Harbor Sunrise

8 x 12 Oil on Panel

We were painting in Maine on the morning of September 11, 2001. It was a brilliant sunrise. We both painted well, then cleaned up and headed back to the little cottage we were renting. After breakfast Elizabeth decided to take a shower, I turned on the TV. Why was Tom Brokaw on at 11 in the morning and what did that crawl at the bottom of the screen mean, "The World Trade Center towers have collapsed?" Elizabeth came out of the shower and asked if there was any news. "Yeah, big" I replied. We bumbled around in a daze for the next few days, trying to paint. I wanted to go to New York, my home for so many years, but I had promised to visit my sister after our painting trip. Finally, 10 days later, we made it back to the city. I had never known it to be so quiet. We made our way downtown. As we walked quietly down Broadway toward ground zero others passed us quietly on their way back uptown. We paused, gazed, prayed then turned away as new mourners quietly came to toward us. Profoundly saddened, we went to the museums for consolation.....