About This Time Every Year

Around this time of year, New Yorkers, at least this New Yorker, gets a little anxious. We remember 9/11. NY has been in the orange zone since that time.
I was in my office meeting with a client. My office was a cubicle at the time, so I could hear an unusual amount of buzzing, more than usual, so I excused myself from my client and went out to find out what the noise was about. An airplane had hit the World Trade Center. How could that happen? It's so huge, any pilot could see it! Then a second plane-this was no accident. My client had traveled from Ellenville; NY-about 2 hours away-to meet with me. I had to arrange for her safe travel or lodging, I went immediately into emergency mode. I called her treatment program, which had a branch in the city. They said send her over. I sent her away. We-the employees all gathered around a 5" television that the receptionist had. I knew that my cousin’s wife worked in WTC II. I went into my ADOM (assistant district office manager) office. She was kneeling with her head on her desk, overwhelmed.
Last night I was walking home from the subway and I got to the final block away from my house, 8th Ave and 23rd St. It was completely blocked off and there were fire trucks, police cars and all sorts of emergency vehicles. I asked someone what happened. Suspicious package. Apparently it had been blocked off all day.
My cousin’s wife died. The first funeral was with an empty coffin, the second with a leg bone they finally found. She was 32 and had 2 small children. My cousin is still picking up the pieces of his life.