5/12.

Good morning.

When we arrived at NB HQ this morning, an email was waiting for us in our inbox. It's from a Destiny Ruiz, age 14. She writes:

Dear NB,

Hello. My name is Destiny Ruiz, and I'm 14. I live in Manhattan. I love your site. I think Lindsay Lohan is too skinny, too. Also, that picture of Beyonce was gross. Sometimes you try to be funny, and you're not, but that's OK. My mom told me that it's better to try and fail than to never try at all. Speaking of my mom, she's missing. That's why I'm writing. Yesterday afternoon, a giant wall collapsed in upper Manhattan, right below the buildings where we live. My mom was taking my younger sister, Heaven, for a walk. She's 5. She likes to go for walks. Anyway, my sister came home, but my mom did not. My sister said something about mom and a bus and Niagara Falls, but I'm worried she meant mom made a fuss and she saw her fall. I think mom may be trapped in the dirt from the wall. Can you help me?

Love,
Destiny Ruiz

Obviously we felt a moral obligation to reprint this email. As well, we've really never met a 14-year-old who could spell as well as little Destiny. So, all today's posts, in honor of Destiny and the other heroic Americans who may have lost their lives on 5/12, will have to do with yesterday's unprecedented tragedy.



If you have any information on Destiny Ruiz's mom, or anyone else who has been missing since yesterday's horrific disaster, please email NervyB@gmail.com and call the police. As well, we'd like to know where you were when this happened. We'll post any emails we get in features throughout the day.

Stay strong, NY. Together we can heal.