New York 911 Memorial, Batman Movie and Occupy Wall Street

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The latest Batman movie was being filmed near Wall Street, where we were staying this past weekend, so we got to see several bat mobiles parked in the distance. Littered on the ground was fake snow. It is crumpled up bits of white paper. But the multitude of guards and police made it difficult to see anything up close. So Sunday after our focus on art the previous day, we decided to do some exploring in the Financial District. In our group was my son Chris, his girlfriend Laura, and husband Peter. (Just in case you’re wondering who are those people in the photos.)
I’ve been seeing the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters on the TV news for several weeks. Up close the occupied zone looked a lot smaller, and yes there was a large amount of commercial enterprises connected to the demonstration as vendors sold buttons, flyers, and T-shirts to interested onlookers. Having recently lost my job, I could certainly identify with the protestors. But the most moving part of our Sunday tour of New York City’s financial district was the 911 Memorial. Remember, if you go you’ll need to get tickets for an entrance time. (The memorial is free but donations are accepted). Sunday was the day of the New York Marathon, so probably there were less tourists interested in the memorial and we were able to get tickets that morning by standing in line at the store/check-in location.
I tried to read all the names inscribed on the edges around the two pools and what struck me immediately was the diversity of names. Every nationality is represented, although the attack on the Twin Trade Towers was supposedly an attack on America. There were names that were obviously Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, English, Irish… it was very moving. And in the background was the sound of rushing water and visually the sunlight being reflected off the water.
Battery Park and the Museum of the American Indian (Free) are other sights in the area we visited and enjoyed before heading back towards Penn Station to catch a train home. A very late train I might add. But other than the late train, it was an fine weekend.