1 World Trade Center

For the past year, I've been commuting to New York City to work at 7 World Trade Center. This is located right across the street from the new 1 World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower. Since I've been there, I've watched the construction workers from my window. They walk around the steel beams without fear, they're out there when it's cold and rainy, and most of all, I've never seen the work stop. Often times, I need to be in the office for a 7 a.m. meeting and I will find the area filled with construction workers. When I leave the office late at night, I see them working. The site is consistently busy 24 hours a day. The sounds of daily construction is normal background noise for me.

The transformation of the area is mind boggling. I've witnessed the construction of the Memorial Pool, the 9/11 Memorial Museum and have watched the trees go into Memorial Plaza. Changes are made on a daily basis and it never ceases to amaze me how quickly it happens. Security is always present and you often find pockets of tourists or even jaded New Yorkers, who stop at a corner and look up to see the changes that have taken place. I remember where I was on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I was in my office at Paul Hastings in Stamford, CT when the plane hit the first tower. I was supposed to be heading into the city for a meeting in New York at 1 World Trade Center. I had planned to drive into the city after dropping Matthew off at daycare and run some errands before my 11 a.m. meeting. I realized after I dropped Matthew off that I didn't have a file for the meeting. That was unlike me. As a result, I had to drive back to my office to pick up my file. If it were not for that, I don't know if I would be here today.

Everything that day is still burned into my memory. I remember hearing the commotion outside my office about a plane hitting a building. I opened my office door and my assistant was surprised to see me in the office. She knew I was supposed to be in New York. We ran over to the conference room and watched in horror as smoke billowed out of the tower. We were all transfixed and couldn't believe what had happened when we watched the second plane hit the second tower.

I left the office to get Matthew from daycare and just held him tight. We were on our way home when I decided to take Matthew over to Dairy Queen for an ice cream. He was 4 years old and sitting on the bench, carefree, swinging his legs and enjoying his ice cream. He didn't understand the reason for the special treat. Everything were eerily quiet. No cars, no sound, no planes overhead. Everything came to a standstill that morning.

The destruction has transformed the city and has forever changed the skyline. What it didn't do was kill the spirit of New York. If anything, it has fortified it. Lower Manhattan was once a desolate place, is now filled with new construction and life. There are lots of young kids and families in the area and it's got the real feel of a neighborhood. Often when I run out to pick up lunch, I will often see little kids playing in the park and hear the happy sounds from the playground.

We will never forget the tragedy of that day. The amazing tribute at Memorial Plaza will serve to honor each of the lives lost.

Pasta Lesson

I spent some quality time with May and the kids today. Dinner time was rolling along and we decided to have home made pasta and Joc was just the right instructor. She learned to make it and was very eager to show me how to do it. Good deal since we have a pasta machine and I haven't cracked it open. Matthew's been begging me to make fresh pasta and I just never got around to doing it. Every time I want to do it, I just think it's easier to buy the fresh ready made pasta or just use the dry version. I admit I was a bit intimidated.

Watching Joc mix and knead the dough and then run it through the machine, it really wasn't as hard as I imagined it to be. All the kids pitched in and we boiled a pot of water and sliced up garlic and I mean lots of garlic and threw it into some olive oil. The pasta was done to al dente perfection and we all enjoyed it.

Now I don't have an excuse. I'm guessing that fresh pasta will be making a frequent appearance on the dinner menu at our house.

Freshman

Summer is officially over. Matthew was supposed to start high school on Wednesday, August 31 but experienced a delay due to Hurricane Irene. Most of the town lost power and the schools had to wait to get the power restored. He got an extra two days and believe me, he took advantage of it by sleeping in as much as he could. Today was the official start for him. He went in for high school orientation. The bus came and whisked him away. I have spent the entire summer with him. I was chanting "Free at last!! Free at last!!" then headed to the station to hop the train to NYC. It was time for me to make my appearance at the office after an extended absence during the summer.

He met some old friends from pre-school and will be making new friends. He's getting the hang of the school schedule and familiarizing himself with the layout of the building. He's on to the next phase of his life. College will be here before we know it. He's even talking about which car he wants when he starts to drive. Little does he know, I'll be rigging the car with ejection seats. If anyone is in that car beside Tony and I, out you go. Oh, and of course, there will be a closed circuit camera and it won't be able to go more than 25 mph. If I can just figure out a way to embed a chip into his head so I will know his whereabouts.