On the first day our trip, we went to the Empire State Building. It made me so sad to look downtown in the direction of World Trade Center, and not see the buildings anymore. It just didn’t seem possible that the massive skyscrapers collapsed into a pile of rubble in just a few minutes time. I glanced at the Statue of Liberty, and thought about all of the hope that she brings to our country. And then I looked at the site where the World Trade Center had stood, and thought about the hopeless and despair brought upon our country by the senseless terrorist attacks on September 11th. Here it was, a month after the attacks, and I was standing on the observation deck at another mighty New York City skyscraper still wondering how attacks of this magnitude happened on U.S. soil.
Even though the Empire State Building is a few miles from Ground Zero, we could clearly see the site from the observation deck. We could see smoke coming up from the site, and water being sprayed on the debris. My heart broke as I stood out the window looking at the site. So many innocent lives had been lost that day. We lost so many heroes who bravely ran into those buildings as thousands of others ran out of the buildings on September 11th. As I stood there staring at the site, I prayed for the victims and their families. I prayed for the men and women working to clear the debris so that the remains of those who had been lost could be returned to their families so they could have proper burials.
The next morning, Leah and I took the subway down to Ground Zero, or as close to Ground Zero as we could by subway. The stop was a few blocks away from Ground Zero, and one of the first things we came upon as we stepped out of the station was St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church. The church had suffered some damage in the attacks, but its doors were open for worshippers. I decided that we should make a stop in the church to so we could say a prayer for the victims and their families, and light some candles in their memories.
As we made our way to Ground Zero, I noticed all of the stores and restaurants in the surrounding buildings that were closed for business. One of the stores that stood out to me was a small Hallmark Greeting Card Store. I spent a long time peering through the window of the empty show. There were stuffed animals and cards strewn about the store. It looked like the store hadn’t been entered since the attacks. I couldn’t help but wonder about the person who owned that shop. That store was probably that person’s livelihood—something that the owner worked hard to make successful and profitable. And now, the store stood empty after the senseless acts of terrorism.
Looking at this store made me realize that these attacks affected more than just the victims of the attacks. This Hallmark Store was one of many stores in the vicinity of Ground Zero that remained closed a month after the attacks. I couldn’t help but wonder about the people who owned these shops. Were they hurt or killed in the attacks? Would they be able to rebuild their businesses after the attacks? I said a silent prayer for the shop owners as I looked through the windows of that Hallmark shop, hoping that they would all be back in business one day soon.
As we walked closer to Ground Zero, I noticed tributes to some of the victims. Family members and friends had placed pictures and stories about their loved ones on fences, and buildings. Some of the pictures were of one of the victims with their families. It was so overwhelming to read the stories, and look at the pictures. The tributes made the victims more real to me. It was moving to learn a bit about some of the victims through the tributes made by the people who loved them. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to have a family member taken from you in such a tragic way. I couldn’t imagine the heartache and pain that these families must have been going through.
We finally made our way to the site of the World Trade Center, and seeing it with my own eyes was difficult. It was just so surreal to look at the piles of rubble that was once two gigantic skyscrapers that was the workplace for thousands and thousands of workers. It was overwhelming to think that I was staring at the location where thousands of people breathed their last breaths. It was overwhelming to know that there were still thousands of bodies somewhere in that rubble. Thinking about it now, as I write this 10 years later, I am overwhelmed by the thought of visiting Ground Zero just a month after the attacks.
As overwhelming as visiting Ground Zero was, I was glad that I went. Seeing the site with my own eyes was so much more powerful than looking at it on television. It gave me a better understanding of the magnitude of the attacks. I was also grateful to have the opportunity to pay my respects to the victims of the attacks in person.
After walking around the site reading the tributes to the victims and viewing the devastation, Leah and I started walking back towards the subway station. I decided that I wanted to make another stop in St. Peter’s to say another prayer.
During my next visit to New York in 2002, I made another journey down to Ground Zero to see how the recovery and cleanup was going. Once again, my first stop was St. Peter’s to say a prayer and light a candle in memory of the victims. Nearly a year had passed since my first visit to Ground Zero, and seeing it was still as overwhelming as the first visit. But this time, I saw something that gave me hope, and renewed my faith.
I was wandered around, I walked past the Hallmark Greeting Card Store that had made a huge impact on me back in October, and it was opened to business. And business was booming. I could see many people in the store shopping for card and gifts. I was so excited to see the store open that I had to go in and make a purchase. I was so excited to see this little shop reopened that I wanted to do something to support the business.
As I walked out of the shop with my purchase, for the first time since September 11th, 2001, I knew that we would overcome this. If this little card shop could rebuild and prosper in the aftermath of these attacks, so should our country. I walked back to the subway with more hope than I had since the attacks.
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