Burbank resident puts 9/11 remembrance on full front yard display
Jimmy Arone knelt on his front lawn and placed his hand on a wooden plaque he created listing the names of the nearly 3,000 people who were killed in the September 11 attacks.
“Every person there has a story, has someone that loved them,” he said, as he kissed his hand while fighting back tears.
In addition to the plaque, Arone created a 5-by-10-foot collage of a black-and-white photo of the twin towers, a banner that reads, “Never forget,” and an American flag. He installed the piece on the front window of his Clark Avenue home Sept. 1, and planned to dismantle on Wednesday.
The 59-year-old Boston native created the piece last year for the 10-year anniversary of the attacks. While the front of his home is an unconventional spot for a piece of art, the actor said he hoped to connect with passersby.
“It’s a nice way to connect with strangers aside from watering my flowers,” Arone said. “We kind of get isolated, stuck in our houses, stuck with our mobile devices — it’s nice to connect when we can.”
As time continues to pass, Arone wants to forever commemorate those whose lives were lost.
“It’s forever in our bones, in our being,” he said. “We can’t ever get away from these stories of men and women who just got up to go to work one day, and lives were forever changed.”
Arone plans to donate the piece to a museum or gallery.
“It definitely will not be destroyed,” he said.
-- Alene Tchekmedyian, Times Community News