Bronwyn Jones’ reflection on September 11, 2001, and her New York City childhood was republished from our September 2001 edition of the Glen Arbor Sun, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
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On Aug. 9, the Beach Bards bonfire rounds out its 25th season of by-heart storytelling, poetry and music. The festival is held every Friday night from mid-June until early August at The Leelanau School beach one mile north of Glen Arbor. Children’s hour begins at 8 p.m. with slapstick, sing-along performer James “ Fuzz” Foster and the occasional appearance by Cherry Republic president Bob Sutherland.
I walk to the island in my mind. I start in Leonia, New Jersey, the town I grew up in. At some point I am sixteen again and wearing heavy-duty hiking boots as I trudge up the stairs to the pedestrian walkway that leads across the massive, vibrating George Washington Bridge. The broad, serene Hudson River lies far below and the buildings of Manhattan stretch out to the distant lower end of the island. The World Trade Center isn’t there yet. I remember the feeling of space, and slight dizziness, suspended at such a great height; the exhilaration of crossing from one state to the next on foot.