#23 In Memoriam

May 14, 2023, Mother's Day Sunday

Like the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, the 9/11 Memorial showcases the atrocities of mankind against mankind, and the absolute depravity, as well as the tenacity, of the human spirit. It's a place of information to be sure, but also of contemplation, grieving and prayer.  Perhaps I didn't miss church after all.  Perhaps this was my sermon, my worship to a God of grace, who loves and heals.  Who extends His mercy even to the most depraved if they will but reach out to Him.

Two waterfall pools, each nearly an acre, surrounded by lush green, Swamp White Oak trees create a peaceful area around the museum building.  Inscribed on the flanks of the pools are the names of nearly 3,000 persons who died in, or as a result of the attacks on our country.  Above is a photo that I borrowed from the museum's website to better depict the grounds.  Photo credit to Jin S. Lee

 Towering 1,776 feet above them is the One World Trade Center, formerly called The Freedom Tower.  This is now the main building of the reconstructed World Trade Center.

The museum itself is massive, multi-roomed and extending seventy feet underground.  It is dim, hushed and somber.  Though these atrocities took place more than two decades ago, I felt that I was attending a memorial service.  At reception I purchased headphones for a recorded, narrated tour that I could pause as needed to go at my own pace.  It was both sensitive and informative.

  

Displayed in the museum were many remnants of the carnage, photos and stories of both survivors of the attacks as well as those who died.  Photos, videos and voice recordings laid out the tragic timeline of events. Below, the twin towers before the attack. 

The mural below, entitled "Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on that September Morning".  Many survivors commented on how they remember the blue of the sky before the attacks.  Each of the 2,983 watercolor squares represents a person who died in the 1993 and 2001 attacks.  The letters were forged from steel recovered from the World Trade Center.

On that fateful September day, hundreds of people were able to escape by using this flight of 37 steps leading from the elevated World Trade Center plaza to the street below.

Below, a 19 foot fragment of the 360 foot transmission tower that once was on top the north tower.

There were several areas where photos were not allowed, presumably for the privacy of family members.  Personal belongings, such as shoes and other items of the deceased depicted their lives and personalities. 

There was a large display showing the heroism of first responders.  Below is the garage door from a firehouse in Brooklyn Heights that has been made into a memorial mural.  The eight stars honor the firefighters from Engine Company 205 and Ladder Company 118 who lost their lives responding to the attacks.

The following photos of mangled steel and posted signs tell the story of Ladder Company 3, based in East Manhattan. 

Though I personally knew no one involved in the rescue attempts, nor anyone on location at the time of the tragedy, emotions were still overwhelming at times.  It would take days to go through the vast museum and take everything in.  Despite some amazing rescue stories, it was a dark place.  I needed to get out and into the sunshine.  So around 5:00 I left, wandering through the leafy bower of oak trees before seeking out my dinner at a nearby food cart.  

#22 River Views of NYC

 May 14, 2023 Mother's Day Sunday

On this day that dawned a crystal blue, I had intended to go to a church service somewhere in this vast city, but hadn't done my research.  So instead, after breakfast I took the subway to The Battery at the southmost point.  My intention was to hop on a local water ferry and enjoy the city skyline quietly slipping by.  As I stood blinking in the sunlight, getting my bearings after zooming along through the bowels of the earth, a man approached and asked if he could help me.  After I assured him I was fine, and yet he persisted, I noticed glossy flyers in his hand, so I confronted him with trying to sell me something.  He said he was only trying to provide information.  He then drew me to a large display and pointed out the local ferries, then showed me what his company could offer.  I still cringe when I admit to myself that I fell for it.  Other than the rare thrill of being in a huge crowd, for the sheer novelty of it, I've always abhorred group things and crowds.  I dislike noise, babble and rabble.  Had I known what this harbor tour would be like, I would have never shelled out the money and followed this man at a fast-walk all across The Battery.  He didn't scam me, (well, other than a large hidden handler's fee) but was very slick-talking.  When I confronted him with this charge he sheepishly agreed that he should have stated it up front.

When I finally boarded this party on the water I found it absolutely jam-packed with people of every size and color.  Benches of people covered the top deck, with more people packed against the rails all around.  The above photo was taken when most of the people had gotten off.  Music rocked the boat, and our tour guide used a bullhorn to project his voice above it. 

Despite all my gripes, being on the water was lovely.  The day quickly warmed up, but the movement of the boat created a steady breeze as we chugged up the river.  Below, a lone sailboat glides along.  Just above the tip of the sail you can see the Empire State Building.  And to the left is Little Island at Pier 55, a creatively designed manmade island.

