This week Dom and I visited the 911 Museum. The visit was more emotional that I had anticipated. I thought that the distance of 14 years would have softened the emotional impact that the terrorist attack had on me that day. But when I went down into the base of that building and saw the artifacts that are on display the fear gripped my heart again. My heart broke in to a million pieces when I heard the numbers and saw the names and here the stories of the people who lost their lives that day. The following photo is a wall dedicated to the people who lost their lives. The quote from Virgil is surrounded by hand painted tiles. Each tile represents a person who died and each tile is painted a different shade of blue to represent the clear blue sky that morning.
Behind that wall is stored the remains of the people who have never been identified. It was a very sobering moment to think about all the many layers of meaning that were being expressed by that wall.
The tour guide reminded us that the purpose of the attack was to cause fear in America and for that fear to separate the citizens of our country from one another. When you go to the museum and look around at the diversity of visitors each quietly and respectfully touring the exhibits you realize the terrorist did not succeed.
So I celebrate today that the Heart of America is Still Beating.
Wishing you a day filled with pride in your country,
Bernadette
🙏
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How wonderful you got to go see this amazing wall. I remember that day all so well. It was my 40th birthday. 9-11-61 I will NEVER forget watching it all happen on tv. My husband tried so hard to get me to go out to dinner that evening with our family, but I just couldn’t. Now on every birthday I have a hard time celebrating that day, I think of all the lives that were lost and destroyed. Beautiful post
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Thank you for sharing from the heart. We all need to pause and remember.
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Thank you for sharing the way we should celebrate, Bernadette. It is true, we are still strong, no matter what. And thank you for the pictures. I don’t know if I will ever get there & appreciate seeing what it looks like, too.
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It’s a searing experience to visit there. I went soon after it opened, and haven’t had the courage to return since. Thanks for sharing this today , as we draw close to the anniversary.
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We will all remember that day and those who lost their lives…. many trying to rescue others.. Diane
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I’ll never forget the blue sky of that day…
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That wall is Beautiful and the quote so honoring and fitting. I hope to get there myself one day. Yes, the continued beating of America’s heart is certainly worth celebrating.
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I lived in CT at the time. After the towers fell, I ended up quitting my job and going back to school. That event set my life on a new course. Thanks for sharing the memorial and your thoughts. 🙂
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I plan to visit the Memorial site in January. Along with other staff from The Salvation Army in Syracuse, I had the honor of going to Ground Zero in the immediate aftermath of 9 11. We worked with the first responders at an aide station we set up on a fallen girder from the South Tower during the early rescue and then recovery phase. It was the most profound experience of my life. When I was last there, the West Side Highway was running and it was a construction site with a huge pit in the ground. One irony for me was that even in the early days when the debris was stories high, the Westside Highway buried in it, the firefighters called that “the Pile,” but the site “the Pit,” which to them at that point meant the Pit of Hell. I think it will be difficult for me to go down into the pit of the site to the museum, but I expect it will be healing for me. Thanks for this post…it encourages me.
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The diversity of the visitors really does speak volumes. Thank you for sharing your visit. Seeing it through your eyes, Bernadette, brought it clearly into mind and heart. Thank you. 🐞
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