It was not the easiest thing to navigate through this hectic city and streets/buildings under construction; however, I would never give up. I followed signs from Staten Island Ferry and had to walk passed the entrance up four blocks where the give you a free ticket. The one thing people did not tell me is that you get a reservation time. We picked up our tickets at 1:30pm and had a reservation time of 4:00pm. Well, I decided to take a trip up at the opposite end of Manhattan and go to FAO Schwarz along with Central Park.
The time has come and it was 3:30pm, I was feeling like a New Yorker with my hand out at the side of the road catching a cab. Holy crap this place is a mad house but if you need a ride the cabs are everywhere. I had the cabby drop us off in front of the entrance and I made it with 5 minutes to spare. The place is surrounded with security and police officers at every point and do believe they ask for my ticket at least 3 times. I was pretty amazed with the level of security; it was like going through airport security. It's very understandable considering the fact of what happened in 2001 and why I was there in the first place; to honor those families and fallen individuals from a terrorist attack.
When I walked in and first heard the water falls of the memorial, I stopped and was taken back. It felt as if time stood still and very hard to explain. Anyone who has been deployed before will understand where I am coming from. I slowly walked up to the first plaque of names I saw and touched it. Staring into the falls, it was just breathtaking. As I walked down the line touching the engraved names on every plaque, I got to a corner of the falls. At that moment, I broke down. It kind of hit me in my heart, being a soldier and deployed many times, what this site was all about. There are sometimes where you cannot control your emotions and I realized then it was my time.
Do to what happened that dreadful day of September 11, 2001, I was deployed to Afghanistan in support for Operation Enduring Freedom. This is one of the main reasons why I wanted to visit this memorial and pay my respects to the innocent who lost their lives that day and thereafter because of terrorist attacks. I did pay my respects not just in donations but in tears that day.
I recommend anyone who has not been to the 9/11 Memorial site to go. It was so peaceful and relaxing and will take your breath away as it did mine...
I am not going to lie that was a pretty moving story. I could only imagine standing there and listening to the water crash into itself and realizing what those memorials truly mean. I am a little envious, I would love to see those monuments one day. The pictures probably don't do it justice, but they are amazing to see and try to visualize actually being there.
ReplyDeleteI am not going to lie but just writing/proof reading this story was bringing me back. I appreciate your comment and believe your right; the pictures did come out nice but nothing like standing in front of those falls...
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