9-11 Memorial

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.

This is the corner of Albany and Greenwich streets, where you must enter.

After wending your way through security and the entrance, this is the first view you get .

The South Tower/

The names are demarcated by places where the victims perished, or the name of the  agency for whom they worked.

Cara.

If you are thinking of leaving a tribute to someone, please see the rules on the  memorial website. 

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. 

What I Saw At the Revolution, Part 4

I saw a fair amount of video cameras about Zuccotti Park. Here's a sampling. 

With all these people walking around taking pictures, including me, I wonder if the protesters feel like they live in a fishbowl or an aquarium as we all circle around and snap them or film them. I remember feeling that way a  long time ago at a different event. Certainly there are those that enjoy the theatrical or sensationalist aspect of this, but most of the protesters ignored us or just smiled.

What I Saw At the Revolution, Part 3

Ever since I first heard Robert Palmer sing the Andy Fraser-penned "Every Kinda People" I have subscribed to the idea. Here are some of the many folks that were at the protest or passing by. 

This guy stood silently. His sign said enough. He did speak to some passersby and reporters. 

A young woman decorated the sidewalk.

Many were still asleep when I first arrived.

This man played his drums softly for what seemed like an hour.

People all over were writing or painting signs.

Some slept lying down, others bolt upright where they sat.

One person's solution to not having a shower nearby.

A young woman with a large-format camera.

Another drummer warming up. He and his friends would get going later in the day.

People walking through and checking out literature and displays.

This young man glared from behind his ski mask at all who walked by including me as I changed my lens. So I immortalized him here.

The woman with the hula hoops was one of the highlights of the day.

Sleeper cells?

The hula hoop woman got a lot of people involved. More about her later.