Saturday, June 09, 2007

Graduation, grub, and Ground Zero.

Today, my little baby sister graduated from law school. The ceremony was held at Lincoln Center. Senator Chris Dodd was the guest speaker and he was wonderful. He has my vote...if he makes it that far...and I figure out how I can vote from France. We celebrated over a delicious lunch at Telepan. My family "oh'd" and "ah'd" so many times throughout the meal, that I lost count. Tonight, we had fusion sushi which was amazing. We tried many unusual dishes like sushi rolls of fried banana and tuna. Thus, more "ohs" and "ahs" coming from our mouths throughout that meal too. Afterwards, we walked over to a popular Italian bakery for coffee and cannoli. Before leaving for NYC, someone asked me what my family and I plan to do while in town. The first thing I said was that we plan on doing a lot of eating. We're already looking forward to tomorrow's meals...

So, our hotel is right next door to Ground Zero. Just one building away. And I find it to be a tad eerie. And very sad. The last time I saw Ground Zero was just three weeks after 9/11. It was still a burning hole in the ground. And open casket, in my opinion. Seeing it these past couple days has been difficult. Looking at what sits there today (a lot of construction), brings back all the memories from what I experienced plus it stirs up all the emotions I went through on 9/11. I find it hard to spot tourists walking around this immense empty space in downtown NYC and taking photos...like it's just another tourist attraction. It's hard for me to walk past it on my way to the subway. What's it like for NYers who walk past this site everyday to/from work? I wonder if they're used to it being what it is today or if it still upsets them like it upsets me.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats to your sister, that's great news!

I found it quite eerie how television shows set in New York (ie Sex and the City) which had a shot of the towers in the opening credits cut it out following 9/11..it's lack made such a huge statement if you know what I mean.

The Late Bloomer said...

Yes, I'd like to congratulate your sister too, what an accomplishment...

And I understand what you mean about New York; I wasn't there on 9/11, but I was in Washington, DC and sort of in the middle of the craziness there... I was evacuated from the government building where I was working at the time, so I will never forget that day. And all the pain that so many people experienced.

I do hope that with time people are recovering from that terrible experience. But I also hope that we will always remember to honor those who lost their lives.

CaliforniaKat said...

I lived in NY before, during and after 9/11 and at first refused to go down and look. In fact, I accompanied a friend who wanted to go, and stood on the outskirts because it's too painful. I could have died that day if I'd made different choices.

In time, the feeling fades a bit and walking by it is more a chance to remember than forget. It's not so sad anymore, but people who lost loved ones that day I'm sure feel different. It's a place to direct pain and receive comfort.

I myself can't watch any sort of clip without feeling something, but it's a lot better than the sleepless nights I used to experience. The world changed that day, and so did I.

With the WTC, orienting yourself in Manhattan is more difficult. It used to be you could look to the Towers, see the Empire State and understand where you were in relation.