WTC Remembered


September 12, 2001
New York City, 6:34am

"When I see three oranges, I juggle; when I see two towers, I walk."

--Philippe Petit

Humanity has changed.

The catastrophic damage wrought on New York City, the World Trade Center and our planet is hard to describe at this moment.

Evil lives. But, it will not be tolerated. Make no mistake: this is a planetary problem.

The World Trade Center was an achievement for all humankind. So simple, yet profound. Two towers stretching 110 stories into the sky, marking the modern Manhattan skyline. Yesterday morning, thoughtless villainy wrought terror into the hearts of my fellow New Yorkers. However, I am reminded of the classic film, Casablanca. When the Nazi Major Strasser asks Rick Blaine (played by Humphrey Bogart) if he can imagine the Third Reich in his beloved New York, the inimitable Bogart replies, "Well, there are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn't advise you try to invade." And it is true.

New Yorkers have rallied. Blood donors are so numerous, the supply cannot be handled immediately. Thousands are delivering clothing and food to Chelsea Piers relief center. You can help by sending money, clothing or donating blood to the Red Cross. Prayers are appreciated.

Thousands are likely dead. Two monuments to humankind's achievement are no more. One of the world's major cities has suffered for no reason. Whoever did this has no point to make. The criminals have only proved their own idiocy. A master of evil is a master of NOTHING. History proves this.

The World Trade Center was aptly named. It was a center of commerce -- but more importantly -- trade. To trade. Exchange. Give and receive. A symbol of the freedom to go forward with ingenuity and prosper. The buildings may now be rubble. But the blood and bone that stain our streets will not deter the human spirit to pursue the metaphor that was the World Trade Center.

As I write, the sirens continue and the air force jets above guard our little island. Death surrounds us. Misery everywhere. The world cries at the hands of the selfish and unthinking.

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My family and most of my friends are safe. We are blessed. My wife and I deeply thank all of you who have called, emailed or prayed for our safety.

We will all go on. Those who do not believe in Mahatma Gandhi's statement that "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" will suffer from their own karma, or, action. This is the law of Being. No human court can bring justice to this incalculable act of violence.

 
Photos of Philippe Petit copyright by Thierry Orbach from the book, On the High Wire by Philippe Petit. WTC walk photos by Jean Louis Blondeau and Jean-Francois Heckel during the first of Petit's 8 crossings. Video stills of the WTC taken January 9, 2001 at dawn from Jersey City, NJ (courtesy Geoff Goldman) by Ben Robinson.

 

 
 On August 7th, 1974 a lone Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire he attached between the towers of the World Trade Center through clandestine and brilliant means. As he took his first step onto his steel cable with his balance pole, 1,350 feet above the ground, he said that he was walking on air; guided by angels and his own genius.

Petit's actions not only stretched our imaginations to what was humanly possible, but he did so with grace and unprecedented courage.

May we all remember the World Trade Center and the great lengths to which it inspired the human spirit.

 

-Ben Robinson

  EDITOR'S NOTE: Philippe Petit's book "To Reach The Clouds" was released in August 2002.