September 11, 2008

In remembrance: September 11

Despite one reader's kind suggestion that I stick to writing about scarves and shoes (see Sarah Palin post here), I'd like to take a second to remember all those brave souls who lost their lives here in New York, on this day seven years ago.
I flew in to New York last night and found the city predictably consumed with the fabulous pomp and circumstance of its Fashion Week. Yet this morning, understandably, many denizens woke up in more somber mood.
I'm staying at the excellent Nu Hotel in Brooklyn (blessed with possibly the friendliest hotel staff in history), where the chief engineer Alvin Torres talked to me this morning about his memories of 9/11. I bumped in to him in the corridor, and noticed his colorful tie, emblazoned with stars, stripes and an image of the two ill-fated towers.
Torres told me how he had been working at the Regent Wall Street Hotel at 55 Wall St. the day of the attacks. "At first, we assumed it must be confetti," said Alvin, referring to the dust and ash that fell from the sky after the first plane hit. "Then we realized—there was no ticker tape parade." Alvin watched in horror as the second plane hit. He says it's thanks to his military training and a "strong, stable family upbringing" that he kept a clear head while he and colleague Clyde Wilson evacuated the hotel.
Today, he wishes that New Yorkers could reclaim the sense of unity that they displayed after the attacks. "People were nice for about sixty days," he said, "and then it was back to normal. But New York should be like that every day."
Buy a patriotic Twin Towers tie here.

September 11, 2008 in NEW YORK | Permalink

Comments

The Stylephile is a potent cocktail of sweet and sour musings on the culture of keeping up appearances. Style should never be a humorless pursuit.
Let style editor Caroline Ryder entertain you.