I visited the 9-11 memorial with Cara. Admission is free, but a donation is suggested. You must get a ticket for a specific time and day online at
the 9-11 memorial website.
When you go, be prepared to show up on time. Snooze, you lose.
Don't carry a lot of crap with you. Your bags will be searched. Security found a small Victorinox knife in my camera bag that I didn't even know I had.
You will be asked to show your ticket repeatedly as you walk through the entrance. You must carry photo ID, for you will be asked to show that, too.
For this small hassle, you get to see this stunning memorial. It reminds me of Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. - the wall. I have always liked that because it seemed like a gash rent in the earth from some traumatic event. This one is no less elegant nor poignant. Two holes where something mammoth once was. Perhaps the title or the idea of the endless tears is maudlin, but what I find most striking is that you cannot see where the water goes. I'm 6' tall and I could not see far enough into the bottom square to see the water collecting. I think that reflects the feeling many have of this event - that of a hole into which so many disappeared, whence they will never return, into which we can peer but never see the end.
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| This is the corner of Albany and Greenwich streets, where you must enter. |
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| After wending your way through security and the entrance, this is the first view you get . |
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| The South Tower/ |
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| The names are demarcated by places where the victims perished, or the name of the agency for whom they worked. |
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| Cara. |
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| If you are thinking of leaving a tribute to someone, please see the rules on the memorial website. |
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| There was no plaque to tell me, but I think this is one of the trees that survived the disaster and has been carefully nursed to live on defiantly, persistently. |
