Celebrating Cities After 9-11

On 9-11 2001 I was visiting SF and getting ready to head out to NY to visit family as I watched the tragedies of the day unfold. This was especially hard for me to experience, not only as an American but as a native New Yorker who was watching a part of her city implode and knowing that there were people she knew who were tragically being involved in all of this.

I remember frantically trying to get a flight out and back to NY , not fully comprehending how much of an impact this had had on our entire air transit system.
When I was finally able to get into Manhattan a few days later, I scrambled
up the subway steps to see the damage. I needed to see what had happened to my city. I looked down the block--- as close as I could get to Ground Zero that day ---- and could see the smoldering area of what once were the Twin Towers. At the same moment, I noticed the burning smell in the air, the surreal silence that had taken over the city, and the endless see of posters of missing people and tributes that were plastered everywhere.

That day I decided to somehow create a tribute to the resiliency of the American spirit, to the cities we love so much and come home to when we leave, and to give back to those cities as well.

It's still a work in progress but CityInspirations.com is evolving from those thoughts back in 2001. We make products that celebrate cities and part of our profits go back to the city as well.

Today I said a prayer for all the lives lost and lives changed that tragic day and I was reminded again of why I do some of the things I do.

To your success!
Maria Simone
www.mariasimone.com