They're Advertising in the Skies for People Like Us

I sit in a darkened ballroom in Manhattan.
People file in, the music pumps from a JBL PA system.
The energy grows in the room, as these technology people come here to learn something new about a product.
The song playing is about these people. City of Blinding Lights

1300 New Yorkers. All walking into work just like they do everyday.

9 years ago, they could have died, for nothing more than walking into a room. They all certainly lost friends, family, neighbors.

These are strong people, they are good people. But there's a look in their eyes that I can't comprehend.
It's not defeat.
It's not distrust.
It's not hostility.
It's not happiness.
Something about this place, these people has been permanently changed.
The NYC defining moment of this generation, perhaps of all time was 9/11 at 8:46 am.

They appear wounded. They have a deep pain that will never leave. Why do they exist? How is the present different from the past?

Thinking about this, I start down the path of self-examination.

What was my 9/11?