Innermost Thought

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August 03, 2004

Liberty Rides Again

The Statue of Liberty will open her doors for the first time since the September 11, 2001 attack on the WTC. I, for one, am ecstatic...and a little worried about our lady. I hope they've put the proper safeguards in place for future attacks. In April of 2001, my Dad and I drove his truck from Dallas to New York via Houston and a brief stop at a Riverboat casino in Shreveport (I won $40.). We drove through Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, spent the night in North Carolina, then through to Pennsylvania and finally, New Jersey.

I was moving my stuff up to NYC. Clothes, what little furniture was important to me...books. We had a truck full of The History of Meredith. This was serious. Though I had moved up to NYC the previous October, this was the moment I was really making the commitment. My "stuff" was coming and it was gonna take alot to get me to move it back down again. This was serious. New York City and I were shacking up. I was not tired, but I was poor, and I had faith and energy for what might lay ahead. I didn't travel by boat but the journey was....momentous for me.

On that trip, my Dad and I had a great dinner at a Brazilian place, went on a nighttime horse-drawn carriage through the park with my roommate Maia, went to the World Trade Center (yes, the World Trade Center) and went to the Statue of Liberty. While there we got to climb the steps to the top (though we opted not to go to the lantern). We took a picture in front of the original lantern that sits at the main floor of Lady Liberty. We hung out on the Statue's lawn and Dad was even interviewed for a documentary about Ghosts in the Statue wearing a foam green "liberty hat". It was a great visit.

When Liberty was closed they kept the island open. You could still take the ferry and
walk about the lawn and it was nice. But it wasn't the same. I didn't necessarily miss going in, I'd done that already, but there was a feeling of being suppressed, of being scared of an unknown bogey-man; that the terrorists had won this round because we were denying ourselves liberty by deny ourselves Liberty.

I hope the doors opening again signal a new era of liberty. I've thought alot about what Sept 11 will be in years to come. The first anniversary was the worst. The second was a little odd. I didn't want to celebrate; that seemed a little callous. I did want to commemorate and I didn't know how without risking the reverence of those lost. I had felt the stirrings of something fresh and new in that second anniversary. The mourning was almost over.

Liberty opening up is another signal that we can begin to take 9-11 out of the present. For me, I believe that 9-11 will be a national holiday soon. I don't want it to just be another BBQ or day at the beach. I would like to honor the victims as much as the spirit of community that New Yorkers found in each other as they donated blood, fed relief workers, housed people and pets evacuated from homes, and searched for signs of the living and the dead. For me, 9-11 will be about doing what I can to honor the memory of all of those people who played a part in that dreadful dance; the living and the dead. I choose that day to educate, beautify or otherwise improve my community...New York City. I implore you to consider doing something similar in your community...after all, more communities than mine suffered the loss of 9-11 and more communities than mine chipped in to fill the breach. We should honor them all.

Posted by mermu at August 3, 2004 08:31 AM

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