We stayed in a new hotel (World Center Hotel) that is built directly next to the site of ground zero, where the twin towers used to be. On the eve of Memorial Day the significance is felt and one realizes there is absolutely no room for cute jokes or anything belittling what was lost here ten years ago.
At first the thought of sleeping here is eerie,creepy-but we are reminded that New York is full of life, activity, and of course, resilience. Construction is almost non-stop. Except for Sundays- everyday it begins at 6am and continues until midnight. The need to complete the 9/11 Memorial by the 10th anniversary this year creates a spectacle for us of many simultaneous projects; building and digging with giant drill attachments, explosions to excavate holes, pools of mysterious green liquid, cranes lifting concrete and glass- it's fascinating at the least. At its most inconvenient, I get an early morning wake up everyday-but the rest of the family has no problem sleeping through the noise. Each morning Dexter and Oliver really enjoy rolling out of bed and watching.
The first explosion was startling but as Dexter learned from the signals (first horn- preparing to blast, second horn-ready to blast, third- all clear) made the second explosion a good viewing. The area is first covered with 10-15 giant mats- each the size of a base of a house to muffle the noise, dust and debris. The fountains seem to be complete with ongoing work on 3 surrounding buildings and a transportation hub that is Architecture Digest material.
Across the street there is a mural dedicated to the firemen that sacrificed their lives (hundreds among the 2800 plus people that died here) . Tourists visit, observe and some take photos- posing awkwardly smiling or attempting to find an appropriate emotion . Passing by daily it never was too crowded and people were respectful and quiet. A guy on the street told me that he had a DVD of all the pictures , probably for sale- no thank you.
On our central park day- Tuesday, my delivery of sarcastic thoughts arrived when we came upon Strawberry Fields. On a quiet day or on some of the paths that are not well traveled tranquility might be found. However what we saw was a robotic procession of people sitting lotus style on the Strawberry Field emblem waving the peace sign. For these faux Lennons and faux peacenik posers, I wondered if there could also be faux Mark David Chapmans. If I didn't have a personal thing about puking, I really would have liked to. I can be pretty unfair when I want to be.
Anyway I look forward to the progression of the construction and hope it will be ready. I didn't mind the early wake up either; with a cup of coffee and a blanket I could always take in the inspiration.
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