At this moment I have a zillion thoughts running through my head. I'm trying to make sense of all of them and figure out where they all fit in. It's hard but I'm working on it...ish.
I just spent the last 2 and a half hours(on and off) watching 'Rising': Tribute on hallowed ground which is about the new World Trade Center Site. It is fascinating to see how everything is unfolding nearly 10 years after that fateful day. I have always been awestruck by buildings and watching them come together. The idea of giant hunks of metal and wood and stone coming together and building any structure has always intrigued me. Watching the program just opened my mind to how immense this project is. Learning about the measures taken to make it safe in a way that other buildings have not been before, combined with how it will mimic not only the twin towers but also the Washington Monument was crazy to fathom. I think it's interesting how all the different silhouettes came into play in order to build it. Also, that the main top of the building will be exactly as tall as the twin towers were and that when the final antenna is put on it will be 1776ft. tall is so crazy to imagine. This "office building' will be a work of art and a commemoration to what makes the United States, the United States.
Another part of the program that I really loved was watching the part about the museum and memorial. Part of the reason that I was so entranced by it was that I have been listening to my brother talk about it for the past few years. Listening to him talk about it has come to be, and now actually seeing it...so crazy. My brother has been a project manager on the site for the past few years and I'm really proud of him. I have seen how much crap he goes through, but I know that it must be rewarding for him to know that he has played a key part in everything.
As I was watching it, I was thinking back to the trips that I have made to Washington D.C. to the Mall, and to other memorials around the world. I feel as though I can compare the World Trade Center Memorial to Robben Island in South Africa. It is one of those things where when I was on Robben Island, people we met spoke of what they went through and what they remember. I feel as though for me, I will one day walk through the memorial at the World Trade Center and be able to say "I remember when..." To me, that is a very powerful thing to swallow and to grasp. It's hard to believe that that is in fact something that I will one day be doing. We grow up listening to the people around us telling us stories from when they were younger of momentous moments in history. This is one of those things. This will be a mark on our generation for the rest of our lives. It's literally breathtaking to grasp that concept.
All in all, I "enjoyed" watching the documentary. I learned a lot about the other buildings on the site and not just the museum. I also was able to make more connections between things I heard and read and saw. I want to watch the rest of the series because I think it is important to watch and to learn.
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