Sitting on the plane flying back to San Diego after a somewhat succesful trip to NJ/NY. The most significant event of the week was during our visit to a client which meant we travelled to the WTC site via PATH train for Jersey City. The station is in the center of Ground Zero. It is a really disarming feeling sitting in a train coming out of a tunnel and circling around the perimeter of what is left of the WTC. We rolled up to the platform and then I realized I was right there. As I climbed the stairs up to street level my thoughts could not deviate from the television pictures I witnessed a little over three years ago.
What really amazed me was how the area had managed to deal with the situation - most of the surrounding area had returned to normal business even though there was still considerable damage to some of the buildings in the area. Some of the poeple I spoke to this week were either in adjacent buildings or on trains as little as one stop away from the location. Wow. Having been there, I can't even begin to imagine how it must have been for those in the area at the time. The fact that buildings on the perimeter suffered minimal if not no damage at all is just unbelievable. I thought that it would have a similar effect on me that visitng Belsen did in 80s but because of the activity all around the WTC site, it felt less surreal and I felt more connected to it.
I will remember.
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