My wife and I visit New York City as often as we can. We love the shows on Broadway, the food, the sites and the sounds as visitors to America’s largest city! In 2012, we made a 5 day trip to the Big Apple in late July to take in all that wonderful city has to offer. Tops on our to-do list was to visit the 9/11 Memorial. My wife had visited it once before and she warned me it will move you. It did!
After a very organized procession with hundreds of others on a hot July day, we weaved our way through lines of people to enter the Memorial area. There wasn’t a lot of noise or talking but there was a prevailing reverence and somber feel to the place. We saw one family of a loved one who died on that dreadful day. They rolled out a wide white paper over the name of their loved one. They then took a pencil and traced out the name posted on the Memorial wall. Tears were in the eyes of those family members as they did it. Tears came to mine as well.
Then there is the Survivor Tree! There was a tree that was plucked from the wreckage of the World Trade Center and nursed back to health at a nursery in the Bronx. This Callery Pear was later replanted in the 9/11 Memorial Plaza. The tree was originally planted at the trade center complex in the 1970’s and was discovered in the rubble on October 2001 with snapped roots and a blackened trunk. It was only 8 feet high in 2001 when most of the tree was crushed when the towers fell. The tree now stands nearly 40 feet tall. Many have said it symbolizes the city and country’s resilience. It was a focal point on this self-guided tour for us! 
To the 2740 US citizens who lost their lives and the thousands of friends and family who continue to grieve their loss personally, we at Benton White Insurance REMEMBER this 14th anniversary with sadness. May we never forget how the events on this day in 2001 changed so much about the America we knew and know now. But the positive of it all – it DID NOT destroy us!
