On Tuesday or Wednesday (October 30th or 31st),
I heard our Mental Health folks say that they were going to Ground Zero after
work.
I pondered for a moment and then I asked to come along.
I knew it would be late, after 9pm, but Keith said that it was not big deal.
I figured, if I'm in the company of three mental health professionals,
I would be in goods hands if I fell apart once I saw the tragic site.
We took the ferry to Manhattan and walked up towards Ground Zero.
Manhattan from the ferry.
It was around 11 p.m. by that time, but the site was lit up like midday.
I was proud of myself for being strong when I was confronted with the horror
and
the tremendous loss of life over the atrocities that were done to our country
and our people.
Even now as I write this, I am saddened and cry, overwhelmed by a feeling
of tremendous loss.
Our world as we knew it on September 10th will never be the same.
The people that were there and suffered through this, and are still suffering,
will never be the same.
The smell of the site, the site of the buildings cut down and the knowledge
that thousands of people
are buried and cremated there is just overwhelming.
I ran across our local volunteer Pam Bowman.
We found each other at the Sheridan Hotel in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
We both had Sunday, November 4th off, because of the New York Marathon
and we could not get to our service center.
This was Pam’s first assignment. She worked at the landfill. It was
lovingly referred to as "The Hill."
Her assignment was to take care of the 1200 FBI, CIA, NYPD and others who
stifted through the debris.
We decided to walk the majority of Manhattan and eventually wound up at Ground
Zero.
I also took her on the Ferry to Statten Island so she could see the skyline
of Manhattan.
I took Thursday, November 15th off and decided to take one more look at lower
Manhattan.
I rode the bus into Manhattan, the End Station is 41st and 8th Avenue.
I felt like a New Yorker by then. I was at ease with the bus and the subway.
From there on I walked down to Ground Zero again.
The pile of rubble had gone down to the level of the ground, the smell remained
in the air and workers
still labored around the clock I observed a tremendous piece of steel
being hauled away to The Hill.
I visited two churches which were one block away from the site.
One is St. Peters and the other is Trinity church. The somber mood around
the site can be felt by all.
I noticed a bicycle and I felt very sad looking at it.
I imagine that some young man or woman came to work on that bike and never
returned.
It is chained to a post waiting for it's owner.
I also noticed a 2 story garage where the cars have not been moved.
They are covered in cement dust and also await their owners.
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Ground Zero
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Farewells | Epilogue |