Member-only story
9/11 Remembrance: A Lesson Learned on Helping
Weeks after 9/11/01, I had to travel from my home in Chicago to New York City to see a customer located blocks away from the Twin Towers. There was so much sorrow in the air, you could feel it. Deep sorrow.
At the end of our meeting, I asked my customer if there was anything I could do to help before I left for home. He said:
“Some of the restaurants are just starting to open. Go to that area and have lunch. They will be missing their customers and they need to survive.”
Seemed like a strange request but I said I would. I met my husband and we went.
I’ll never forget this beautiful restaurant with long drapes in the windows and white linen cloths that covered the tables and the proud and proper waiter handing us menus. We ordered and ate the most beautiful meal.
There is another detail I will never forget: the restaurant was empty. We were the only customers. You could imagine the hustle and bustle that had filled the space at lunchtime prior to the attack — you could even feel what it must have been like — but that day the white linen-covered tables around us were vacant.
This experience taught me that you can help people by giving them the opportunity to do what they do. It’s like ordering takeout from my favorite cafe or getting coffee at the Wise Cup in the morning during the pandemic. These are small things but help my community as well as me. It was a while before people began to frequent those areas in NYC and for some restaurants to even open. However, I do treasure the thought that in our own small way we did something to try to help.
