You're probably all aware that this year marked the 10th anniversary of 9-11. We knew this was going to be our last year being so close to the 9-11 memorials so I really wanted to get out and see one. They shut the PATH trains down going to WTC that morning and security was pretty tight in the downtown area so there was no point in even trying to get anywhere close to "ground zero" but as I was watching the news that morning I saw a clip of a memorial going on at the Jersey City waterfront. I packed up Bridget and let Kate sleep in and went down to check it out. There was a lot of singing and poems but the interesting things to hear were stories from those who remember being on the waterfront and waiting for the hundreds of wounded that were to come over that never came, the dust in the air and on the ground and the confusion.
Of course there is the tribute at night that they've done for several years now. Always kind of neat.
The building that looks like a red white and blue rocket pop is the new "One-World Trade Center" formerly known as "Freedom Tower" which is where the old world trade centers were.
If you've come to visit us since we've been here you'll know this is Kate doing what Kate does best, talking to complete strangers. The towers were never part of the skyline I associate with the city, but it's interesting to hear people talk about how they remember watching the towers being built, how they would use them as a landmark in the city to orient themselves, and how they'd become so much a part of their identity of the city, then what a shock it was to see them gone.
This is the last year they will be organizing a big memorial service in the city so we were glad we could be here and see it.
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