By JOHN P. WISEOne Great Season
As you know, we like to keep things pretty sporty here at OGS, but when an international news story breaks like the one that did late Sunday night, your instincts take over and you leave your quiet and dark Brooklyn neighborhood after 1 a.m., head to the subway that you know will take at least 20 minutes to show up and you go and gather some content.
That's exactly what I did and while I know the news of Osama bin Laden's death and the subsequent celebration that followed at Ground Zero have nothing to do with sports, they add up to one of those moments that we'll never forget. I remember asking my mom where she was when she learned that JFK was shot, and I'm not trying to compare things here, but I'm pretty sure this is one of those slivers of history with which I'll always associate my Brooklyn apartment, the Mets-Phillies game, the decision to trek over to Ground Zero and of course, the several hours I spent there.
IMAGES: New Yorkers Celebrate News Of bin Laden's Death
After shooting the madness from about 2 a.m. to nearly 5 a.m., I felt like my photo opportunities were fading, so I ducked into a crowded bodega right in the middle of the chaos and bought a couple of tall-boy cans of beer. As I started sipping on one of them, I bumped into some news friends like Michelle Frantzen, John Huddy and Tim Daughtry. With beer in hand, cameras over shoulders and fatigue setting in, I realized a short time later it was time to call it a night.
By the time I got to my stop after 5:30 a.m., it was starting to get light out. Birds were chirping and I was still nursing my beer. I vowed to post my pictures, but once I got into my apartment and settled in, I was pretty wiped out. I had been awake for 21 straight hours and already done an 11-hour shift for my weekend employer.
Anyway, I finally got my pictures posted on the OGS Photos page. Here's to never forgetting.