went to have lunch with a friend on thursday.
she works at the world financial center.
i went to see her because i needed to pick something up from her, but i was downtown anyway because i was going shopping at j and r computer world, which happens to be located right near there.
i was shopping at j and r because it was tax free days downtown ... a little thing - they came up with to help revitalize consumer spending in the downtown areas, and to help revitalize and redevelop the areas that were most affected by everything.
world financial is pretty much right beside world trade. i always thought of them as the little sisters to the twins. there are - four of them, all with different shaped green tops (one is a dome, one is a pyramid, one is a square, one is tiered, like a mayan pyramid.) the wintergarden atrium is between wfc 2 and wfc 3.
this plan to meet for and then go shopping to support the city and downtown seemed easy enough.
the first hard part was taking the subway. i took the E train which goes direct from my apartment to world trade. no problem. until i got on it and started thinking about all the times i took it to go meet when he was working at world trade. then, when we pulled into the station, i'd get off at the front of the the train and take the ramp up to the world trade shopping consourse ... it was so wide and open that you never really realized that you were transitioning from a subway station to world trade. there was a mrs. field's cookies at the top, right where the concourse turned, and i'd always use it as the landmark to help me find my way to the E train when it was time to go home. i'd also stop my favourite: white chunk and macadamia nut.
this time, however, when the E train pulled up and exited by the front of the train, i found myself staring at a wall where the ramp once was. no mrs. field's. i mean, i pretty much knew that was likely to be, but it was disconcerting nonetheless. so i : turned left and exited to the street. something i never once did in the 5 years i made that trip. as a result i found myself standing on church street staring at a giant gap in the sky. with 'the little church that stood' behind me, i called my friend to get directions on how to meet her.
head left, towards the burger king sign where : - there isn't a burger king anymore ... see that? right. that's liberty street. walk down that until you get order phentermine pm the walkway ... go through that and keep right after you get to the lobby.
ok, so i head over towards liberty street ... i see the burger king sign. order phentermine pm worse yet, i remember the burger king that used to be behind that sign. never ate there ... i always headed order phentermine pm block furthur to get to broadway mcdonald's. past century 21, the famous department store. all i can think about is that i don't think i'll ever be able to shop in there again. and then i realize that the last time i down here, pedestrians weren't allowed this far. this , close. the viewing platform wasn't even this close. i keep heading to liberty street, feeling : very disoriented.
ok, walk down liberty order phentermine pm after all the press about renaming newark airport to liberty international, Orange phentermine prescription : i have to stop and think about if this has order phentermine pm been called liberty street. not sure. can't decide. i look up behind me and see my sister's former office building ... one liberty plaza. yes, clearly it was always called liberty street. rather ironic.
but it all seems wrong. the buildings on liberty street are all boarded up at street level, with their addressess order phentermine pm painted on the plywood coverings. what is now the sidewalk, or walking path, was once the street. liberty street.
everything just seems so wrong. from the moment i got out of the subway it all feels wrong. the street isn't even (as streets aren't) so i'm walking carefully so as not to pull another of my usual spontaneous falling to the ground stunts. i look up and order phentermine pm entire buildings in construction shrouds. appropriate, i think. they're still mourning too.
along my right side is a concrete median barrier with a chain link fence stretching up at least 10 or 15 feet into Orange phentermine prescription : the air. covering the back side of the fence is a green mesh that enables you to sort of see through it, but not really. now and again there are holes and tears in the mesh. a business man is stooped down, with his briefcase tossed over his order phentermine pm just staring through the hole. another woman is trying to push her camera lens through the hole to take a picture. the flash goes off and i just think about the fact that it probably won't turn out with the flash Orange phentermine prescription : bouncing off the pole.
looking - up to my right i see the cross. the cross made of steel beams that has been up almost since the first day, i think.
my digital camera is in order phentermine pm bag. it goes everywhere with me. part of me wants to take pictures. part of me feels sick at the thought.
moving along, i see a knot in the crowd. the green mesh covering the fencing suddenly stops and here are the tourists. throngs and throngs of tourists. as i walk past the fencing i look right and see a hole. a big hole. both below ground and above. you can see what i'm assuming is exposed levels of the underground parking once was ... just open levels as though someone took a knife and sliced open an 8 layer cake.
trying to move through the tourist crowd i spot a woman trying to take a picture and not have people walk in front of her. usually i don't pay attention to this and just walk. hey, it's new york, deal with it. but this time i look to my right to try to see what she's taking a picture of. i see an older couple, his arm around her shoulders, and both smiling.
