One of the most difficult of many, many things to wrap my head around on September 11th was the fact that the Towers had people in them. Of course I know there were people in those buildings. I just could not conceive of the amount of people on each floor, in each company, lobby and cafeteria. I would look at the skyscrapers with their beautiful blue backdrop and have to work hard to picture what the inside looked like before that morning, before things would never look the same again. Although I’d been to the top of the World Trade Center, I’ve never been in an office in a high-rise.
Since that day, whenever I see footage of the twin structures or similar architecture reaching for the sky, I purposely think about what’s going on inside, recalling movies and TV shows set in such a place to give myself a reference. I guess it’s my way of making sure I never forget, that I understand.
Try it some time, with any building, it doesn’t have to be a tall city slicker. A house, a school, a local hospital, a corporation in your area. Because once you get past imagining what the layout and decor are, you can’t help but think about the people. Who are they? How are they related or connected? Do you know them or someone just like them, maybe even yourself?
We may not all be built the same but we’re not that different,no matter where we work, live or play. And maybe that’s how we all can understand.
