Race Report

New York City Marathon

Sunday, November 4, 2001

SATURDAY PENGUIN BREAKFAST AND SIGHTSEEING:     

Met Ken and Ellen Weissman at the Chelsea Square Restaurant for breakfast

Doug, Ryan, Ken, Ellen, and Ron in the doorway of the restaurant

Chrysler Building and Empire State Building

Yes, we had to teach the Louisiana/now Texas guy how to navigate underground in Noo Yawk. Best thing to do is just follow Ryan! 

GROUND ZERO:     

This church is beside Ground Zero, and there are banners to sign to leave a message. That's Doug in the picture on the right. How much difference does that make? As soon as I wrote on the banner, I felt a sense of awe at what had happened. It seemed to bring closure...no, reality - for me - about the event. On 9/11 I was in a hotel room in Las Vegas, having just guided a backpacking trip into the Grand Canyon. We ended up driving back across the US to return to Charlotte, but the events of the day were still images on a TV screen to me. After this visit, they are real. And I was humbled.

We walked around the area, getting as close as we were allowed. It was quiet, people were very respectful. The banner hung on the building in the picture on the left reads "We Will Never Forget"

Ryan took this picture of Doug and me at the head of Wall Street, the NY Stock Exchange is in the background. This is on the same street as the church.