Imagine the apartment (rather, about 4 apartments put together) of two former hippies -- Willie Nelson-type hippies who have an eclectic array of decorations, ranging from Jimi Hendrix posters, mild pornography and "Say no to [some] drugs" signs to "God Bless America" banners surrounded by signatures and photographs of the Twin Towers. In this apartment, for just a moment, I truly felt like the world (or at least this country) could really come together in peace.
The crowd was a collection of former Rescue/Recovery workers from the WTC site, myself, and (seriously) this guy from Finland we had met that day and asked to join us. The mission was to hang the gigantic American flag that once graced the side of One Liberty Plaza off the roof of the aforementioned hippie's apartment building. This ceremony is repeated every year, one week before September 11th, and is concluded on the following weekend by lowering the flag and folding it military style while the streets are blocked and residents look on. Random? Yes -- for me to be there anyway -- but this is how I live my life. Besides, everyone at this event was wonderful and generous and I figure Finnish guy off the street was way more out of place.
I only had my camera phone, so the pictures aren't the greatest quality, but you can get the idea nonetheless:
The view from the roof -- where I helped hang the flag
The flag hanging off the apt building
A visit from NY's Bravest, who came to cheer us on :-)
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