Many of you know that I am one of the survivors of September 11th, escaping the WTC North Tower when New York City was attacked.

But I never told you the amazing effort of our city’s recovery.

On August 26th 2004, just 2 weeks shy of the annual anniversary, NYPD called me. An officer told me that they have recovered my wallet lost on 9/11/2001. I was shocked to see my wallet two days later, all twisted and dirt-covered, neatly tugged in a plastic cover.

On the cover, there are 5 barcode stickers lined up carefully, and a business card of the Forensic Investigator. It just demonstrates the extensive investigations that our country undertook.

Today, I like to think that these digital barcodes will forever be part of my digital existence. In the past 7 years,  digital technology and data intelligence innovations have evolved rapidly. RFID technology and other man-machine interactions are made possible and more important each day.

I’m proud to be an American and thankful for the effort to recover us from the darkest day in our nation.