I have no idea why i have some sado-masochistic need to do this to myself, yet every year on this day I find myself watching the replay on CNN, and this year looking through Flickr for the picture that brings on the tears.

I don't know whether I cry for the 22 people that I knew who died that day or for my city that will forever bear the scar where these 2 tall towers once stood.

Maybe it is for all the very happy and stressful times I spent there. When my office was in 2WTC I would hop the subway at 86th and Bway.. tunnel down and come out in the bottom of the WTC. Rarely if ever did i go outside. It was a mini city.. and when 9a came.. it had more people than the average medium city. Over 55,000 people called the WTC home for 8 hours per day. We had 10-15 restaurants, our own police station, 20-30 stores, 2 beaut shops 1 barber shop, a spa, our own tv station (CNN was originally HQ in the lobby of the WTC) so there was never a reason to leave. Unless it was just before payday and I needed a hot dog from the street vendors where we could eat for under 5.00. and be full.

As I was looking through flickr for a picture that would capture my feelings for my city, I came across this one that reminded me that while the twin beacons that I'd wake up to every morning might not be there.. the spirit of NY lives on. We are resili ant people, we are strong. When Gerald Ford told us to "Drop Dead" we not only rebounded but came back 10X stronger. Just look at the price of the real estate.

and so to all those who would like to see bad happen to MY city.. You can beat us down, you can smother us with laws restricting our freedom of speech, you can try to eliminate our unalienable rights as provided by the constitution but you cannot and will not ..In the words of Carrie Bradshaw--Nobody talks bad about my boyfriend!!

and finally I leave you with a quote from V:

A building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. A symbol, in and of itself is powerless, but with enough people behind it, blowing up a building can change the world.