It was a last minute decision to detour off the turnpike to the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA. I had been on my way out to Bedford Springs to photograph a wedding, but I had a couple of hours to kill before it started. Stopping for coffee and a donut would have been a much simpler solution, but I do so seldom get to explore the world alone these days.
The memorial floored me. Reading the accounts anew brought back all the horror, ever more tangibly. I didn’t think that was possible, having lived through it. I spent quite a bit of time wandering around there, focusing on the beauty of the open field with my lens in order to settle my mind.
Even with the joyous wedding afterward, for me it was a very somber day.
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