THE FIRST TIME I visited New York City as an adult, in the late ’90s, I stayed in lower Manhattan, near Battery Park. And the World Trade Center. For me, those towers, from every vantage point, a symbol of human achievement, scraping the sky, indomitable and strong, also became a comforting beacon, a point on the landscape that helped me navigate the twists and turns of downtown NYC. I always knew where I was, just by looking up for them.
Sept. 11, 2016, marks the 15th anniversary of the devastating attacks on the U.S. that irrevocably changed the world as we know it. But, in a testament to the American spirit, New York was down but not out. Now, when I look up, I see the Freedom Tower, a beacon…