Sunday we checked out of the hotel and took a cab to church. We missed the first hour (packing up took longer than I had counted on), but we got to attend the second two hours.
the view from church
After, we took the subway back to Hailey's apartment, where we were lucky enough to spend the next couple of days. After having a few Sunday snacks (and saving room for dinner), Hailey, 13YO and I took the subway down to the 9/11 Memorial.
Just walking along the streets in that area, it's quiet. Reverent.
There was one thing I was looking for at the Memorial, and I was getting really frustrated with not being able to find it.
When I finally did, I stopped and choked out a sob.
Amy and I went to the same high school. She was a flight attendant on United Flight 175.
She and her boyfriend Michael Tarrou worked together and were together on the flight that day. You can read about them here and here.
To be at the site is simply overwhelming. And hopeful. One of my favorite parts of the Memorial is something I might have overlooked if Hailey hadn't pointed it out to me: The Survivor Tree.
This tree was planted on the World Trade Center Plaza in the 1970s; after 9/11, it was found in the rubble at Ground Zero. The tree was taken to a park where it was replanted, and it thrived. In March, 2010, it was uprooted by a storm and survived (of course it did), and in December of 2010, it was brought back to the WTC site. Amazing.
Eleven years. Never Forget.
4 comments:
I'm glad you found Amy. I'll never forget that day and how it changed my perspective on the important things in life.
The perfect post to wake up to on this morning. I'm so glad you finally found your friend! The Survivor Tree is my hero.
I love the survivor tree. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Hopefully I will be able to get to see the memorial some day. It always amazes me how powerful sites like that can be, when you don't expect it.
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