tidings of a time past

I was looking at Google Plus, something I do almost everyday, I enjoy my blogs and I love to read others.  I have even joined a few communities.  I enjoy what people write, cook, and take pictures of.  There are a whole bunch of people out there that do some of the very things that I do. 

The other evening I was perusing "my google plus home page" and I came across this picture.

I know that most everyone has a memory of this place, I thought about all the time I had spent at the WTC.  I was born and raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn in the shadow of the Verrazano Bridge, really underneath it is where I spent most of my teenage years.  We road the subways and buses unafraid because we were safe, there was nothing for us to fear, and that is when New York was not such a nice place.  I had a friend that was tall, willowy, blonde, and beautiful the total opposite of me with the exception of being blonde.  Her name is Kathy.  I have not seen her in over 30 years, but we had lots of fun in NYC.  Kathy had two older brothers, goodness were they all good looking, in the All American Christie Brinkley/Ralph Lauren way.  She and I would go to the top of the Twin Towers at least once a week, we never called them WTC, they were always the Twin Towers.  It was a blast looking down to the street at the cabs and people, you could see for miles and miles.  I swear you could see the curvature of the earth.  It was a sight to behold, it was truly magnificent. There was always talk of what would happen if you dropped a penny from the top.  The Empire State was ok, you could see, but nothing like the Towers.

Kathy and I went our separate ways, she off to school, and me, I stayed and went to school in NYC.  I often went downtown to the Towers to go shopping, I went to a head hunter whose office was in one of the building.  I even interviewed at a couple of offices in them.  I never did get employment there but just a few blocks away, I did find a job.

When I saw this picture and many others. I find myself thinking about my friend and her very handsome brothers.  Then I remember that while I am filled with warm and fuzzy memories, she is not, for you see the oldest of her most handsome siblings died when the Towers came down. 

I knew others that perished, kids I grew up with, even a couple we went to camp with, and I know a guy that was there both times the buildings were attacked and came out alive, he is blessed, truly.

It saddens me to think that a place that brought me the sweet memories, caused so much heartache for others. 

Maybe we were never that safe....