Why We (Should) TravelIn my youth, I spent a good deal of time playing after-school sports on Randall’s Island in the shadows of Manhattan. On Sunday, however, I sat on the hay and grass field next to Icahn Stadium and took in some great music at Farm Aid. Though the spirit of most open-air concerts, particularly ones headed by Willie Nelson and promoting homegrown food, tends to be pretty friendly, I was still reminded of New York at another time. Immediately after 9/11, New York was transformed in so many ways: it was scarred, terrified, and numb. It was also friendly, kind, and supportive. While I witnessed the typical kindnesses amongst people at the concert—bumming cigarettes, sharing sunscreen, dancing, and chatting—it all felt reminiscent of those precarious days of aftermath when doors, along with handshakes, hugs, and goodbyes, were held for just a little bit longer.
I could complain about any number of things today, from sore muscles to the sheets of rain outside or even Sunday’s Giants loss. Then I stop. September 11 still has a gravity that pulls small problems to the bottom of a very deep hole. Sitting here in an office, one subway stop from the site, looking out of windows from which I should be able to see two huge buildings, six years feels like a very long time ago, but images of the day—photographs, stories, movie trailers even—still affect me.
Monday, after so many thousands of days trying to forget what happened, I decided I had to make some sort of peace. After work, I took a trip. It was about six minutes long, from Spring Street to World Trade on the E train. I arrived at Ground Zero and just gaped at what is now a site of construction and not the twisted metal destruction that once occupied the footprints. It is irrefutable that the huge hole in the earth and sky of my hometown has altered me, and everyone, in more profound ways than history will be able to define. A woman from out of town, carrying a camera and listening to a guide, put her hand on my shoulder as she walked away from her viewing point; a gesture that told me that people still share the experience, hoping to spread it thin over the population so as to alleviate the pain that is inevitable. I think that travel to Ground Zero is a testament to that.
Jaded though many people have become, I heard many different languages during my visit on Monday and was glad for it. On Sunday, I met people from all over the country who had traveled to see the concert. New York is still a destination, travel is still a passion. I wouldn’t refuse to fly today or take the subway or mingle with 25,000 fans. Forget what people say about the day. Forget what people say about the memorials, the commemorations, the services. Ignore negative sentiments. September 11th is a day that affects everyone, and in a different manner from the next person. Heal as you will, and if you can and, if anything, let the day remind you that it is important to get out and to experience other cultures and to befriend new people.
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Comments
Lovely, Charlie. Written as many people wish they could write it, I'm sure.
Thanks, Holly. As long as everyone feels it or thinks it, we're on the right track.
Love this post. Nice job.