From Jack and Terry on Selene 5388, Shangri-La, attached is a photo of the NYC skyline tonight, 9/11/25, a tough day. What a vantage point our vessels provide! A small glow beams skyward representing those we lost. Maybe best seen from a boat on the water which always moves.
Our beautiful Shangri-La gifts us a memorable vantage point from which to witness and reflect upon our world, and to remember a horrible day and acknowledge a bad anniversary. That morning I was on Memorial Bridge on the way to Court in Washington, D.C., with my clients, an Hispanic couple, when the third plane suddenly slammed into the Pentagon beside us, shocking us with sound and fright, filling the sky with smoke, and killing some of my closest friends in the Pentagon. No court that day. But the boats floating on the Potomac River below all remained seemingly calm.
The 911 Memorial Lights shine brightly into the sky above NYC tonight from our anchorage at Port Washington, a port I highly recommend for fellow cruisers looking for good ground, calm waters, good restaurants, easy access to NYC via LIRR, the shows and restaurants. We so much enjoyed two shows in the last three days but did boat chores (and admittedly some legal work) today.
As did so many, we lost personal friends and loved ones on 911, and I went on to represent and support many of the families of those who perished that day and thereafter, as many of my clients were firefighters and emergency medical technicians who rushed to the Pentagon and later perished from occupational diseases which directly resulted from harmful exposures there. Several years later, after a few unsuccessful attempts, and perhaps as my swan song (to be determined - stay tuned - may just rebel once again), I was honored to author what is now the current Occupational Disease Presumption Statute which is Virginia Law under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act, compensating those who suffer such exposures.
Toast to my cop and firefighter friends and their loving families!
Apologize if my digression from purely technical talk bothers some. My Selene topics do sometimes stray, but I love what this boat does for us! Great opportunities to sit and think (and do oil changes as I did today - expensive in NY).
Jack
Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 5388