For those who do not know, Jeff spent many years working in and around the WTC. He was normally in NYC the for the UN conference during this time period. Because we had small kids at the time, he chose not to go that year. That was the first year in about 18 years that he was not in that building on that date. At his request, we visited the museum today. As much as I did not want to go, I felt that I should to support him. I was honored to do this for him.
First, I was not prepared for the fact that the museum was built underground. When we visited the outside memorial 2 years ago, it appeared that they were constructing a building above ground to simply house artifacts. I thought it was in very poor taste to build in the area where there could still possibly be DNA of those lost in the building. If they want to honor the victims, the do it some where else such as the memorial garden at the Pentagon.
Second, the set up was horrible. They have videos going all over the place next to artifacts with plaques.play Crowds gathered around the very small video screens and, even if you wanted to read the plaques, it was extremely difficult to get to them.
Third, I thought it was in poor taste to play the answering machine messages of those who died in the buildings. I have held that opinion since the media started playing them several weeks after the tragedy. Not only were they playing them, they were playing them LOUDLY. You could literally hear these voices across the room.
Fourth, in no way does this place feel sacred to me. It felt more like a mausoleum then a museum.
Finally, there needs to be a warning to parents that this is NOT the place to take young children. I would hesitate to even take a middle schooler let alone a 6 or 7 year old (we saw TONS of children who appeared to be in that age range).
No comments:
Post a Comment