among Thousands
- The Views and the Memories
- The Last Day
- Some Questions and Answers
Photos
Acknowledgements and Feedback
by Janis K. Brown © 2010
The Views and the Memories
I worked on the same floor, in the same skyscraper, for more than twelve years. My work area
was ordinary but the views were extraordinary! Long, narrow windows stood one right next to
another in the exterior walls. Some of the views were so memorable that I can still see them
when I close my eyes.
I worked on the west side of the floor during the early years. From that location, the most beautiful view was just down the aisle, through the windows facing south. The Statue of Liberty stood prominently in the distance. At times, reflections of sunlight would sparkle like diamonds in the water of the Hudson Bay.
I remember re-locating to the northeast side of the floor, along with a group of my co-workers. I moved my accumulated wall decorations – selections of my daughter’s art work from grade school and junior high school. Although my new cubicle was smaller than the old one, I preferred it because it was in a “window aisle”; the cubicles were on one side of the aisle and the north-facing windows were on the other. Looking through those windows, I could see a large plaza below and buildings for miles. It wasn’t nearly as beautiful as the view of the Hudson Bay but, in the winter when sundown came early, I had a spectacular view of the lights of the city. During the Christmas season, holiday lights added speckles of color and white in the night; even the traffic jams on West Street looked festive, with brake lights blinking on and off as they moved slowly toward the Holland Tunnel.
I remember seeing the crowds that gathered on the plaza when the weather was pleasant, particularly during the free lunch-time concerts in the summer. My work area was far from the ground and the windows didn’t open, so I couldn’t hear the usual noise of the crowds but I could faintly hear the amplified music during concerts. If the audience was large and if the applause was enthusiastic, I could hear that too.
The most precious view, for me, was also through the north windows – the view of a small bridge about six blocks away. It was the pedestrian bridge over West Street that led to my daughter’s high school. I couldn’t see the school – that view was blocked by another building – but I could see part of the bridge leading to it. My daughter and I had some seriously contentious times, especially during her first year at that school. The confrontations were difficult but there were also periods when she seemed increasingly distant; and that was heart-breaking. However, when I looked through the north windows at work and saw that bridge, I imagined my daughter at her school nearby and then she didn't seem so far away after all. Her physical proximity was like a counterbalance to the emotional distance that had grown between us, and I felt hopeful that she would be okay. Hope can be so precious in difficult times! I thank God that my hope was not in vain. My daughter and I continued to have confrontations, but we survived the most difficult times. I added her high school art work to my cubicle walls.
I remember my last day in the skyscraper and my last view through the north windows.
I left home earlier than usual that morning.
I went to the post office before work because I wanted to mail a package to my daughter;
she had just started her third year at an out-of-state college.
It was an extraordinary day in many ways. The sky was clear and blue;
the temperature was perfect – not too hot, not too cold.
It easily could have been the most beautiful day of the year.
I remember many things from that day – what I heard, what I saw and what I was thinking!
Some of the memories are blurry but others are so clear that I can replay them almost step by step.
I don’t know how many times I have replayed those memories.
Continue: The Last Day