i suddenly get very - angry. you could put a million backdrops behind them and had the same picture. the grand canyon. the eiffel tower. the statue of liberty. the hollywood sign. at one time, the world trade center. but no, they have what was the world trade center. i feel like hollering at them. would you go take a picture in a cemetery? and be this happy? show some respect! it makes me ill to think that this place of destruction, loss, and horror ... this revered and sacred place is now a tourist spot.
my phone rings as i Orange phentermine prescription - push through the crowd. my friend. where are you? she asks. i loudly order phentermine pm with 'trying to get through this crowd of tourists!'. i'm sure i got some looks but i didn't care. 'so sorry' she says. 'i have to push through them to get to work every day. it's annoying, i know'.
i keep Orange phentermine prescription - on, and finally get order phentermine pm the foot bridge. up the metal stairs that were never there before and through a walk way that never used to exist. into the lobby of wfc1. compared to the chaos of the outside world, order phentermine pm place is quiet and serene. i appreciate the coolness and quiet and press on.
crossing the footbridge to wfc 2, where i'm meeing my friend, i once again get a good look at what once was. still carrying the feeling of disorientation, which is actually order phentermine pm by the clean and beautiful peace of the lobbies, i call my friend to see where she is. stay there, she tells me, i'm on my way.
i stand in the lobby, practically alone. i see small groups of people pass me, all wearing photo id around their neck. i see security guards, Orange phentermine prescription - and mentally think about where my photo id is in case anyone asks. oh yes, i do have my driver's licence with me, and i know exactly where it is in my purse, in case.
i look down to the lower - lobby area. beautiful marble staircases wrap around the sides, with escalators through the middle. i picture in my mind the lobbies order phentermine pm world trade. i imagine the chaos of people evacuating. i try to picture what it was like here, order phentermine pm can't. i know there was damage, but can't imagine how much. thank god my friend wasn't Orange phentermine prescription - at work yet that day, i think. i hear her call my name in that museum muted quiet loud, and i turn to see her coming out of an elevator.
wow. i didn't expect this story to be so long. so far, i've only described about 20 minutes worth of the adventure. part 2 coming soon ... i promise.
she works at the world financial center.
i went to see her because i needed to pick something up from her, but i was downtown anyway because i was going shopping at j and r computer world, which happens to be located right near there.
i was shopping at j and r because it was tax free days downtown ... a little thing - they came up with to help revitalize consumer spending in the downtown areas, and to help revitalize and redevelop the areas that were most affected by everything.
world financial is pretty much right beside world trade. i always thought of them as the little sisters to the twins. there are - four of them, all with different shaped green tops (one is a dome, one is a pyramid, one is a square, one is tiered, like a mayan pyramid.) the wintergarden atrium is between wfc 2 and wfc 3.
this plan to meet for and then go shopping to support the city and downtown seemed easy enough.
the first hard part was taking the subway. i took the E train which goes direct from my apartment to world trade. no problem. until i got on it and started thinking about all the times i took it to go meet when he was working at world trade. then, when we pulled into the station, i'd get off at the front of the the train and take the ramp up to the world trade shopping consourse ... it was so wide and open that you never really realized that you were transitioning from a subway station to world trade. there was a mrs. field's cookies at the top, right where the concourse turned, and i'd always use it as the landmark to help me find my way to the E train when it was time to go home. i'd also stop my favourite: white chunk and macadamia nut.
this time, however, when the E train pulled up and exited by the front of the train, i found myself staring at a wall where the ramp once was. no mrs. field's. i mean, i pretty much knew that was likely to be, but it was disconcerting nonetheless. so i : turned left and exited to the street. something i never once did in the 5 years i made that trip. as a result i found myself standing on church street staring at a giant gap in the sky. with 'the little church that stood' behind me, i called my friend to get directions on how to meet her.
head left, towards the burger king sign where : - there isn't a burger king anymore ... see that? right. that's liberty street. walk down that until you get order phentermine pm the walkway ... go through that and keep right after you get to the lobby.
ok, so i head over towards liberty street ... i see the burger king sign. order phentermine pm worse yet, i remember the burger king that used to be behind that sign. never ate there ... i always headed order phentermine pm block furthur to get to broadway mcdonald's. past century 21, the famous department store. all i can think about is that i don't think i'll ever be able to shop in there again. and then i realize that the last time i down here, pedestrians weren't allowed this far. this , close. the viewing platform wasn't even this close. i keep heading to liberty street, feeling : very disoriented.
