What tangible items do we have of the attacks on September 11, 2001? Many of us have a broken heart, an uneraseable picture in our brains of burning skyscrapers. Some of those images we can remember from the television screen. I replay those memories often. I watched the twin towers smoldering from the hilltop of my small New Jersey town. The smoke could be seen in my bedroom community about a dozen miles away from what became known as Ground Zero. Friends and strangers got out of their cars on that hilltop and stood in small clusters and looked without speaking. There was silence.

Many commuters from Bergen County did not make it home that day. Some never made it home again. The following weeks were filled with sorrow and pain. Suddenly people seemed kinder to each other. More people became religious and patriotic. Flags flew from little cape-cods, split-levels and McMansions. More hugging was seen on the streets. Evenings were spent in schools, churches, and ball fields singing "America the Beautiful" and "God Bless America."

Everyone in my neighborhood knew someone, or someone who knew someone who died that day. People had a need to connect or reconnect with friends and relatives. Phone calls to long lost buddies were made. Old enemies reconciled. Everyone had a story that he needed to tell.

Some local towns erected memorials to the dead. Money was easily raised. It was easy to be generous when your family was safe. It was much better to give dollars and not the lives of family members. My teenage son, a member of the local volunteer fire department, joined in the efforts on September 12 in New York City. He was very upset when he arrived home and would not tell me what he saw or did at Ground Zero.  Later that week he joined the U.S. Navy. I was so proud of him, but I would have gladly given more dollars to keep him near home and out of harm's way. He is safely home now after spending time in the Persian Gulf.

What tangible evidence do we have of what happened on that unbelievable sunny day in September? Our evidence is of the negative kind. The lack of the towers, the change in the skyline, the empty, holy land in the financial district yells to us of our loss. Thousands of people are no longer with us. Their bodies could not be found. But we must remember them and what happened that day. We must remember how we felt when our country was violated. We must remember how united we became.

How will my granddaughter and future grandchildren remember this event? Will it be just another date to memorize from a history textbook? Will it be an ancient happening with no meaning or emotion attached to it? How do we remember the life defining events of our parents and grandparents?

When we can hold a piece of history in our hands it makes it come alive. When a child can get involved in an interactive device learning is more likely to happen. Scott, please send me your artwork so I can remind my grandchildren what happened in our time and how fortunate we were to survive.

Jayne Sonshine