The 911 memorial in New York City features the names of those who died. (Photo by Davneet Dhillon)
A woman, who is perhaps in her early 40s, comes and visits the memorial every Sunday morning. She stands by the memorial, where the largest North American manmade waterfall has been built and where the Twin Towers once stood. The woman, named Lora, sheds a few tears as she takes water from the memorial waterfall in the palm of her hands and spreads it along one of the names listed on the memorial — Jon Richard Grabowski.
As she wipes away her tears, she giggles a bit. Lora was remembering memories as she noticed a couple of people staring at her, and said, “This man was one of the silliest men I knew.” She begins to tell her story.
Lora had known Grabowski for a couple years before the Sept. 11 tragedy. She was in love with him and he, being a typical guy, didn’t have much of a clue at first. They later dated for a couple months and became known as an on-and-off-couple.
Lora makes jokes about him, shares some of his clumsy moments and smiles every time she mentions his name. The last she had spoken to him was two-and-a-half weeks before the terror attack, as she was away visiting her family. She still keeps a picture of him framed in her apartment.
“The saddest thing is, I probably would’ve married him,” Lora said.
A man comes and joins Lora. He was also a friend of Grabowski. He begins to share that he knew him very well, and that he had the kindest heart and was a brave man. He mentions how they both used to go for pizza lunch every week.
The two stand there pouring water on his name and shake their heads in disbelief that he is gone, forever.
