. I just wondered if it was someone who lost a family member or another loved one whose remains were not recovered and they only solace they had was that spot.
When you think of the number 21, in some cases it is the right of passage. There are things that you are able to do at that age that you were unable to do before. How many of us will even be around 21 years later after that fateful day. Think about those who at a young age due to that day who didn’t even live until the next year on this 21st anniversary. I can still remember not only where I was, but what I was wearing that day.
Like I said before, that person did not know anyone or their relatives that died that day. Nonetheless, I feel on that day, we were all family and that is a feeling that has stayed with me all these years. C.M.
