I try to go through all my emails and keep those saved to a somewhat manageable amount…one I have from nine years ago is still in my inbox. Nine years ago on Sunday Sept. 9. Australian Lleyton Hewitt pulled off a somewhat surprising run by winning the US Open. The next day would again be the champions photo shoot, and the idea was to take the champ with his trophy in the morning to a key location in New York to showcase his win, in addition to all the morning shows and the post-event press conference. Venus Williams, the women's champion, would do the same..? A bunch of ideas were kicked around for the Hewitt shoot, and it was decided that his momentous and historic win should be captured in a place unlike no other. The decision was made to do the photo shoot at Windows on the World, on top of the World Trade Center, Monday morning September 10, 2001. Alas, at the last minute the timing didn’t work and the shoot was done on the Brooklyn Bridge, looking back over the City. If we only knew then…
We all know what happened the next morning to change the world. So many were lost and liuves changed. There were 36 days on a row where I saw a name, heard a story, saw a photo of another person who I knew or knew of that was lost. I have friends who were scarred forever working in the area on that day, and who returned so many days afterward to work the debris pile. Luckily those closest to me, and there were several examples, were spared that day. Eventhough, the losses are still deep and fresh. None of us should forget, and we all need to remember all of those lost and even more importantly, all those who are still here and whose path was always altered by that day. Back to the saved email. The first one I received that day after the attacks was from a friend at the Spanish Tennis Federation. He was one of thousands of journalists and media types we had hosted at the Open. His email was simple. “We all saw what happened and please tell everyone you are not alone. We all stand with you on this terrible day and we are all New Yorkers. They will not win.”
A notr worth saving and always worth reading. Say a prayer for all today. And now back to our regularly scheduled fun and games.
