Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway - Kevin Noa (read e books online free .TXT) 📗

The low tempo of his instrument kept cadence with the slow wandering of the crowd. Dad stared down Broadway's into the darkness and said, "The lights have gone out on Broadway." It was after midnight when we said goodnight to the crowd we had made a permanent bond with. We past the checkpoint at 14th street and headed home.
The following day the complete stop of the city that never sleeps began to crawl back to life. Schools and other government buildings fought to break the chains of destruction and began to operate. It was hard and it was painful for my family, but much worse for others. 9/11 had changed us all. Some days I would come home from school to find dad up in the loft looking toward ground zero. He had made a tape of patriotic songs including, God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood, Enya's Only Time along with his Billy Joel favorites. That tape, his walks and time became the panacea of his bereavement.
As the weeks and months past the city returned to as close a resemblance of normalcy as was possible. It had too. The black mark on New York was no different from the revengeful terror of the guillotine in Paris or the Blitz in London. They had survived and so would New York. But I was now bonded with the other great cities of the world in their time of crisis. To the generations still to come, it would only be history. But for those of us who lived it and survived, we would always be part of the archives of mankind's hatred.
7
The third anniversary of 9/11 2004 was on a Saturday. Mom had heard from a
colleague about a student at the Manhattan School of Music who had a Billy Joel tribute
band. She invited him to lunch and, of course, I tagged along. We explained the situation to Jon O'Brien, who was thrilled. We told some of the people who always came to Union Square for the anniversary. At seven PM we arrived with dad in tow. After some speeches and prayers for the victims, on cue Jon and The Strangers began, New York State of Mind. Mom whispered, "Surprise." Dad smiled as he put both arms around her.
As twilight turned into night various Billy Joel hits were performed by the talented group. They took one short break and kept everyone entertained. The last song, of course, was Miami 2107, Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway. Dad led all those who knew the words as Jon boldly built each chorus to its crescendo. "They turned our power down,
And drove us underground- But we went right on with the show..." As the magical night came to an end Dennis's helmet was put on the statue of Washington.
Next year will be the tenth anniversary of 9/11. I graduated from Columbia two years ago, and got engaged last summer. Dad still goes on his walks with the I-Pod I bought him three Christmas's ago. His favorite playlist, of course, is Billy Joel. A satisfying smile of survival comes to his face as he passes Union Square and heads up Broadway when he hears, "To tell the world about...The way the lights went out, and keep the memory alive...." Our family's memories are our greatest blessing.


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Publication Date: 02-03-2010

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