From Georgia to New York We Remember…

Staff reflections from a visit to Ground Zero

The memorial at Ground Zero spoke to us in a whisper.

Hundreds of names that could not be put to faces peered through engravings towering above pools pouring water. The depth of the pools seemed to go on and on into the core of the Earth, into the core of our country. And the hurt, the failure to comprehend the attack, to fathom its reality – all evaporated.

The reverence of being an American was crippling. The smoke was gone. The ruins had long been cleared, but the hole was still there, over every American, following them to work, at home.

The whisper that these faceless names seemed to say asserted a statement of boldness. It asserted resurgence.

America would continue, would build a better world from our loss. But America would never forget. And the memorial, embedding itself into the city and into America’s hearts, is the center of pain and a forward step. It is America moving forward and looking back.

Lindsay Shoemake/Nick Widener

Last March, The Colonnade staff visited the Sept. 11 memorial. It made the tragedy that happened there when most of us were in fifth grade more tangible. After we passed the airport-like security, the peacefulness and respect exuding from the area was a striking juxtaposition to scenes we all saw on TV from that terrible September day. One part of the memorial that really stood out to us was the “Survivor Tree.” It withstood the attacks and was pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center and now is thriving. That is a testament to the American people since the attacks. Eleven years later we are kind of like the tree, still growing, but the memories of 9/11 will always be a part of our history.

Posted by Nick Widener on Sep 13 2012. Filed under Lead stories, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.