We then took the subway to the site of Ground Zero - the World Trade Centre memorial site. walking the sidewalks around the perimeter of the site evoked within me a flashback to grade 12, when i first saw the footage of the disaster taking place in NYC. although the area was covered with barriers to prevent people from looking in, i knew there was an empty space there that once contained life. an overwhelming sense of grief came upon me as we made our way to St. Paul's chapel just across the street from Ground Zero. Miraculously, the church was still in tact and its windows did not sustain any breakage from the intense force that took place a few meters away. inside there various memorials that paid respects to those who passed away as a result of 911. from what i understood, many emergency services workers took refuge at the church here as they worked round the clock to save their city that was on fire. the church provided them with as much as they could including food, shelter, rest, and hope that this would all end soon. perhaps what moved me the most was the memorial to the police and firefighters who entered into the turmoil, completely unaware of the end result, but with one goal in mind - saving those who were still in the building, with many of those very same people losing their own lives in the process. armbands and shields from police and fire departments from all over the world were displayed in an area showing the support and community 911 workers had from all corners of the earth. prior to visiting Ground Zero, 911 stood out to me as tragic of an event as any other including the Holocaust, the tsunami in Indonesia, and countless civil wars around the world. but it wasn't until i arrived that it became real to me. the reality of 911 clings to me more than a terrorist attack, or a tragedy. to me, i see it as a period in time when men and women were united in the face of pure violence and evil. hope and life sprang from such a tragedy.
[former site of the Twin Towers, now a construction site]
[view of the missing towers, from across the street at the church]
[couldn't find VPD cos there were so many, so this was the closest!]
We made our way to Battery Park where we saw a gathering of artists, human mannequins, hotdog/pretzel stalls, and ticket booths for Liberty Island. a short distance away, we boarded a ferry to Staten Island where we got a front row seat to one of the best views of Lady Liberty herself.
Bon and i went our own ways upon our return from Staten Island as her friend had gotten them tickets to the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. We bid farewell, and i made my way to South Street Seaport. The Seaport is a great pier full of action, similar to Pike Pier in Seattle, but not quite Granville Island in Vancouver. it houses one of the best views of the Brooklyn Bridge from below as well as the Brooklyn skyline. Shortly after snapping a few pics, i made my way for the big hike across the Brooklyn Bridge itself. i have to say, that was one of the most unique walks i have ever been on. above me were cables, beside me were iron rods, below me were rushing cars, and before me was a bridge that dates back to 1883. it was a clash of beauty and chaos, mother nature and skyscrapers, slow and fast. i took the same picture that all tourists take of the bridge and then spent the rest experiencing the walk across the bridge. i will never forget that.
[i've never seen a lamp post from this view before!]
[view of Empire State and Chrysler Building from the bridge]
what i may forget, however, is my search for the Police Plaza after the walk on the bridge. hyped up beyond what it really is, the Police Plaza supposedly contained the police headquarters that was built in 1973. situated near the courthouse, city hall, and a municipal building, the police HQ resembled more an outdated dormitory on a university campus than a symbol of courtesy, professionalism and respect, as suggested by NYPD's values of CPR. i decided i would try and find another police station to take a picture of, as i believed that NYPD deserved more credit than what its HQ's may boast...or not boast of.
after all that walking, it was time for me to take the train back to New Jersey so i could catch a hockey game! the New Jersey Devils were playing the Calgary Flames, and for the first time, i experienced what really being impartial to both teams felt like...live! part of me wanted to cheer for NJ cos of Martin Brodeur, as well as supporting the home team....and the other part of me wanted to cheer for the Flames, being Canadian (although i never imagined the day i would cheer for the Flames, being from Vancouver and all!!) and so..the end result was cheering for both, but a silent desire for the Flames to win. i wasn't too familiar with the players, so i mainly watched the goalies. oh yes. and i decided at the game that i don't like pretzels. i wasn't a huge fan before of those regular pretzels you buy at the store. but for some reason i thought to myself, "hmm, maybe a fresh jumbo one will taste better". but, it doesn't. it just tastes...like a jumbo....pretzel. it's like one and a half bagels worth of chewy salty dough...i did the best i could and ate about half of it before i tossed it aside. so it's decided - i don't like pretzels.
[a fight]
[Prudential Centre - "The Devils' Den"]
dL
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