13 Years Have Passed, Her Determination Never Waned

This past Thursday, people all across the nation remembered the 2,977 victims who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks performed by Al Qaeda on September 11th, 2001. All across social media, people expressed their grief in response to the 13th anniversary of this tragedy. Yet, as I scrolled through Facebook this weekend, I surprisingly came across a beautiful story about a woman who views 9/11 as a time of hope each year. The story truly touched my heart and restored my trust in humanity.

For the past 13 years, Elizabeth Stringer Keefe has held onto a wedding photograph (on the left) she received from a friend who discovered the image among the debris at Ground Zero. As September 11th rolls around each year, Stringer Keefe posts the photograph across all of her social media accounts in hopes of finding the owner of the picture. Fred Mahe used to have this photo of him at his friends' wedding tacked up along his office walls on the 77th floor of the World Trade Center. He never expected to view the image again. However, due to Elizabeth Stringer Keefe's persistence and hope each year, Mahe finally caught a glimpse of the image online. It will be returned to him very shortly.

I happen to agree with Mahe, who claimed that Stringer Keefe represented "the best of humanity." Although 9/11 tends to be regarded as a time of tragedy, Stringer Keefe has viewed it as an opportunity for the past 13 years. She has used social media as a tool instead of a weapon. Stringer Keefe never knew Fred Mahe personally, yet she went out of her way to return his photograph. If we all learned how to act a little more like Elizabeth Stringer Keefe, our world would definitely be a happier place.