I remember that day very clearly M was sailing and I was siting in the back of his boat in a very big puddle, when the towers fell. As we arrived on shore our friend Dave told us that someone had been assassinated in NYC, we assumed at first a celebrity (Im not sure why) We rushed back to the house and turned on the TV, there was about 8 of us, and what we saw was not what we expected, scenes of unimaginable horror. I remember feeling that it was like watching an action movie like" Diehard" or something that should have had Bruce Willis in, shouting a lot and saving people...We watched the towers fall again and again, the planes smashing into them again and again, people jumping, the ash and debris cloud over Manhattan....I felt so drained just from watching the TV... God only knows how the poor people dealing with it all felt, that night M and I hugged each other VERY tight.
M had flown back over the towers 2 days earlier from NYC, I don't think I could have coped with the worry if he had been in NYC that day.
Over the last 12 years more and more stories emerge of bravery and courage, they NEVER fail to move me to tears. The firefighters, The police, The rescue teams, The air traffic controllers, The families, The forensic teams....The survivors.
We actually visited NYC about 6 weeks after the attacks and found a very sombre yet defiant city. We took a respect "trip" down as close as we could get to ground zero. We got about a block away and could make out the twisted remnants of the WTC. I remember EVERYTHING covered in ash, and a horrid pungent smell, a sweet sickly smell of what could only be decaying human remains that I will NEVER forget. It was incredibly moving being down there, Firefighters at work looking for lost "brothers", the atmosphere was as you would imagine very emotionally charged, some japanese tourists where filming on their hand held video cameras and being a bit too obvious and overexcite-able in their filming, not being very quiet and reflective like most people standing around... and suddenly a burly and filthy dirty firefighter came hurtling out of the wreckage over to them and yelled "DONT'CHA HAVE NO RESPECT? WE GOT FAMILY IN HERE". I will NEVER forget those words either. I too felt embarrassed and almost ashamed to be down there but we had come to pay our respects, we felt we needed too as we were in the city. And so many people lost their lives from all countries.
There were small memorials and candles and "missing" posters all around, again that night M and I held on tight to each other....I remember shuddering inside at the thought of having to ever make a memorial or a missing poster like that for M or someone else I loved.
I have literally just watched a documentary on "Ladder 10" the closest firehouse to the WTC, where they were often teased as they missed out on all the major fires- having it "easy" down by the WTC, One of the firefighters from this house remarked to a friend in another "ladder" that he would " See him at the big one". The big one came on 9/11. These men were some of the first in and a fair few amongst the many who perished trying to save others. The house still stands today when MANY other surrounding buildings didn't survive and is a working station yet also a living memorial to those brave men.
We all often laugh at or criticise the "yanks" for their chants of "USA" "USA" at almost anything, but Im certain that American "thing" got the city through those dark days.
In May whilst "creating" Baby CJ we stopped off in NYC again, and decided to head down to the memorial at ground zero. It was so beautiful and peaceful, a COMPLETELY different place to 12 years ago. I honestly don't think a better memorial could have been designed. The infinity waterfalls in the footprints of the towers, with all those names etched on in gold...The new trees planted intended in years to come to be a peaceful haven. Also the "Survivor tree" which somehow against all odds made it through all the carnage around it.
We also went to the 9/11 workshop, I can heartily recommend this to anyone in NYC. It was created by the only official photographer allowed into ground zero. He has made a small "museum" from his work and artefacts from the sites. It was all tastefully and respectfully done and is approved by the families. Sometimes it is closed specifically for family members to remember loved ones. We held pieces of glass from windows, Steel that was carved into crosses and Stars of David for family members, You could photograph what you liked but we just didn't feel the need or want too. The only thing they asked you not to photo or touch was a piece of one of the planes that flew in to the towers. They told us a tiny piece had been cut off for a man who had lost his wife on that plane, and that he had hugged and held this large chunk of bashed up metal as he wept, as it was all he had left of his wife. SO very sad.
http://www.groundzeromuseumworkshop.com/
http://www.fdnytenhouse.com/
THE MEMORIAL AT GROUND ZERO
THE "SURVIVOR" TREE AND ME
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