A local man, Michael, was killed when the North Tower of the World Trade Center, where he worked on the 105th floor, collapsed on September 11, 2001. For the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, a monument in Michael’s memory was designed and built by an architect from his town, and was to stand somewhere in the section of the town cemetery dedicated to veterans. The architect wanted two things: granite of a certain grey color that to him signified somber respect, and granite that was quarried in America. He searched for granite wherever it is architects search, and eventually found just the grey he’d envisioned. And it was quarried in America -- Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to be exact – a perfect and symbolic touch for a 9/11 monument. It didn’t take long for those in charge of the 9/11 ceremony to pick the proper spot for Michael’s monument. It was placed just behind the Iraq memorial … because the attack on the World Trade Center had spurred another man from this town,...
Life is a series of snapshots meant to be recorded in words. A writer and photographer shares hers.