I chose to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11 by running throughout Manhattan, on a 14-mile route that took me from the East Village down to Ground Zero, up to the Central Park Reservoir, and back down through Midtown.
The day started with a brilliant blue sky, almost like the sky of that Tuesday ten years ago. The flags on the Brooklyn Bridge were at half-mast in the early morning.
The streets were quiet–a weekend morning, calmer still because of police roadblocks in lower Manhattan. A few officers, seeing my Navy ballcap (a gift from my wife, who’s in the reserves) called out, “Hooyah, Navy!”
Near the Ground Zero site itself, a crowd gathered around a security cordon as police let family members through to the official ceremony. Some handed out American flags.
A woman collapsed in tears. A small clutch of “9/11 Truthers” shouted anti-Bush slogans. Almost everyone ignored them, though a few people shouted back.
Heading back uptown, I listened to the memorial ceremony on the radio. Despite the absence of clergy, President Obama chose a religious text: Psalm 46, likely for its anti-war message:
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields[d] with fire. (46:9)
No one seemed to applaud. Former President George W. Bush, who spoke later in the ceremony, was greeted with a warm ovation. He read Abraham Lincoln’s famous letter to Mrs. Bixby, who lost five sons in the Civil War.
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
Throughout the rest of the city, there were smaller memorials. In Central Park, I passed a private ceremony for the families of employees of Cantor Fizgerald, the firm virtually wiped out by the 9/11 attacks. Back in the East Village, at the end of my run, I happened to run into the memorial gathering for the men of Ladder 3, the fire station that lost the most firefighters on 9/11.
The mood was somber but somehow festive, as families greeted each other with smiles and hugs. It had the feeling of a family reunion. The people gathered there will always be united by their loss and by the heroism of their loved ones. Some wore t-shirts bearing the slogan: “Still Heading Up.”
I learned today that Mayor Michael Bloomberg has asked that Americans begin referring to Ground Zero by its past and future name, World Trade Center. Today, with Freedom Tower rising over the new memorial, New York seems ready to celebrate new life while honoring the sacrifices that will never be forgotten.
The sun has given way to clouds that hang over the city, but the feeling on the streets is almost like that of an ordinary Sunday in the city–tourists walking around with maps, people meeting friends at coffee shops, or gathering at bars to watch the first weekend of pro football.
“Still Heading Up.” There’s something about that. It stays with you.
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.