World Trade Center Tour

My last visit to the site of the World Trade Center was three weeks after the towers had gone down. I remember being able to see parts of the buildings still standing and smell dead bodies. The visit, however, helped my family and I with a personal lose. Today I visited the World Trade Center Tour with my journalism beat class. After the tour we listened to a woman named Tracy Gazani tell how she lost her son in the WTC on 9/11. She said the people of New York City helped her cope. Funny, my family and I had the same experience.

Three weeks after the World Trade Center collapsed, my grandmother passed away. My family, crushed over the tragedy in the last month, decided to go to see to see the remains of the WTC. Meanwhile, my parents were born and raised in New York and grew up die hard Yankee fans. During our visit my mom thought it would be therapeutic if she got to see the Yankees play in the World Series. So she bought tickets and we went.

The Yankees won the game in heroic fashion. I nearly cried when a flag that was pulled out of the 9/11 wreckage was revealed during the rendition of God Bless America. The moment, the game, and the sense of togetherness that surrounded the stadium allowed New Yorkers, as well as my family, to cope with their losses.


Although it was a wet morning, the rain set the tone for the somber day. First our class walked around the center, watched a video of the construction of the WTC and then saw some of the remains from the site; An American Flag, a NYC fireman’s uniform and fliers of missing people that were put up shortly after the tragedy, killing 2,749 people.

Shortly after, we went on an audio tour through the World Financial Center, which peered out over the area where the WTC once stood. The audio tour featured interviews from mourners, firemen and first-hand accounts of what happened step by step. The whole time I continued to think of how that area looked the last time I saw it.

After the tour, we had an interview with Gazzani, whose 24-year-old son, Terry, died working in the 104th floor of the WTC. Gazzani, who lives in Brooklyn, retired as a teacher last year to volunteer at the center so her experiences could help other people. She told of how she said goodbye to her son after feeding him special K, almost choking up as she said it. I kept thinking of how much she reminded me of my mother, a strong, independent woman who loved her family more than life itself.

Gazzani told us stories about Terry that she heard from friends and family after he was killed. But most importantly, Gazzani said she felt, “fortunate,” mainly because of all the support she got from friends and family. “It was a wonderful time for everyone in this city to come together,” Gazzani explained.

Gazzani left us by admitting that her distress does not get better but gets “different.” My mother, in one way or another, has said the same to me when talking about her mom. My father, a patriotic man in his own right, always tells reminds me of that painful day, and how he will never fully get over it.

I surely will never forget that day and have always felt the way Gazzani does. I always felt fortunate that as terrible a day as 9/11 was that nothing came close to how strongly my family came together. For both my family and Gazzani the people of New York City made us realize the things that were most important; each other.