SC Remembers 911

I remember where I was ten years ago, as we all do.  I came out of Gold's Gym, got in my car and cranked the radio to hear, for the first time, the news that the Twin Towers had been hit.  The announcer was unclear if it was an accident or what.  I wanted to run back in the gym and yell that something huge was happening and I didn't know what.  I did not do that.

I sat frozen in my driver's seat.

Listening.  Disbelieving.  

When I went to NY this past November, this is what Ground Zero looked like:

And now, on this the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, 10 months after the above photo, this is what Ground Zero looks like:.....

I was amazed this week when I saw the first video coverage of the "new" Ground Zero.  They did an outstanding job memorializing that location.  The hole that goes 8 stories deep in memory of the fallen has a soft sheet of peaceful water flowing over it.  But the hole is still there.

We will not forget.

We will not cover it up.  

I can't wait to go back up to NY and view it again.  I want to walk through the park that now lies on Ground Zero and view the names of the fallen, touch the tree that survived the attack.

Tenth anniversaries of this event are happening all across America today.   I have a personal interest in the one in Columbia, SC.  My son works for the stone carver contracted for the memorial,  Memorial Designs.  They have been working almost non-stop the past few days to make sure this memorial is completed in time, whether or not the funds have been raised.

The SC Memorial started many months ago.  My son hand-etched a USC Gamecock to present to USC third-time national champ baseball coach, Ray Tanner at a dinner that raised a lot of the funds needed for this memorial.  The memorial, placed in the Vista, honors SC Midlands first responders that have fallen since the 9/11 tragedy.  3 of which are from our town.


SCRemembers911 website has a live-cam focused on the memorial in the Vista area so I have been able to watch my son work this week.  They have put in a lot of effort to get this memorial completed in time for the dedication today at 3 pm.

The memorial consists of two replicas of the twin towers with some wreckage from the actual Ground Zero placed in between.  Names of the SC Midlands fallen have been engraved on the various stone around the memorial.

Here's Tommy and Will taking a break during the creation of the memorial:

Here's the almost completed memorial, via the Internet live cam, on Saturday, 9/10/10, end of day.  Tommy is at the right of the right tower, on the ladder, doing some sand carving.  You can see some of the dust about his head:

The guys rented a room in the Vista Friday night so they could work almost non-stop on the memorial.  As I write this (Sat. 5 pm), they are still working and the rest of the community is watching the USC/GA football game.  I'm watching the live cam as the sun sets and my son is still atop the ladder, sand dust around his helmeted-head.  His neglected Red Bull is sitting in my fridge.

The Twin Towers is where we are all focused today.  But you have to admit there is a reprieve while many of you watch college football, which, for a short period, seems more important than 9/11.  And I shake my head and continue to be amazed with the ridiculous priorities of American citizens.  I'm proud to say my son is working on the memorial while so many others are enjoying the "Big Game" of whatever university you follow.  He's been out there all day for several days with very little breaks.  And this is one proud mama.

Oh, by the way, at the fund raiser dinner, Ray Tanner gave Tommy an autographed, personalized baseball.  That, and a paycheck, is what my son gets out of this deal.

And I'm stinkin' proud to be an American today.