A Day to Remember

I wasn't really sure how I wanted to spend today. Part of me really wanted to go to Ground Zero (New Yorkers now prefer to call it "The Sight"). Part of me didn't want to go there. I think I waited too long to ask someone to go with me and I did not want to go alone. But I still wanted to do something to remember all the people who lost their lives in such a terrible event. Living in California I didn't know 1 person who had been in either of the Twin Towers, or the Pentagon, or on any of the planes. Having lived here for just 2 months, I've met a handful of people who had a loved one who either made it out alive or didn't. It's makes me think everytime I go anywhere around here that I may be brushing shoulders with someone who was directly effected by the events of that horrific day. New York City always has a more heightened level of security (you know the red, orange, yellow scale) than anywhere else in the country. So, for the last 2 months, everything has become more real to me. Signs everywhere that say "If you see something, say something" and the number for Homeland Security. So, back to Ground Zero, or The Sight, I didn't go there today, but I was just there last week. I knew of a 9/11 Memorial in Westport, CT (where Martha Stewart lives by the way). I decided that visiting that memorial would be more private and I had never been there.

It was very solemn. The memorial looks out into the Long Island Sound toward Manhattan. I just sat there for almost an hour people-watching, wondering who was like me and just there to see. Who was there because their loved one died? Who was visiting because they had survived? Some people just stared at all the names blankly. Some broke down and wept. Some only shed one tear. But everyone walked to the edge of the Sound and stared toward Manhattan as though they were looking for the Twin Towers.
















The Twin Towers were once visible from where the Memorial now sits, and 9/11/01 visitors to the park could see smoke from the towers. This map gives you a general idea of where the CT memorial is in relation to Manhattan. (Blue circle= memorial, yellow circle=Manhattan)

People today are a little more jumpy when they hear a plane overhead. But they are also a little kinder than usual. After I walked around the park for awhile, I sat in my car and prayed and read the Bible. Here are some verses that stood out to me.
Psalm 10:14 "But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless."
Psalm 5:4-6 "You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong. You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the Lord abhors."
Lamentations 3:32 "Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love."
John 16:22 Jesus said "So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy."