Friday, November 1, 2013

9/11 Memorial and The High Line


You must understand the whole of life,
not just one little part of it.
That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies,
that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems,
and suffer, 
and understand, 
for all that is life.
~Jiddu Krishnamurti 

October 15, 2013

September 11th Memorial 


It was another absolutely gorgeous day in New York. I'd made a 10:30 visitor's pass appointment online, to go into the memorial. I highly recommend planning ahead, because the line for people without an appointment was very long, and even with an appointment, you still have to go through security, and there is a line to get through that, appointment or not.

South Pool, looking toward the Freedom Tower ...


South Pool

World Trade Center South
First Responders
Flight 175
Pentagon
Flight 77
Flight 93



Healing does not mean going back to the way things were before,
but rather allowing what is now to move us closer to God.
~Ram Dass



Light reflecting off the Freedom Tower, still under construction ...





When we leave this world, how much we have loved will be our true legacy.
It is the only thing we leave behind and carry with us.
~Anne Siloy






North Pool, below, looking toward the unfinished museum ...


North Pool

World Trade Center North
Flight 11
February 26, 1993 




Freedom Tower, winged "glass" exterior


Freedom tower reflection, on the face of the soon to be museum.



The memorial was beautiful and moving. I'm glad I went, though it all felt very surreal. So much went through my mind as I walked around. I remembered the times I'd been there before, when the towers were there … in 6th grade with my parents, with my friend Lynn at Windows on the World, with Larry to see views of the city below … 

The thing that was a bit strange, was that some of the visitors, were smiling in front of it and taking pictures, like it was a tourist attraction. These were just a few, though. Most people were very respectful, knowing what happened there, and that it is really a sacred space. 

I watched some of the school kids walking around, thinking how strange it is, that to them it's history. It's another event, that they have no memory of. It happened before they were born.


The 9/11 Museum hasn't opened, but this video is a 3 minute preview of it, and the work that has been going on.


For information about the memoir l or to get a visitor pass, please click here, for the website.


The High Line
October 15, 2013


From the High Line website:

"The High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan's largest industrial district. 

No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park." 

Section 1 of the High Line, opened in June of 2009. Section 2, in June 2011.


The appearance of things change according to the emotions,
and thus we see magic and beauty in them,
while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.
~ Kahlil Gibran


The Diller - Von Furstenberg Sundeck and Water Feature


Section 1 of the High Line had opened before my last trip to New York, in 2010, but it was January, snowing and cold, and I just didn't make it. This time, with the spectacular weather, it was the perfect time! 

I met my niece Rachel, and my friend Lisa (who lives in Brooklyn) for lunch, after going to the 9/11 Memorial. Then, Lisa and I headed over to the High Line. It really is a great public space, with a changing landscape, as you walk along it … with places to sit, relax and enjoy the landscaping, as well as views of the city and the Hudson River. 

Lisa ...



Here's a quick 4 minute video, about the history of the High Line, narrated by Ethan Hawke



The High Line is on the West Side of Manhattan and runs a mile and a half, from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking district, through the gallery district, up to West 34th Street. 


Every thought you have
makes up some segment of the world you see.
It is with your thoughts, then, that we must work,
if your perception of the world is to be changed.
~A Course in Miracles



Lisa took this shot of me, on the High Line ...


 

Perception is not passive; it is an act of creation.
Your choice of perception forms
not only how you experience yourself, but your entire reality.
~Story Waters


 




At the Chelsea Market Passage (above) we took a right, and lo and behold … a place to have a beer in the sunshine!


So we did!


I did a blog post about visiting Lisa, in the winter of 2010, in Brooklyn. 
She makes documentaries, primarily in Africa. 
There are links to all of that info, in this post.

To give you an idea of the size of the High Line and the neighborhoods it goes through, click here for the map.

For the High Line homepage, click here.

Blessings and light!



4 comments:

Loree said...

A truly beautiful and reflective post. The photos are spectacular.

shayndel said...

I can`t get over your post, its so amazing the way you show NY 。Now I realize even more how fabulous and `YOU` your photos and way of seeing are!!! I am from NY and as I looked at your photos and views, I felt like I had never seen NY like that before. This is a feeling I never had when seeing photos of NY!!
Wow!! Also I have lived in Japan for 14 years and have not been to ground zero site since the 9/11 occured, so its like visiting there thru your post, something I have wanted to do. Also I love your quotes, love Krishnamuti and have read that one often, so its beautiful to see it here too...
blessings and light to you!! PS I dont know about high line either so I will come back and view your links next visit here!!♡

Candy said...

Lucinda, these photos are beautiful and the quotes are perfect. I agree that it is odd that some of the visitors were treating the memorial like a tourist attraction, but at least most people stopped to reflect.

I'm glad you posted about the High Line. Just the other day, I was trying to remember what it was called so I could add it to my list. I tried to get Jim to remember, too. "Do you remember that park in New York City that's on the railroad tracks? What was it called?" Then we both went crazy trying to remember. I probably could have jumped on Google, but we preferred to torture ourselves and never did come up with the name. Thank you and Jim will thank you, too!

Kerry O'Gorman said...

I often wonder what it would be like to visit the 911 memorial...pretty intense I bet. The museum will be the same feeling but a wonderful idea to have in New York. It is a place where people need to be, to learn, to remember, to reflect and grieve.
Love those rails to trails ideas. We have several here too that once carried passengers and goods and are now wonderful walking trails.