In the summer of 1988, I was seventeen years old. Seventeen & of course jobless. I spent the entire summer looking for a job. Until a good friend of my Mother called her & said "Tell Zanee' I have the perfect job for her if she wants it!" Of Course, I Yell! I'm happy now. Because I know the job is in the city & I LOVE NEW YORK CITY...oh & of course the money is going to be good, especially for a seventeen year old! Mommy being the "Southern Belle"she was, sat me down to have a talk with me about how to "present" myself during the interview and on the job. "None of them big ugly earrings, take them out, and leave your expressive colloquial dialect for your friends!"
Point well taken Mommy, I get it! So the morning of the interview, I dress in business attire, no earrings or gaudy jewels, just a simple smidgen of lipstick & off to take over the world! I got the job and learned some life life long lessons from that experience. I became a Resource Librarian at Mancin-Duffy, a prestigious Interior Design firm. We had accounts to design major law firms, financial institutions, Peat Morris...stays in my mind & the CBS television station offices to name a few.
The first day on the job I was so excited! I was hired on the spot & remained there for the entire day! Filling out tax papers & having my first experience with Blue Cross Blue Shield as my health provider. I thought I was big time! I was making about 25,000 dollars back then! That's a lot of money for a seventeen year old girl from Far Rockaway!!!
I LOVED THAT JOB & was personally greeted by one of the OWNERS...Mr. Mancini himself! He was Italian of course & I was the only female face of 'color". Mr. Mancini graciously came to my little office, just to meet lil ol' me! You know what they say about Italian men? They do LOVE THEM SOME MOULIES! Mr. Duffy, didn't bother...I guess he is not into Dark Meat! But Yes, the Big Boss came to the back of the office, with fear & surprise left in his wake. Me being young & clueless, had no idea that this was a man who the people who worked for him RARELY SAW! So I guess they were wondering "why is he coming to personally greet this young black girl?"
Working at Mancini-Duffy was the opportunity of a life time & I loved drafting presentation boards & meeting wealthy people from all walks of life. But my TRUE LOVE was The TWIN TOWERS! The stores, the people, the restaurants...the bands, the homeless people checking for change & most of all...it's NEW YORK CITY FEEL! The sphere that now resides in Battery Park was once a vibrant fountain gushing the essence of life. In the winter months, it was shut off & me, Leslie & Sharene once took pictures sitting on the base of the fountain!
The week before the Tower's went down, I was marveling at the revitalization being down. New stores, restaurants the whole nine yards, but it was so strange to me. Because I don't care too much for change. As I think about it, two things stay so vivid in my mind. The first was the exotic flower store on the lower level. It was newly opened & there were the most beautiful yellow flowers I'd ever seen. The next odd memory was how I watched the people in the buildings, just going about their day. I thought about the fragility of life & how people take things for granted. I thought to myself, what would these people do if this building were to fall on them? It was just a passing thought...little did I know the buildings I LOVE SOOO MUCH would fall the next week! I kept that fleeting thought to myself & left my Love for the Last Time! You know that saying" You never know when its going to be the last time you see a person?" It was like that! I gazed into the eyes of my LOVE for the last time!
As the tenth year anniversary of the Towers approach, I can't help but think of how many people lost their lives & how they must've felt just like me. If they felt that way, sad but true...they died in the arms of one of their True Loves! Something died inside me that day. I was never the same after that & the same carnage & gaping hole that was left as "Ground Zero" had found its way into my heart! They always say throughout your life, different doors to stages in your life open and close. The World Trade Center's demise closed a door in my life I will NEVER FORGET!
Good Night My Love & To All The People Who Lost Their Lives...May God Continue To Keep In His Care!
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