I write nonfiction books about monuments, so when I attend the SCBWI winter conference I made plans to see the 9/11 memorial. The books I've written about focus on long ago presidents who shaped history. The 9/11 Memorial honors by name over three thousand innocent people killed while going to work, flying home or heading up stairwells to save lives. Being there was a moving experience.
The builders of the memorial used the holes where the twin towers had sat, directing a waterfall into a deep pit. The water first pours out from under ledges engraved with the names of all the people killed on 9/11 at the World Trade Center in 1993. The names are etched in such a way that you can make rubbings of them. I didn't know anyone personally who had perished but I made it a point to run my hands over each and every name, and I said prayers for the loved one who were left behind.
Reflect today on the strength of our country and the resilience of its people.
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