October 28, 2001: Manhattan
The daylight saving time has over early this morning. Mr. Tsukamoto relaxes in home and Mrs. Tsukamoto goes to church today. We will visit to Metropolitan Museum to see Yang again. On my way to Penn station, I could talk much with Mrs. Tsukamoto. The tram arrived Penn too soon.
I said good-bye to Mrs. Tsukamoto at Penn station. In the concourse are banners filled with the condolences to the victims of September 11. I found some Japanese names in them. The security is very tight in the station, guarded by armed police and army soldiers.
After reconfirming the entrance to a platform for Washington DC tomorrow, we got on a bus to the Museum.
As we were a little bit late, Miss. Yang was worrying about us. Very sorry Yang. We have to line up for security check. We should have come earlier here by taking in consideration such case. We first visited Egyptian exhibit. As Yang guided us very well, we could see many wonderful exhibits without getting tired.
Guggenheim is one of my destinations, but it was so crowded and we just took a look the entrance and outline of the museum.
We will then head to China Town by subway for lunch. The tile of the Fifth Avenue is very beautiful.
China town is crowded very much as if it were another world. Many small stalls fill the streets. Swimming through the crowd, we got in a targeted restaurant Yang recommended. We could enjoy Chinese snacks here. After that, we walked out and bought rare big pomegranate fruits.
The security in this area is very tight; many policemen control the traffic and watch the street carefully. This is because a memorial ceremony was held today and we came across the end of it. We walked down the street to Ground Zero. Many buses for the bereaved families are parking on the street. By closing the point, I smell something still burning. I couldn't stop the tear running down on my cheeks. There are still many victims under the debris. Many people are working hard night and day. I could witness the attacked site behind the crowd. The site is very silent, sharing the sadness with whomever in sight. Never again such a thing, I firmly believed so.
It was too hard to watch the site. I started to walk again. Nearby shops are open, but they are very quiet with silent guests. It will take a longer time to recover from the tragedy. I found a bronze statue on a small corner, the similar one I saw in Frankfurt. I was relieved a little by the powerful image of it.
I then came down to the Battery Park just opened yesterday. Statue of Liberty is shining in the distance. The Park is very quiet, however. I couldn't see the Towers. The right picture was taken three years ago from nearly the same angle.
It is getting colder in the evening. We got on a subway already in service and arrived at a Korean restaurant near Penn station. Yang said she loves this restaurant. I could enjoy wonderful spicy taste of Kimchi.
Yang wears the muffler we brought from Japan for her. It matches very well. We enjoyed many kinds of Korean food that make us very warm.
It was already dark outside. New York is gradually recovering from the disaster. Terrorism may attack in another pattern, however. I feel the sense of hate becoming stronger day by day. I repeat, Never again such a thing.