ok, walk down liberty order phentermine pm after all the press about renaming newark airport to liberty international, Orange phentermine prescription : i have to stop and think about if this has order phentermine pm been called liberty street. not sure. can't decide. i look up behind me and see my sister's former office building ... one liberty plaza. yes, clearly it was always called liberty street. rather ironic.
but it all seems wrong. the buildings on liberty street are all boarded up at street level, with their addressess order phentermine pm painted on the plywood coverings. what is now the sidewalk, or walking path, was once the street. liberty street.
everything just seems so wrong. from the moment i got out of the subway it all feels wrong. the street isn't even (as streets aren't) so i'm walking carefully so as not to pull another of my usual spontaneous falling to the ground stunts. i look up and order phentermine pm entire buildings in construction shrouds. appropriate, i think. they're still mourning too.
along my right side is a concrete median barrier with a chain link fence stretching up at least 10 or 15 feet into Orange phentermine prescription : the air. covering the back side of the fence is a green mesh that enables you to sort of see through it, but not really. now and again there are holes and tears in the mesh. a business man is stooped down, with his briefcase tossed over his order phentermine pm just staring through the hole. another woman is trying to push her camera lens through the hole to take a picture. the flash goes off and i just think about the fact that it probably won't turn out with the flash Orange phentermine prescription : bouncing off the pole.
looking - up to my right i see the cross. the cross made of steel beams that has been up almost since the first day, i think.
my digital camera is in order phentermine pm bag. it goes everywhere with me. part of me wants to take pictures. part of me feels sick at the thought.
moving along, i see a knot in the crowd. the green mesh covering the fencing suddenly stops and here are the tourists. throngs and throngs of tourists. as i walk past the fencing i look right and see a hole. a big hole. both below ground and above. you can see what i'm assuming is exposed levels of the underground parking once was ... just open levels as though someone took a knife and sliced open an 8 layer cake.
trying to move through the tourist crowd i spot a woman trying to take a picture and not have people walk in front of her. usually i don't pay attention to this and just walk. hey, it's new york, deal with it. but this time i look to my right to try to see what she's taking a picture of. i see an older couple, his arm around her shoulders, and both smiling.
i suddenly get very - angry. you could put a million backdrops behind them and had the same picture. the grand canyon. the eiffel tower. the statue of liberty. the hollywood sign. at one time, the world trade center. but no, they have what was the world trade center. i feel like hollering at them. would you go take a picture in a cemetery? and be this happy? show some respect! it makes me ill to think that this place of destruction, loss, and horror ... this revered and sacred place is now a tourist spot.
my phone rings as i Orange phentermine prescription - push through the crowd. my friend. where are you? she asks. i loudly order phentermine pm with 'trying to get through this crowd of tourists!'. i'm sure i got some looks but i didn't care. 'so sorry' she says. 'i have to push through them to get to work every day. it's annoying, i know'.
i keep Orange phentermine prescription - on, and finally get order phentermine pm the foot bridge. up the metal stairs that were never there before and through a walk way that never used to exist. into the lobby of wfc1. compared to the chaos of the outside world, order phentermine pm place is quiet and serene. i appreciate the coolness and quiet and press on.
crossing the footbridge to wfc 2, where i'm meeing my friend, i once again get a good look at what once was. still carrying the feeling of disorientation, which is actually order phentermine pm by the clean and beautiful peace of the lobbies, i call my friend to see where she is. stay there, she tells me, i'm on my way.
i stand in the lobby, practically alone. i see small groups of people pass me, all wearing photo id around their neck. i see security guards, Orange phentermine prescription - and mentally think about where my photo id is in case anyone asks. oh yes, i do have my driver's licence with me, and i know exactly where it is in my purse, in case.
i look down to the lower - lobby area. beautiful marble staircases wrap around the sides, with escalators through the middle. i picture in my mind the lobbies order phentermine pm world trade. i imagine the chaos of people evacuating. i try to picture what it was like here, order phentermine pm can't. i know there was damage, but can't imagine how much. thank god my friend wasn't Orange phentermine prescription - at work yet that day, i think. i hear her call my name in that museum muted quiet loud, and i turn to see her coming out of an elevator.
wow. i didn't expect this story to be so long. so far, i've only described about 20 minutes worth of the adventure. part 2 coming soon ... i promise.
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