Ground Zero (and an interview)

Well I made it! I flew into New York at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, and then had to be at work the next day... that in itself was an adventure.  My flight got delayed big time, and by the time I got to my apartment, got settled, and finally got to sleep, it was around 4 a.m.

Work is amazing, I'm having a great time, and I have a lot to write and catch up on, but first I really need to address the events of last night.  I watched Obama give his address from my tiny apartment on msnbc.com.  The feeling was very eerie.  It was almost as if the collective emotions of New Yorkers was palpable.  The feeling in the air immediately changed.  I knew this was going to be a big moment for a long time to come. 

I got a text from one of my friends here, she said "We're going to Ground Zero right now, meet at the lobbby"  I knew I couldn't miss that.  I had my pajamas on but quickly changed and ran out the door.

I had a lot of emotions on the subway ride over.  I was in 8th grade when the events of 9/11 took place.  I remember my mom being glued to the TV that morning.  Before even glancing at what she was watching, the look on her face told me that something of both extreme significance, and extreme horror had just happened.  At school that day during first period, my teacher walked into the room with an entirely different tone.  Although most of us had heard about what had happened already, we didn't understand the magnitude at this time.  My teacher was usually very strict.  I remember she walked to the TV and turned it on.  All she said was "nothing we can say or do here today will be more important than you watching this."  We watched the news coverage for 2 hours straight, no one saying a word.

When we stepped off the subway to Ground Zero, there was a huge crowd of people.  Men had climbed up onto traffic lights and lamp posts, waving American flags with makeshift flagpoles.  There were chants of "USA," and the crowd broke out into the National Anthem a few times.  I was surprised at how emotional I felt.  All of us, some directly affected by this terrible tragedy, some indirectly, were all united.  We were celebrating together.

Now, I know many people are saying that celebrating a man's death is macabre and contrary to the point we are trying to make. But for me, and I'm pretty confident for many of the people there, we weren't celebrating a death.  It felt more like celebrating the end of a chapter.  It felt like a long-awaited sense of closure, and sure, maybe it was tinged with vindication, but I'm having a hard time seeing why that is wrong.

Men were sitting on the curb sobbing at the memory of what happened there over 9 years ago,  a woman was standing off by herself holding a sign commemorating the loss of her young son during the attack.  Many of the people chanting "USA" along with the rest of us had personally lost loved ones that day.  Tell one of them that they shouldn't feel a sense of relief, and a spirit of celebration that they can now have an end to this chapter.

The death of bin Laden will not be the death of al Qaeda.  I know that.  But let it breath a little life into America.  It's a victory.  A victory over the taking of innocent lives.  It enables us to feel that sense of security again.  It lets the terrorists know that we will not back down.  President Bush was a very brave president to order the search for bin Laden.  I'm grateful that President Obama chose to follow in those footsteps.

I spoke with a CNN reporter at the scene. The story aired today.  Here's the video, my interview starts at 2:49

(If that doesn't work, click HERE for the link)

I took some incredible pictures too, but I'll upload and add those tomorrow.