This May, my wife, Jeanne retired after 39 years with Memphis City Schools, the last 31 at the Kingsbury Career Technology Center teaching Early Childhood Education Careers.

Having observed our 40th anniversary on June18th, we belatedly celebrated in Manhattan Sept. 16 – 21, near where President Bush stayed that same week, while addressing the UN. There was more traffic than usual, but we did get to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Empire State Building.

We took part of one day to visit Ground Zero. I had seen many images of this tragic event over the years since 2001. It was still overwhelming when I actually was standing at Ground Zero looking at the hole in the ground that they had cleaned the rubble out of. Although I realized the site of the World Trade Center was massive, I was still amazed.

The firehouse of the first respondents, adjacent to the site, is operating now. A church near the site was hardly damaged, while many larger buildings were destroyed or were razed due to structural damage. The church was actually used as home base for rescue efforts, because it was still a safe facility. The church was open for prayer and reflections on the 911 events. Jeanne and I signed the scroll in the church for those who wanted to leave comments.

On Broadway, we saw a taping of the David Letterman Show, got tickets to "Rent", and saw the "Today Show Live" at the NBC studios.

It was an excellent week . There is a lot more there than can be seen in a short visit. We hope to be able to return there someday.