Windows

It was circa 1978 and I was living in New York and my wife-to-be was living in Philadelphia. She and her three sisters had planned a visit to NYC for a Saturday theatre matinee and I had arranged to meet them post final curtain at the Algonquin Hotel which has an old school lobby with stuffed chairs and sofas with little bells on the tables to summon the waiters. Subsequently, as we were headed to the Plaza Hotel to sample the ambiance, I asked whether any of them had ever visited the Windows on the World in the World Trade Center. Answering no, we turned the cabby around and headed downtown to the West Street entrance and up on the elevator to the 100th+ floor.  As we entered the lounge - me escorting four attractive women - someone asked me whether we were an airline crew. It was very flattering. The World Trade Center had only been open a few years and the Windows was a favorite spot for foreign visitors. Our Japanese guests with their cameras particularly enjoyed it. One of the Pizzerellis was playing guitar with a trio and as dusk settled in the skyline view over Manhattan was spectacular. The restrooms in that facility resembled Roman baths. And then twenty-three years later on 9/11 our world changed. In a few months they will be commemorating the tenth anniversary of that sad day. The city has planned many activities in the downtown area leading up to that date and the New York Times should be amplifying details in the weeks ahead. Let us never forget.
tjs
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