most surreal day in my life

We didn’t notice the plane flying so low overhead as I hunched over my boys on the way to school. I had Gangs in my backpack and most importantly, it was the day the threes would be united and Kai and his buddy Tristy would be together again.

I dropped off Koj in the fours and took Kai to the roof, and we found Tristy…but then I noticed everyone looking at their phones. Something had happened at the world trade center.

I walked down to sixtth ave w. Lucas’ mom and we saw what I assumed were two small airplanes crashed into the tower…we looked for a bit, as everyone was, and then I robotically turned uptown and headed to Talk Miramax.

I strolled past Tina Brown who was with everyone else on the street and went up to the disbelieving receptionist. Everyone was down on the street and here was this guy dropping off layouts (for a movie that would subsequently be postponed for a year because of the day’s events) She took my package and I continued back home, I voted in the primary… and then I went home and told Miwa about Kai and Tristy as I turned on the tv to find out more about the planes.

The first tower crashed at that moment…and Miwa said, “let’s go get the kids.”

We headed down sixth avenue, this time I was facing the correct direction, and at about 16th street there was a shudder, a gasp, and the second tower disappeared into a cloud before our eyes…

In the days and weeks after, in and around our downtown apartment, we lived and breathed the recovery. We felt so proud of NY and how we all came together. I am also a bit surprised about my own strange impulse to “keep calm and carry on” in the face of such a world changing event.