my pilgimage to Ground Zero

["Jeff House" <whocasa@hotmail.com>]

...well, kind of.  I was in NYC for the JEB shows last weekend.  I've seen 
many reviews of those events on several lists.  I want to share my 
experience (albeit off topic) with my first post Sept 11 visit to NY.

Part of my objective for this trip was to feel the city without gawking.

We (Me, Bjorn and friend) drove in early Saturday afternoon from 
Connecticut.  Driving into the city across the East River was not too 
difficult to see as I had seen many shots of the newly reconfigured skyline. 
  I felt that the love birds needed a little time away from their third 
wheel (as did I) so I went in search of a NY vibe.

I went for a lengthy walk from my Times Sq hotel up to Rockefeller Center 
and over to the West Side.  It was a gorgeous day and the city felt good to 
me.  People were out and about doing their business.  The tourist action was 
a bit thinner than expected, but it felt good to be there.  I strutted back 
down into the Times Square area feeling like I could handle this and as the 
sun set, I headed toward The Empire State Building.

After a bit of a wait, I was in (at?) the observatory.  I slowly made my way 
around the east, north and west facing sides.  It felt good to see NY lit up 
and bustling.  Things seemed nearly normal.  I walked around to the south 
facing side and was hit square in the face by both the sight of the lit up, 
smoke filled hole that is Ground Zero and the scene of the thick crowd that 
was gathered.

Some people were staring blankly (I was one of those).  Some were chatting 
and laughing about the weather/sports/etc.  Some were weeping while talking 
about the deceased.  Some were straining to take photos or view through 
binoculars.

I came upon a father who was boosting his 6 or 7 year old son up onto one of 
those pay-per-view binocular things and explaining to him that 'this is the 
place where the buildings used to stand.'  I lost it.  Out came the tears.  
I had gotten my snoot full of this scene.  Any longer, and I was in danger 
of going from experiencing it to gawking.  Or just making a fool of myself 
:-(

I made my way back down to the street and up to BB Kings as fast as I could. 
  Sam Adams, please.  Ahhh - that feels better :-)

Anywho, thanks to The JEB for coming out and rocking us for a few  days.  
Godfrey's smile and John's eyebrow-raising grins were a fine tonic.  It was 
great to meet some new people and experience their joy as well.

Jeff