Today I experienced a moment that took my breath away with a group of teens.
A moment that had such an impact on me that I felt chills, pride and love for this group of kids I am just getting to know.
I sit on the Board for the Stark County Urban Teen Leadership Academy (SCUTLA). A group of 28 teenagers from 6 local area high schools that participate in a 7-month program with each day being dedication to a selected topic (Travel & Tourism, Government, Manufacturing, Diversity, Current Issues, Higher Education, Personal Success). This program is the first leadership group of its kind in Stark County
Today was “Travel & Tourism” and I had the honor of hosting this very first day.
Our event-filled day ended with an ArtsinStark tour of galleries in downtown Canton
Here is where my moment began …
We enter an art gallery filled only with art as a tribute to the upcoming anniversary of 9-11.
As in each gallery, the teens are engaging in quiet conversation and enjoying themselves.
I approach a unique piece hanging in the middle of the room. Two tiles representing the Twin Towers
Reading the inspiration behind this piece, chills came in waves over my body.
Soft chatter among the teens filled the gallery and I gathered and encouraged them to read about this unique piece themselves.
A couple of the guys wandered over, others followed. The one that had been there first, the loner of the group, the quiet one, that had been reading to him self started at the beginning again and began to read to the others in a hushed tone.
Silence filled the gallery and I witnessed a moment that took my breath away. The boy, with a speech impediment, read the letter. A moment I captured in a photograph.
The artist, a mom, asked her little girl what she remembered the most about 9-11. The little girl told her mommy she remembers all the birds in the sky by the Twin Towers
Her daughter described the birds in the air when the artist realized her little girl was actually speaking of the people. Human beings that jumped out of windows to their own death. Escaping the heat and horror of what had struck them. America
A tragedy forever etched in our minds.
An artist’s tribute to her daughters memory of 9-11 hanging in the middle of a gallery. An artist, a mom, hoping her little girl never realizes that it was not birds as she remembers, rather people.
Each of those teens stood in silence. The gallery was silent, but for the voice a student.
I realized I was holding my breath.
A moment that took my breath away.
A moment and a memory I had to capture.
“May I please take a picture of this?” I whispered to the gallery owner. She nods her head.
I remember suddenly my battery is dead in my camera. Maybe it has life for one photograph? Please God. My camera captures the moment then loses power.
Patriotism. History. Respect. Teens.
An artists tribute to 9-11.
