tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5059760427030345051.post338149122402635239..comments2013-06-25T11:22:32.647-04:00Comments on My visit to the 9/11 Memorial: by Artie Van Whyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12845691854734907291noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5059760427030345051.post-70808145057777861242012-10-07T07:45:48.732-04:002012-10-07T07:45:48.732-04:00Marianne - Thank you for the supportive words. I h...Marianne - Thank you for the supportive words. I have continued to discuss my personal concerns with a wide variety of stakeholders - in senior management of the Memorial, Port Authority, NYPD, FDNY, the Mayor's Office, and the offices of a number of elected officials. It is slow going but I have found a few people over the last year who seem like they may be open to becoming more involved in working on a few specific issues with me. As much as possible, I am trying to find and talk about the common ground that my personal concerns share with the concerns of others I read about in the news.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08634366943539821123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5059760427030345051.post-8874941523536155782012-09-16T12:43:55.109-04:002012-09-16T12:43:55.109-04:00I agree with you completely, and you put your thou...I agree with you completely, and you put your thoughts down very eloquently. Trust me, you are not alone in your feeling. There are many of us that feel the same way. And you will find there are more than you think. There are family groups that are working to correct this, but need more support. <br />Marianne Pizzitolahttp://www.fdnyemsretirees.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5059760427030345051.post-19665765124341873112012-06-22T08:54:14.004-04:002012-06-22T08:54:14.004-04:00Hugh - This is the underlying problem for me as we...Hugh - This is the underlying problem for me as well. It doesn't mean I want them to *build* something different, though - I just want to be able to create my own personal space at the memorial which is more emotionally connected. (For me, that means candles.)<br /><br />I'm glad you were able to visit. I can assure you from my personal conversations over the last eight months that the staff, management, and other officials I have spoken with who are involved in the project are deeply caring and hard-working individuals.Shannon K. Wagnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18086043413629051888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5059760427030345051.post-84017761205097780182012-06-22T08:36:52.837-04:002012-06-22T08:36:52.837-04:00I visited a few days ago with my family. We have n...I visited a few days ago with my family. We have no personal connection to the tragedy but I felt it was good for my two sons, 7&10 to visit while we were in NYC. <br />I am also an architect and wanted to visit it to get an<br />impression of the design. <br />My take?? Elegant. Well constructed. Buy soulless. Corporate. Disengaging. Distant. <br /><br />I couldn't put a finger on it at first ... But it just feels as though it's all too smooth. I would have preferred a more visceral reminder of the reality of what happened.Hugh Randolphnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5059760427030345051.post-53615636613955751212012-05-11T11:10:55.940-04:002012-05-11T11:10:55.940-04:00It doesn't matter if your feelings are in the ...It doesn't matter if your feelings are in the minority. Every person who has a connection to what happened that day should be able to have a positive experience when they visit. If we let go of that hope, then we have given up too much.<br /><br />The site is a public memorial, a private memorial, and a cemetery, in my opinion. For me personally, the only part of that which matters is the cemetery, but I am of course respectful of the need of the public for a memorial space. For me personally, I cannot find peace while visiting my loved one as long as I am subjected to security screening, prohibited from lighting a candle, and not allowed to leave anything on the plaza for more than a few hours.<br /><br />The leaving of items on the plaza has gotten some flexibility, after seven months of persistent contact with senior management of the memorial. We are still in discussions about candles and repeated security screening of family members and I believe that within the next year I will be able to work with management to find more appropriate policies. As I work through this process, my connection to the site and to the people who are its current stewards continues to deepen. That is meaningful to me.<br /><br />The memorial five years from now will be what we all make it become, and we will each find our personal connection that we struggle to build for ourselves. While I wish I had realized this five years ago, I did not. And I, like many others, was not emotionally prepared five years ago to help guide the direction of the memorial. It never occurred to me over the last decade that the positive things I most strongly associated with New York City in the days and weeks after September 11th would be no longer be there, for me, when it was eventually opened to the public. I never imagined that things like candles would be seen as a danger whereas they were once seen as a spiritual connection.<br /><br />Good luck to you, and I hope that you can one day find a peaceful connection with the National September 11 Memorial.Shannon K. Wagnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18086043413629051888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5059760427030345051.post-20730565838297513962012-05-11T10:05:48.243-04:002012-05-11T10:05:48.243-04:00you described it perfectlyyou described it perfectlyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5059760427030345051.post-68203649047815914192012-04-20T13:25:01.480-04:002012-04-20T13:25:01.480-04:00I was not in New York at the time of the twin Towe...I was not in New York at the time of the twin Towers horror and tragedy. What I want to say though is that when I saw the two memorial pits on television, rather the four memorial pits, my stomach dropped. I was sickened by the cold hopeless sense they brought in me. And inside I cried again for those who were murdered to have as a memorial to them gloomy, depthless seeming black pits.<br /><br />The best to you and your quest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5059760427030345051.post-72554366937106831132012-04-18T18:34:04.826-04:002012-04-18T18:34:04.826-04:00Well spoken friend.
All the bestWell spoken friend.<br />All the bestAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com