“The real act of will was not in the creating of a garden but in the sustaining, the continuous stand against wildness.” – The Submission – Amy Waldman
“Rich dreams now which he was loathe to wake from. Things no longer known in the world. The cold drove him forth to mend the fire. Memory of her crossing the lawn toward the house in the early morning in a thin rose gown that clung to her breasts. He thought each memory recalled must do some violence to its origins. As in a party game. Say the word and pass it on. So be sparing. What you alter in the remembering has yet a reality, known or not.” – The Road – Cormac McCarthy
“The days sloughed past uncounted and uncalendared. Along the interstate in the distance long lines of charred and rusting cars. The raw rims of the wheels sitting in a stiff gray sludge of melted rubber, in blackened rings of wire. […] Filthy, ragged, hopeless. He’d stop and lean on the cart and the boy would go on and then stop and look back and he would raise his weeping eyes and see him standing there in the road looking back at him from some unimaginable future, glowing in that waste like a tabernacle.” – The Road – Cormac McCarthy
Walking across Brooklyn Bridge, requires you to walk quite a long way but it is certainly worth it. Especially on as sunny a day as it was. My journey didn’t get off to a great start as I was shouted at first by a traffic attendant for clarifying which way I was supposed to go for the Brooklyn Bridge and then by an oncoming cyclist for wandering into the wrong lane as there was one for pedestrians and another for cyclists. Admittedly both of those of times I could probably have avoided their wrath but hey, I’m a tourist. It’s certainly an impressive view as you come closer to the buildings that you then walk amongst.
The main ‘tourist attraction’ of the day was the 9/11 memorial and Museum. It is interesting that it has become this – there are even adverts for it as there would be for any other Museum, on the subway. Not that I think it’s too soon or anything but you could question how it’s attraction-ness works alongside it being a memorial and a shrine to those killed in a horrific attack. I was particularly interested in seeing this part of New York after studying a module on post 9/11 literature last semester (Which is why there are not one but three quotes at the beginning of this post! The first book actually about a fictional 9/11 memorial and its designer, the second arguably inspired by 9/11). It opened my eyes to an event that I hadn’t properly thought on before – I was too young really to remember it at the time and whilst I was obviously aware of it I hadn’t thought about it in great depth until studying the wide variety of literature that sprung up in the years that followed. One thing the museum does do is add a level of grandiosity to the ‘event’ that was 9/11. As a museum of artifacts and exhibits it is impressive in scale and the fateful day itself is played out in long exhibitions, examining all the details of the attacks. It was undeniably an important event, and something that had enormous ramifications but there are ethical questions to be asked about the way in which it is presented.
The philosopher Jean Baudrillard, who’s writing, The Spirit of Terrorism, we studied, made some controversial claims relating to the ‘absolute event’ of 9/11. The idea is that in some ways America had it coming and that as America had risen to become the greatest ‘good’ on the planet there needed to be a great evil to maintain an equilibrium. I’m not sure where I stand on this but I was reminded of it when watching one of the films at the museum, of Bush talking about how the world changed and describing his Bush doctrine of spreading freedom and American values in places where hate is brewed. It all sounded very noble but I couldn’t help but feel that it was more a case of ‘you hit me, so I’m going to hit you harder’.
So in depth and lengthy is the 9/11 Museum, which fills a gaping chasm underneath Ground Zero, that I had had a bit of a mental overload by the end. I eavesdropped one old Museum attendant speaking first about the scientific reasons why the towers collapsed the way they did (I mean Jet Fuel Can’t Melt Steel Beams, obviously, but I thought I’d give him a try…) and then about the new One World Trade Center. It is apparently about as strong a skyscraper construction as you can get or else no would work there.
The memorial itself is stunning. I’m sure I’m not saying anything that hasn’t already been said before but there is something about the scale and dark colour of the two square pits at Ground Zero, that takes your breath away. The water, falling first into the main section and then again into a further hole, out of sight, as if into a void, is mesmerising. Maybe it is supposed to symbolise the souls of the dead disappearing into the ground… Or something. It takes into account both the tragedy of their deaths but also the value and innocence of their lives.
In the evening I had planned to meet Manon, a friend I met at the wedding, who currently lives in NY. There was a mid week worship church service going on at the place she goes to church in NYC. We entered Liberty church through a small door sandwiched between two shops near Union square and walked down some steps past a church banner that indicated the church sets up here but it is a movie theatre at other times. Liberty church was an underground church literally but I have to say it felt underground in other ways. As we walked in there was an immediate sense of the Holy Spirit, as people were tightly gathered in a relatively small space pouring their hearts out to God.
There was something awesome about the fact that all around me were people from different ethnic backgrounds, creeds and careers and they were gathered after a long day at work for one purpose. I loved the idea that in a city full of people who are so often closed off and fixated only on their jobs and their own success, this was a place where they could let go. There was certainly an energy of people who wanted nothing more than to see God in this city. Apparently they are setting up a plant in the Wall Street area. How awesome would it be to see the bankers of the world, take off their suit jackets and head to a different building after work, getting sweaty in the name of Jesus and not in the name of money and greed.
After this me and Manon headed to Times Square, something I kind of needed to see at night to get the full experience. Like I said in the previous blog, just being there and seeing it for real was hugely satisfying. It was also fairly quiet in comparison to peak tourist time (there were still loads of people there as far as I was concerned but I guess I was there at a good time).
We checked out the massive guitar centre nearby and had a jam, with some beautiful guitars and bass’s that we couldn’t afford (hopefully one day). It was super cool. After wandering around a nearby hotel to see if we could get a decent view from high up (we couldn’t really) we parted ways for tonight. And that was that day.
Next time… Jazz.
Tim Goodfellow 