I tried hard to explain to Ben and Melissa. I tried to describe it to them . . yet, they found it very difficult to stand on this ground and imagine the towers standing where there is now nothing. We talked about the emotions of that day – - and what it must have been like for everyone there. I tried to get them to understand what used to be here . . what it meant . . what happened to the people, and to our country.
We walked down Church Street together, the three of us. We talked about that day. We looked at the pictures and memorials. We turned our noses up at the vendors selling t-shirts, posters, CD’s and anything else you can think of – vendors who promised to donate all the proceeds to the victim’s families. We read the signs posted that implored visitors not to give money to these vendors – and yet the vendors persist.
We walked and talked. I pointed up at the tall buildings around Ground Zero and tried to give them a reference from which to draw from on what the towers might look like if they still stood today. Pictures don’t do it for them. Television doesn’t do it for them.
It’s so hard to imagine.
They get it. They understand what happened and why. Melissa’s statement about the towers: “I just can’t see it, Mom – I know what it was. I know what happened. I see pictures of the towers – but I look at this ground and I just can’t imagine it in my mind.”
Our generation has a responsibility to future generations to make sure they do not forget.
A message from the Port Authority:
Don’t Feed the Vendors:
Remembering and Returning:
A Glimpse Into The Future:
Ground Zero:
A View From Dery St.:
Pingback: E.Webscapes - Blog Design Blog
Yeah, it’s hard for someone who has never seen the towers before with their own eyes to imagine just how massive they really were. Glad yall took the time to talk about it.
Hallowed ground for certain. I’d love to see two more towers built there, or maybe nearby.
Geeze, and here for our Thanksgiving we went to Maui…
Maui! You spoiled brat!
(
Maui would have been SOOO much warmer than NYC over Thanksgiving week – - it was 15 degrees the day we took the kids to the top of the Empire State Building! Brrrrrr!
Hope you guys had fun!
It was something like 9 degrees here when I called back. I did not earn points by talking about how it was 80, we were right overlooking the beach and ocean, and the waves were rolling in and out. “OOO! Look! A surfer!” also doesn’t earn one points. It was definitely fun. Fun enough that we now have a time share in Maui overlooking the beach and ocean. I doubt we’ll go there every year, but we can also rent it out on years we don’t go somewhere or we can trade it for at least two weeks pretty much anywhere else in the world…