Frank Lavigne has been an online friend for many years, so his photoessay was something I have known about since the day he put it up. It crossed my mind today that it’s probably not that well known. It deserves to be.
“I thought to myself, “One more shot and I’m out of here.” “Dazed, angry, and confused, I felt along the wall of buildings to keep at least some sense of direction. Next thing I knew everything turned from pitch black to brilliant white. I thought I had died. began to think of all the things I hadn’t done; of all the promises I hadn’t kept.
“But then, just as hope seemed to fade away, a man named John pulled me into a store that he himself found only seconds before. He saw the light from my digital camera and grabbed at me, effectively saving my life by pulling me into a shoe store on Nassau Street.
In there, I was able to catch my breath and regain my composure. After I thanked him profusely for saving me, he told me that his pregnant wife was working in one of the towers. I wanted to get his last name or phone number, but before I knew it, he was gone.”
At first, I thought it might be better to save the link for later – an anniversary. But “never forget” means exactly that.
“Please remember”, saved for days on a calendar, means the forgetting has begun.