While an undergraduate student at Boston College, I was an intern at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library located in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library is situated along the water, looking out over Dorchester Bay, which connects to Boston Harbor. I. M. Pei’s  stunning structure architecturally blends the library building with the natural environment. The JFK Presidential Library’s outer walls are made of crisp white stucco; a sail-like design. The building reflect’s President Kennedy’s love of the wind, the ebb and flow of the tide, and his passion for sailing. His boat, Victura, is displayed facing Boston Harbor, placed on the lawn—- lost—as if waiting for  its captain to return.

The captain will never return.

In the days leading up to the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America, I experienced an empty feeling. I seem to be looking for the return of something lost. It’s a vvoid hard to describe–yet I speculate, we all may have felt this way at one time or another.

This summer, I worked on photographic project in New York City. Night photography and night cinematography is one of my passions. After staying  out all night shooting still film and live footage, I made my way on foot to Battery Park to greet a new dawn.  I looked out where two rivers intersect and Lady Liberty stands tall across New York Harbor. Inspiring.

The sky was blue. The clouds–dream-like. There was a touch of Autumn in the air. I could not take my eyes off the Statue of Liberty. She looks so different  in person compared to high school textbooks.  To me, Lady Liberty is a beacon of hope. She is a source of inspiration and determination. A promise of a new day; a new beginning.

The morning I was in Lower Manhattan was similar, weather wise,  to September 11, 2001. The sky was blue. The water glistened. People were making their way to work. Nothing seemed out-of-the-ordinary. It could have been any Manhattan morning.

The events of 10 years ago shattered our collective sense of national security.

I can pinpoint the precise time and  place where I was 10 years ago on September 11, 2001. Disbelief was my first reaction. Then panic set in. Where is (name withheld)? I made a telephone call home. Morning television programming was preempted. As I  turned on the TV, Tower Number 2 collapsed in real time before my eyes.  I then  switched on WBZ AM 1030, Boston’s oldest and one of the nation’s most respected radio stations. I wanted to  learn what was happening to our nation. It was hard to connect the dots, cross “t’s” and make sense of nonsensicle acts.

It is important  tomorrow to reflect upon lives lost, tears shed, the heroic deeds and the kindness of strangers related to that horrible morning in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania 10 years ago.

It’s time to dig deep into our collective national soul and seek out goodness. Turn a bad memory into a memorial of healing and service to others.

Michelle Obama, First Lady eloquently noted in her address to the American people this week, make tomorrow, the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a day of national and community service. I know Fenway Park, the iconic shrine to baseball and home of the Boston Red Sox will opens its gates for a Red Cross blood drive.  I learned from a reader of my blog, in the Heartland of America, will spend the day at a nursing home with her pet cat, visiting patients with memory impairments. Another friend from New York City sent me an e-mail noting he will play his guitar and share his love and talent of music in a small neighborhood public park. No dark glasses. No fame. Just a fellow  American playing tribute songs on his acoustic guitar to all who pass by and wish to sing along.

As noted, the  captain of the Victura did  not return–yet  his legacy lives on in spirit. I think of The Peace Corps, The Alliance for Progress, an underground nuclear test ban treaty signed with the Soviet Union.

Every action causes a reaction. Or is the other way around?  I am horrible when it comes to science.

America is a nation strong in character, will, and determination.

Honor the dead. Praise those who assisted on that fateful day: police, firefighters, EMTs, chaplins, mental health workers, rescue dogs, meal makers, and trained rescue workers. The list of first responders, and those who came to the 9/11 sites in the following hours, days, weeks, and months are to honored.

On September 11, 2011,  reach out to others.

Do.

Act.

Create.

Share.

Give.

Volunteer.

With a heavy heart, and  the promise of  knowing only working TOGETHER as a nation, we will move forward to create a better America and a better world— free, safe, and secure.

Alone. We suffer.

Together, we unite.

United we stand.

God bless America. My country. My land of opportunity. My land of freedom. A land I love with deepness of heart.

Cast your sails to the wind.

Never forget September 11th.

Brendan Ben Feeney

San Francisco, CA. USA