Below, in the center of the city skyline, One World Trade Center, formerly called the Freedom Tower, reaches 1,776 feet up into the blue, so designed to honor the year 1776, when America declared its freedom. 

Our tour took us up the East River a ways, and then back, then up the Hudson as well.  Below, the iconic Brooklyn Bridge against the deep blue sky. 

The deceptively lacey-looking Manhattan Bridge connecting lower Manhattan with downtown Brooklyn is quite a massive structure, supporting seven lanes of traffic. 

Below, The Brooklyn and the Manhattan Bridges

The cacophony of animated voices in myriad languages vied for volume with the music.  Since it was Mother's Day, our guide said he was playing music for each country represented there.  I did recognize some with an Indian bent, but most was a heavy Latin beat.

Back in the Hudson River, we made a wide sweep near the Statue of Liberty, and then the boat did a gentle 360 so that everyone aboard could take pictures without trampling over one another for the best shot.

I would have loved to visit the statue and go to the museum on Ellis Island, but with only one full day in NYC, it just wasn't possible. 

Above, more of the NYC skyline.  Below, the skyline of New Jersey.

As we neared the end of our tour I went downstairs to find a bathroom.  There I discovered peace and quiet.  There were very few people, the music was softer, and the views were just as good.  Here, standing at the stern and looking back over our wake, NYC is on the left and New Jersey on the right.

Once docked I figured out that we were nowhere near the terminal where we had departed.  I went inside and studied a map to figure out where I was and where I wanted to go.  But first, I needed some lunch.  There was a little gelato shop in the terminal that also sold a few snacks, so I got some caramel gelato, a nut bar and a bottle of water.  Pretty balanced meal.  Then, from a machine I purchased a ticket on the next water ferry to the pier at Rockefeller Park.  While waiting for the ferry I got into a conversation with a young couple who were headed in the same direction as I.  We ended up sitting near each other on the small open-decked boat. On the relatively short, but very pleasant ride we took each others' pictures at various viewpoints.  They were in a long-distance relationship as she was from Denver, but was coming to live in the city for the summer. 

Once off the ferry we walked together a ways before parting.  They towards a mall to do some shopping, and me towards a more sober destination, the 9/11 Memorials.

#21 The Empire State Building

 May 13, 2023

Paying a lot of money to pack in an elevator with umpteen random strangers and zooming to the top of  this iconic building was never on any kind of bucket list.  But seriously, if this would be my one and only trip to NYC, it would practically be a crime not to.  And with that thinking, why stop at the 86th floor?  So I ponied up the required $84 to go to the 102nd floor.

But first, the museum.  And a good thing too, as I discovered myself to possess precious little knowledge about this skyscraper, beyond that it was really tall.  

The museum had great multimedia displays depicting the construction.  The building was competed in 1931 in an amazingly short time.  Only one year and forty-five days from start to finish. 

With the obvious lack of safety equipment, as well as the speed of construction, it not surprising that five men died while on the job.  However, that's out of 3,400 people who worked on it.

Much of the museum was dedicated to all of the movies that have featured The Empire State building.  King Kong likely being the most well known.  My favorite is An Affair to Remember.

When it was my time to zoom up 86 floors to the first observation deck, I piled in the elevator with the prescribed number of people.  I would have fought to push the button, but alas, there was a uniformed attendant to do the honors.

It was a little cloudy, and some haze on the horizon, but there was still a lot to see.  Since I don't know the city, it was probable less interesting to me than to someone who may have tried to see their grandma's house or place of work.  This level was open-air, with a kind of steel rod cage encircling it.

Since I am rather inept at selfies, I asked a gregarious looking young man to take my picture.  He did.  He took lots.  Then afterwards he came and found me and wanted to introduce me to some friend of his.  He referred to me as his friend Amy.  I'm guessing he just met them as well. 

After I'd made the full circle around and taken a zillion pictures, I found the elevator for the 102nd floor.  This elevator, that would take us up the remaining sixteen floors, was all glass-sided, so we could see the city as we shot skyward. 

The observatory at this level was a glass enclosure so on a cold, windy day it would be the preferred level for viewing.  Obviously when taking pictures you have to deal with the reflections.  The views, however, are roughly the same, but from a slightly different angle.

Once back to the lower level, I wandered through the gift shop, purchasing a Christmas ornament for the memory.  Then down more level there was a Walgreens store, where I bought some snacks for my room.