Day 6: 9/11 Memorial

I've found it's easy to detach yourself emotionally from a situation. Maybe it's just me, but I can talk about the most horrific of circumstances, relay a whole scenario without tying any emotion to it. As most of you know I can also get ridiculously emotional over other situations but for the most part - I'm detached. Well yesterday started out with some blog posting and heading over to Lindseys apartment in a different part of Brooklyn. I took the subway all by myself to get there :) well - with the help of Megans beautifully written directions. We headed out, dropped off Lindsays laundry, and got some lunch. We headed over to the 9/11 memorial and when we arrive, we realized you had to have tickets in advance. Using her oh so smart phone we booked a tour and headed over to pick up our tickets at the 9/11 preview memorial. Walking in was difficult as it was packed. There were pictures and a timeline of events from that day. There were rewards and banners and memorabilia flanking the walls and in glass display cases all around the floor. Then a movie began playing with family and friends who had lost someone - I read, watched, listened - detached. As I looked around me I noticed others crying - and it totally hit me how real and how present those events are still for so many to this day.
 Lindsay and I walked out and headed over to the memorial, along the way I relayed all of these emotions to her and expressed how it felt watching those people and beginning to feel it myself. Once at the memorial we had to go through airport tight security - sending our bags thru scanners and having our tickets checked at least 6 times. When I thought that was over I stuffed mine in my purse and continued past yet another ticket checker who exclaimed that now I would have to stay with him all day - silly guy! Inside the walls [walls are up to keep out the construction stuff and random people for now] the grounds were amazing. I expected it to be so much smaller than it is. Each pool is huge with long cascading waterfalls and in the center the "void" as they call it almost sucks you in. From every side you cannot see to the bottom of the void - a void you cannot fill.

Leaning on the placks that flanked the sides of the pool I was running my hands over the names. While trying to figure out how the names are arranged I turned to Lindsay and it dawned on me that each of these names meant something very real to someone. Each and every name had a history and a sad ending for their family and it's truly mind boggling - although obvious. We later found out that the names were placed next to other names depending on where people were when they died and who the family requested them to be by. We walked over and took a picture of the freedom tree - we also found out that the freedom tree was reduced to an 8 foot stump where it was taken to a NY park and totally revived.
While it was in the park a storm completely uprooted it and they replanted it once again and it came back - now it's over 30 feet tall and thriving! After that we headed out to meet up with Linsdays friend Matty. We went through China town and stopped in Little Italy.
China town is rancid and horribly ugly while Little Italy is hilarious and fun. We met up with Lindsays gay Matty and had a blast taking pictures and wandering the streets. Megan later met up with us and we got to meet Danny, the guy Lindsay is seeing. We ate at "the best pizza place" in Little Italy - cannot remember the name for the life of me. After which we headed over to Cafe Palermo where I got a great picture with Baby John - the funniest guy I have met in New York. He even put an s on the end of a random word - just like what you think of guys in Little Italy to be. Except better.
Also - he made me two cannoli's one chocolate and one regular. They were absolutely delicious. I had never had a connoli before but WOW! They boast having the best cannolis on planet Earth and I completely agree :) Last day here is Today [tuesday] and I am looking forward to the rain filled afternoon with good friends and family!