Watching the rays of the sun spread over the city.
asserted
rays → watch → city
Stealing a moment like this was a coveted morning ritual for some of the breakfast staff at Windows on the World, the restaurant that was on the 107th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
asserted
that → steal → Center
This was the meeting place where New Yorkers and out-of-towners went to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries; to revel with food and drink and to mark life milestones.
asserted
Yorkers → go → milestones
“I would have worked there just for the insurance,” says Windows sommelier and waiter Paulo Villela, who immigrated from Brazil in order to get medical care for his son, who had a rare medical condition.
asserted
who → work → condition
He would tell his friends on staff, who hailed from dozens of countries—Bangladesh, Ivory Coast, Peru, China—“I’m never going to leave this place.”
asserted
who → tell → place
On Sept. 11, 2001, so much changed.
asserted
much → change → Sept.
So much was lost.
asserted
much → lose → ?
Most tragically, there are the 2,977 people who were killed, including 79 workers from Windows, and 91 of its guests.
asserted
who → be → guests
Those victims and their families are at the heart of this dark moment in history, which millions of us experienced from close or afar.
asserted
millions → experience → us
How one feels is at least partly determined by one’s proximity to the event.
asserted
feels → feel → event
On that day, I was covering the Toronto Film Festival as a journalist.
asserted
I → cover → journalist
As a native New Yorker, I felt like I’d left my post.
asserted
I → feel → post
I was watching an 8:30 a.m. screening of Monsoon Wedding, a movie directed by Mira Nair, the mother of then 9-year-old Zohran Mamdani, who is now New York City’s mayor.
asserted
who → watch → Mamdani
It’s a tenuous connection I mention because that’s what happened on 9/11; the attack cast in stark relief the myriad connections that are otherwise invisible in this city.
asserted
that → ’ → city
Suddenly, we found out that our daughter’s fifth-grade teacher’s cousin worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, or a neighbor’s brother was a fireman who worked at Engine 54.
asserted
who → find → Engine
On that day, the connections were rippled with panic.
asserted
connections → ripple → panic
That manifested with the missing posters that filled the city for weeks; desperate pleas that became heartbreaking tributes.
asserted
that → manifest → weeks
You could smell the smoke almost everywhere for weeks.
uncertain
You → smell → weeks
The randomness of the event—we were flooded with stories of those who died and those who didn’t by happenstance—draped over the city like an uncomfortable, existential veil.
asserted
who → flood → veil
He was in the basement of the World Trade Center, having decided at the last second to get his glasses fixed before he took the elevator to work.
asserted
he → decide → work
He felt the ground shake, saw debris raining from the sky, watched United Airlines Flight 175 crash into the South Tower, and observed people stranded above the 91st floor waving large sheets that were probably tablecloths from his restaurant.
asserted
that → feel → restaurant
“The memories are so vivid,” says Lomonaco, who helped start a fund for the families of his staff and who has gone on to run several successful restaurants in the city.
asserted
who → say → city
“A generation has grown up since then, but it still seems like yesterday to me.
asserted
it → grow → me
A 25th anniversary marks a swath of time that can be illuminating because, to someone who is younger than 30, it feels like an eternity.
asserted
it → mark → eternity
But to someone who is over 50, as I am, it feels like a chapter.
asserted
it → feel → chapter
9/11 is a hinge of time that separates generations.
asserted
that → separate → generations
It shouldn’t be surprising—but it always is—when I ask young folks about 9/11, and they just can’t get their hearts around it.
asserted
they → ask → it
It’s something that they learned about in class or saw on YouTube.
asserted
they → ’ → YouTube
They don’t feel it like I do.
asserted
I → feel → it
Like we do.
asserted
we → do → ?
Those of us who are moved by this anniversary—no matter how close we were to the actual tragedy—should find some way to talk about it.
asserted
we → move → it
“We have an obligation,” Lomonaco says.
asserted
Lomonaco → have → obligation
“When we talk about the people who died, we’re acknowledging the significance of their lives.
asserted
we → talk → lives
Many of us want to avoid the sadness: say “Never forget,” and move on.
asserted
Many → want → sadness
Over 25 years, Lomonaco says he’s gone through the five stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance—and I would contend he has wisdom to share.
asserted
he → say → wisdom
“When we mourn with someone else, we’re actually mourning our own loss at the same time,” he says.
asserted
he → mourn → time
“That creates a human bond.”
asserted
That → create → bond
He emphasizes the connections between us, which were so palpable in the days after 9/11, when lines of New Yorkers wanting to donate blood wrapped around the block.
asserted
lines → emphasize → block
For me, the interminable years that it took to clear Ground Zero and eventually build the new World Trade Center felt like a void.
asserted
it → take → void
I won’t overstate it.
asserted
I → overstate → it
…and 27 more, not listed.
The Aporia
