underground to ground zero

After debarking from the train at Hoboken, NJ, we began negotiating the unfamiliar maze of the NYC subway system. And we did it pretty well. Our first subway train was labeled 'World Trade Center. '



Only the World Trade Center isn't there anymore.



When we got off the subway we entered the streets of New York City. I had heard that the empty space where the World Trade Center once stood, now known as Ground Zero, was a very emotional/spiritual place. I had no sense of that as we stood next to what is now a busy construction site. Huge earth moving machines and large cranes and trucks and people in hard hats fill the area where once the imposing twin towers stood.



The emotions came later as we entered this place.



Remberances of that day: September 11, 2001; pictures of loved ones lost; tales of survivors and workers and family members left behind, filled the World Trade Center tribute. Boxes of tissues were scattered around. I carried a lump in my throat throughout the tour. Tears threatened to spill over onto my cheeks as I considered, now up close and personal, the events of that day.



Quilts, tiles, cards, letters and pictures from children across the world were displayed on the walls. The events of this day affected the whole world, which by in large, responded with sympathy. It was strange to hear a nearby parent explaining the events to their 10 or 11 year old daughter. Is it possible that there are now people who have no memory of that tragic day? It seems like it happened yesterday.



One of the audio accounts of an eye witness (a worker for the Dept. of Transportation) described the events and gave her perception of how New York changed that day. My perceptions of New York stem from this horrible story, which occurred during my childhood. I remember her name to this day. Kitty Genovese. New Yorkers, according to this worker for the transportation system, no longer have the attitude that 'it is none of my business'. They now, generally speaking, look out for one another. Signs all over the city encourage passers-by to report suspicious activity.



Through the course of the day, we had to ask for directions several times. On each occassion people were very friendly and helpful. Not the big, scary city I was expecting. Instead a city united by grief and resolved to do what can be done to insure that this never happens again.



Later that day, after we had taken our last subway ride, we were sitting at a Mexican restaurant in Hoboken. The food was the best Mexican food I had ever had. We sat in close proximty to a couple about my age.



I mentioned something about the World Trade Center Tribute Center to Mom and Dad during our dinner. The couple on my right did not speak for the rest of their dinner. I wondered, Had they lost a loved one that day? Had they been there? Had my casual comment brought their grief to the surface, grief that they had carefully put away for an evening so they could enjoy a dinner out?



I'll never know.