Grand Central, 9/11 and Benjamin's

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Another leisurely breakfast this morning, followed by a long walk to Grand Central Station.

The focus today though, was September 11, 2001. A stop at the "Ground Zero Museum Workshop", proved to be a moving experience, although the museum and it's founder are not without controversy. Gary Suson is a photographer that had near exclusive access to ground zero during the months of digging and recovery. The controversy surrounds his charitable claims and how he gained access to some of the artifacts on display. That said though, the stories and images are pretty powerful.

Some of the remnants from ground zero are seen in this photo along with samples of the crosses and Star of David the iron workers began cutting from the steel beams, before they were shipped off to scrap dealers. The crosses and stars were given to the families of those who perished here. 

Photo of a Bible found open to this page during the recovery effort. Note the chapter and passage title. 

From here we moved on to Ground Zero memorial itself and the reflecting pools. Another powerful image. 

This photo shows one of the thousands of names memorialized at the site. To most, just an unknown name in a sad, sad slice of human history. To someone though, it is more than one name among thousands. To someone, it's a person of particular importance. Note the white rose. It's fresh. Very fresh. Quite possibly as fresh as a few hours prior to my taking this photo. 

The new tower nearing completion.

Around the cornert from the memorial, we stumbled upon this. 

Firehouse 10, which is literally across the street from the World Trade Center.

They were the first to respond. The two companies lost five men that morning. When they found the burnt wreckage of Ladder 10, weeks later, it was buried under 40 feet of rubble. 

On to happier things though. Tonight, the dinner recommendation came from Mike and Becky. Benjamin's Steak House. And another fine recommendation it was. Lil and I had one of these (it's for two... shared). Delicious. Got back to our hotel in a "meat coma" though. Well the coma might also have had something to do with the wine...  large glasses of wine...  and the dessert.