And summer continues

Conditions at 5:30 am: a few clouds and 15'
Expected later: sun and 21'

Yesterday was gorgeous and almost everyone has totally forgotten that the first part of the summer wasn't so great. We're content to just soak up the sun and nice temperatures and everyone is seriously hoping this continues well into the fall.

It's a pretty slow news day. It was so nice when I got home last night I stacked some wood and then I started on the grass. I'll probably do some more on that tonight. It's an easy week to get outside stuff done (now that Irene has passed and finished doing her thing!).

I was browsing around online earlier this morning and of course with 10th anniversary of September 11th nearing there is lots of coverage to be found. I thought of it a lot when I was in New York. The new building they're erecting onsite was still under construction when I was there but I was so reminded of the images I watched on TV just a couple of months after having been there in person in 2001. Nancy and I  had toured Manhattan in June of that fateful year. That shared experience of having seen the twin towers so soon before they were gone is something that Nancy and I will share for the rest of our lives. In fact we did talk about it a bit when we met in Halifax and it brought tears to both of us once again. (but then again, it doesn't take much to bring Nancy and I to tears when we're together - all it takes is for one of us to start and that's it)  Then Lloyd and I were in New York City about 6 weeks after 9/11 and that in itself was an extremely moving experience. We were there for 4 days but didn't go to ground zero until just before we left for the airport to come home. It's an experience I will always remember.

This morning I was reading an article about a photographer who was there and took some iconic photos, including the one of a man jumping out of the upper floors of the building. I can't begin to imagine what that experience must do to a person. Granted, he is a  professional news photographer and has probably witnessed some pretty horrific scenes in his day but this one would stay with him forever. The other aspect I hadn't thought about until I read the article, is the impact that a single photo can have on people who view it. In the article he talked about a writer who lives in the same apartment building as he and his family and she wrote a book about the events of 9/11 inspired by that one photo, and never knowing that the person who witnessed the event and took that photo lived right upstairs. It's a mighty strange world sometimes. Now I want to find the book she wrote and read it. It's called "A day at the beach". While it is a novel and is only loosely based on the actual events, it will be an interesting read about the indirect impact of the events of that day.
Click here if you'd like to read the entire article. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/photographer-behind-9-11-falling-man-retraces-steps-recalls-unknown-soldier.html