Ground Zero

Tom and I visited Ground Zero today. He wanted you to know that his experience demonstrates that grieving can go on for many years. That, even when you think you're done grieving, you only may be fooling yourself. Seeing Ground Zero is sobering, but Tom had seen it before. Because of this, his freshly-felt grief ambushed him.

One picture shows the work that is taking place on the new Freedom Tower. The other picture is of a new sculpture outside Trinity Church, just a few blocks from Ground Zero. It shows a the stump of a tree that has been cut down. However, the roots are still there, and the tree still has life! The sculpture was done to show the damage of 9-11 but the promise that still exists. It reminded me of Isaiah 11:1: "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit."

A Surprise!

While we were catching our breath at the top of Croton Dam, a Hasidic Jew walked up to us. After giving me permission to photograph him, he explained that he is a teacher at a nearby school for boys. We were further astonished when a few minutes later we spotted the boys several hundred feet below us. They looked like sheep scattered across the green meadow. Again, I was reminded of the tremendous religious diversity of this area. Although these boys appeared well-"shepherded," I couldn't help but remember Jesus' concern for "sheep without a shepherd."

Italian Day

For "Italian Day" we began with a visit to the area's newest Catholic church, St. Augustine's. The outdoor Stations of the Cross were so vivid. I wish I could describe the deep feelings these traditional scenes evoked.

After our visit to the church, we hiked the beautiful Croton Aqueduct Trail, a 6-mile round trip. And what does that have to do with the local Italians? Simply this: the goal of the journey was the Croton Dam and Reservoir, and much of the work on the dam was done by Italian stone masons. In fact, Tom said one of the reasons many of the Catholic churches in the area are so beautifully constructed is because many of these same masons would give their weekends to work on the churches!

You can guess where we ate tonight, can't you? That's right. . .Safina's is a wonderful family-owned Italian restaurant. Mmmmmm...

West Point

On our way to the Buddhist monastery, we ate breakfast in Cold Spring, and then walked down to the waterfront. I was intrigued by this view of West Point. And, in the next picture, Tom is standing beside a Parrot Gun, a "rifled cannon." It was first used during the Civil War's Battle of Bull Run and played a decisive role in bringing that engagement to a conclusion. The gun was invented by a West Point grad, Robert Parrott, and was made at the West Point Foundry.