Survivable. If there’s one take away from what I’ve seen over the last two days, it’s that people are capable of surviving seemingly impossible situations and coming out of it on the other side. I saw that in the survivors of Auschwitz and in Maddie Corman’s unbelievable story in Accidentally Brave yesterday. And I saw it again today.
Today was dedicated to visiting the National 9/11 Museum. I hadn’t visited it until this point because I knew it would be an intense experience and previous trips were meant to be more “fun getaway” trips. But it just felt right this time. Everyone should experience this museum at least once. Yes, it is depressing and emotionally intense, nearly to the point of overwhelming at times. But it is also an inspiring testament to the resiliency of the millions of people who lived through the experience of that horrific day or were affected by it in some way. While many lost their lives on that Tuesday morning, many more were there helping to rescue those who might otherwise not have survived. Hearing the audio recordings of many who lost their lives that day was a humbling experience, especially those who called their loved ones just before attempting to stop the hijackers.
I downloaded the audio guide to my phone ahead of time, but only listened to part of it as I walked around. I got there at 8:45AM and was the first one in the door. An hour later, it was crowded and almost impossible to see everything around the swarms of people. Which is why I gave up on the audio guide. The most interesting part to me was the historical exhibit (September 11, 2001) which led you first through the day itself, then through the events leading up to it, and finally through the aftermath. The timeline of events on the wall was interspersed with artifacts and videos of news coverage from that day. By the time I was done with that, I knew I had reached my museum limit and that it was time to head home.
On a lighter note… food! I had a delicious stack of mouth-watering chocolate chip pancakes at George’s in the Financial District before the museum. Mid-meal it started to pour outside and didn’t let up before I had to head to the museum. So I spent the rest of the morning in rain-drenched jeans and soaking wet shoes. That was fun. Lunch/dinner was at an old “hometown” favorite, Lenny and Joe’s Fish Tale in Westbrook, CT. My family used to go there for dinner and it brought back fond memories. If you know me, you know I’m not much of a seafood person, but I had a cup of lobster bisque and a lobster roll (Connecticut style – hot with butter). On the way home, I stopped in my hometown to walk around and do some reminiscing before stopping at Carvel for a cup of my favorite soft serve.
Traveling with Laura 