New York City (As Seen From The Brooklyn Bridge)

New York City (Manhattan), from the Brooklyn Bridge.
(Click picture for larger view)

"No one has ever seen the skyline of the city from Brooklyn Bridge as I saw it that morning with three hit notices under my arm." ~ Moss Hart

"New York City sits bold and beautiful, brash and bounteous, a Big Apple, representing the best the country and people have to offer. Never has there been a city like it, nor will there be again…It's a city of achievers, often beset by adversity, but never bested by circumstances." ~ John Clementis, New York Facts

I have posted about our summer trip to New York City before, but not as yet about our walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. This particular morning we took the subway to the World Trade Center site and again the enormous sadness of that September morning overwhelmed me. It is just a short walk to the Brooklyn Bridge, only a matter of a few blocks to the east towards City Hall. The bridge with its foot path above and the highway below is a magnificent architectural landmark. Here one of the subway lines from Brooklyn to Manhattan rises out of the dark earth to travel in the light of day across the river at street level before descending once more into the maze of tunnels and passageways beneath the city. Visitors and residents alike cross on foot, on skates, on bicycles and in cars. I can only imaging the emotion of those who crossed this bridge on September 11th; some leaving their homes, some returning home from Manhattan. In my mind I see them turn to glance back at the burning buildings, not knowing what happened or how or why or what next? Did they stop and watch in disbelief as the towers fell and the cloud of smoke envelope the city? Did the smoke billow outward and engulf the Brooklyn Bridge as well?

Our friend Diane was in Manhattan that day. She walked across this bridge to return home. I didn't ask about that day when we saw her. I wanted to. But I am not a New Yorker, and while I feel the pain we as a nation felt at the sights on our TV screens, I know it is only a fraction of the grief and shock and fear felt by those who walked the bridge that day. It may not yet be time to ask them these questions. So, I take in the beauty of the city; the colors still bright, the air alive with sounds and voices, and with them the feeling that this city does not accept defeat, ever.

Submission for SeeItSunday topic "city". (end of post)