(I posted this on another group and thought some of you might want to hear what it's like)
My visit to Ground Zero.... This was my fourth visit to NYC and the first time I went to see Ground Zero. I'm going to explain the experience through my eyes (YMMV): To me, the hole that's left from the collapse of the two towers was like a big open wound. I just stood there staring at the hole, while in my head I could hear the screams and see the bodies dropping from the sky on the horrific day. I didn't say a word while I was there mainly because I knew that if I opened my mouth to speak, the tears that were behind my sunglasses would have no longer been a secret. There are a lot of signs/boards on the surrounding fence telling about the history of the WTC, the names of the people on the planes and a timeline of what occurred on that day. I chose not to read them. There was nothing on them that would have brought any peace to my mind or justified what happened. It was truly an emotional experience for me four years after the event. There is a large subway entrance that goes down under what was the WTC and it was really bizarre to watch people go in and out..never stopping to look back. I guess what I saw as an open wound is just a terrible scar to them and they've moved on. After walking around the outside fence, my dad and I went in St. Paul's Chapel across the street. It's the church that took care of the workers for the weeks/months following 9/11. Once again...a really tearful experience. There are banners hanging from the balconies that were sent to the chapel from around the world. There are all kinds of shirts, patches, letters, etc. displayed there. One of the most touching was a display of many chains of origami cranes that were folded and connected by children in Japan. And there was a t-shirt with a fingerprint of every child in a school in Alaska. If any of you decide to make the trip, take a tissue while you just stand there and ask yourself, "Why?". I don't know about anyone else, but time stopped for me. You're no longer in a hurry...and the little stuff no longer matters.
/J