we went to new york this sunday (i stayed on for another day with my sister who is visiting us from the netherlands, while tim went back in the evening), and finally got to see the 9/11 memorial. you have to make reservations in advance, and every time we went to new york since its opening in september 2011, there were no tickets available. around 11.30 (our scheduled time, you have a 30-minute window for arrival; but you can take as much time as you wish once inside) we arrived and went through security (just like at the airport), had to show our visitor passes every now and then, wait in line here and there and finally got to the memorial park. 2 pools, with water falling down from all 4 sides, where once the towers stood. surrounded by bronze panels with all the names of the 1993 and 2001 terrorist attacks.
2983 names.... (here you can read how the names were arranged; it is not just random). the pools are so huge (as were the towers), surrouded by many oak trees. i thought it was simple yet very beautiful. i was mostly touched by seeing names of 3 women that were pregnant, one of them you can see here. "jennifer l howley and her unborn child". born in 1967 in lincoln, nebraska, she went to live in new york city when she was 18. she started out as a nanny, but eventually got to work in the insurance industry. with only a high school diploma, she just got promoted from senior vp to director and was pregnant with her first child when she died in the south tower of the world trade center, only 34 years old...
now... i just hope that in the future you will be able to visit this memorial park without prior appointment, airport style security and standing in line. i wonder if they will ever do that.... but i think that only then this park will truly be a place for remembrance where you can just go for a bit if you feel like going...
this is my contribution to this weeks taphophile tuesday. and here you can see a few more pictures that i took at the memorial.
