Titans

Yesterday afternoon I was privileged to attend a public program at the Tribute World Trade Center with Guy Tozzoli and Philippe Petit entitled A Conversation About Bold Imagination. The program was held in a small cozy room with 75 or so attending - it had the feeling of an intimate family gathering. I had the sense that everyone there knew more about one or both of these men than would be typical ... The audience was mesmerized - I know I was. I have written before of Philippe - click here for the article and photo of a street show. Since writing this blog in the last one and a half years, I have become much more attentive to the words of others. Philippe is extraordinary - I have not seen anyone who speaks so poetically in an extemporaneous fashion. He told of his notorious walk between the Twin Towers on August 7, 1974 and how he planned this in secret over the course of 6 years. Philippe is a man of many talents - tight-rope walker, unicyclist, magician, juggler, pantomime artist, pickpocket, street juggler, writer, illustrator and speaker. At the time of Philippe's walk, Guy Tozzoli was the Director in charge of overseeing the creation and building of the two towers. His stories and anecdotes of the process of becoming director, meeting Philippe and dealing with his arrest were wonderful. He always comes across as a warm, positive human being. At the time prior to Philippe's walk, the towers were really seen in as monsters without soul - Philippe's act made them human. Guy is President of the World Trade Centers Association, an organization of nearly 300 world trade centers in almost 100 countries.
Philippe described his walk as an artistic crime - one that did not take from anyone, but was a gift. Many thoughts and feelings came to mind as I listened to these inspiring individuals and thought of the towers - but one word really jumped out and made titling this article so easy - Titans ...