NYC Sibling Trip #2 The 9-11 Memorial

For those of you not fortunate enough
to know my family, here is the roster
(from left to right)
My brother, Terry and sister-in-law Gail
My brother-in law Randy and sister Kim
My sister-in-law Terry and brother Lynn
me and David.
Photo credit goes to unknown gentleman 
using Randy's camera


As so many adult siblings,
we were so busy raising
our kids earlier in life that we didn't
get to spend as much time with each other
as we would have liked even though
we lived in the same city.
We are making up for it now.
This is our second annual Sibling Trip.

On our first day in NYC, it was rainy
so we needed to spend time indoors.
The 9-11 Memorial,
which opened recently was on our list.
On our way there, I met a very
nice gentleman on the subway.
He asked where we were from, and we
began a conversation.  When I told
him where we were headed and asked if
he had been there yet, he told me
very kindly that he could not go
because he had escaped one of the
Towers just minutes before it
collapsed and that his secretary
had been killed.  He said that
many New Yorkers could not
bear to go to the museum
 although he said that he thought
it was a worthwhile thing.

The Memorial was very sobering
and was built on the site of the
actual fallen buildings.  Above you see
a retaining wall that was built to
keep water table from flooding
the buildings.

This tall structure was the final
piece standing of the buildings
and became a spontaneous memorial
with pictures, graffiti, and other
memorabilia on it.

A fire truck melted by the blast.

The beam that creates the form of a cross.

Another view of the structure mentioned above.

So many notes and remembrances
in addition to flyers asking people
to help them find their loved ones.

Heroes abounded that day.

A painting of NYC with the Towers.

And the same view the day the Towers fell.

The memorial contains the stairs that
many of the survivors climbed down
as they ran for safety.

A photo taken as people
climbed down the stairs to safety.

Another view of the stairs

This beautiful wall depicts the many colors
of blue of the sky that fateful day.

As you can imagine, the Memorial was difficult
to visit as we had all had lived 
through that horrific day.
However, it was extremely well done and
made us understand and appreciate
the heroes of September 11th even more
than we did before.