| ...given that 9/11 was particularly significant for me (having happened right here on my own personal home turf and all), I don't have a problem with the picture myself -- the image is a little too surreal, too much of a non sequitor, for me to have a strong emotional response to it. Then again, even though this doesn't necessarily put me in a good light, I have to recognize the possibility that I've simply become somewhat desensitized to the idea. After all, it's something I've been dealing with up close and personal every single day. My last job was located right down in the financial center -- and even though I didn't have to walk right by Ground Zero to get home, I often had to pass near there if I wanted to run errands in that area. I now work near Fifth Avenue -- and before 9/11, you used to be able to look downtown and faintly see the tops of the towers even from sixty blocks away. AFter 9/11, I remember seeing the clouds of smoke instead for days if not weeks afterwards -- and even now, the city is still struggling to really get its feet firmly underneath it again.
In response to your question, DL, I believe the towers were the only buildings to be destroyed outright although you may recall that the World Financial Center (a smaller building on the same complex) suffered a fairly major collapse later in the day as a result of the destruction -- of course, by that time, everyone in that building with half an ounce of sense would have already evacuated. That building (including the famous Winter Garden) has long since since been restored and opened for business as have other buildings near the complex which suffered heavy damage such as the Millenium Hotel and the Century 21 department store. |
