ashleyonmusing: Wall Street- a cauldron of emotions

Where were you on 11/11/11?

Bill Nye the science guy moment: AMC released 118 baby sea turtles who walked 50 feet to the ocean where they began a 15 mile swim to the "food current" that circles the planet. Apparently, they will circumnavigate the world, eating along the current until they are twenty-five years old and return to the stretch of beach from where they originate.

I was inside the beating heart of the U.S.- the financial district. It seems today, as if our economy and our government are so deeply intertwined that it feels as though the Wall Street area is the capital of our country, more so sometimes, than Washington D.C.

Two people asked if I planned on going to Ground Zero. When the first asked and paired it with seeing the statue of Liberty, I replied quickly "No, I'm not into the touristy stuff this time." Which was the truth at the moment. When the second person asked me if I'd go see Ground Zero, this time I hesitated. I felt for the first time that I owed it to myself to go and visit the place that holds many emotions. I've never shed a tear over 9-11. And, though I'm not proud of this, sometimes I'd rather just forget it happened. When something unpleasant happens, I have the tendency to see it for a moment, and then block it out. So, while on the subway over, I really didn't expect to be moved too much. I even wondered to myself if I was some cold, unfeeling human... until we were walking the blocks up to where the towers stood. Seeing the hugeness of the buildings that stand today, made me realize how huge those towers were too, and two of them at that. Walking the sidewalks with others, I imagined there were people just like me there that day, going about their business when an airplane ran into one. I imagined the sound, the wonder, the fear. Imagined people running the streets. I did my best to face the image of people under the debris, and realize that this is their resting place, all of them together. A cauldron of emotions boiled inside me, which included admiration for the deli that stands caddy corner from the old towers, which is still open today, flying an American flag. Their being there was taken as a statement by me. That is their neighborhood, and they are going to love it rain or shine. Then there are the construction people, working to build the two huge fountains that will stand where the World Trade Center towers once did. I wonder what they think about sometimes as they work there, I wonder if their emotions ever overtake them, as they did me. I wonder if tears fill their eyes too.

A stone's throw away, next we visited the Occupy Wall Street camp. The original movement that to my suprise has spread across the country and has lasted quite a while. I am very curious about the protest movements that people all over the world have been forming and carrying out. Libya, even the teenage rioters in England were something of a protest. It seems as though normal people across the world are fed up and are not afraid to cry out about it. I've heard about many protests in France, and I always admired them for it. After seeing Michael Moore's documentary on Capitalism, I realized that citizens hold more power than I realized and if we say something in a large enough group- the other party will hopefully have to give in. Watching the movie years ago, I wondered if Americans would ever band together and protest. I am happy to say, they do. I'd love to see more reputable people standing for the cause, as I'm sure they are out there. Right now, it looks a bit like a hippie commune, which in our society today, probably won't get the respect it desires. But, it was refreshing to see a movement like this happening in 2011 in New York, it is a mirror for me. Other people see the same things I do, and they are doing something about it, in whatever way they can.

Yet, a few more blocks away is Wall Street, the actual one. The rumor is that it is named Wall Street because when the Dutch arrived and set up shop there, a wall was constructed to divide the Dutch and American sides. As I came up on the NYSE, I was amazed at the beauty of the building. So many of the old buildings in the city as a whole, remind me of Paris. I am so thrilled that the US has architecture of this era. I hope one day we return to it. The stock market as a whole is still somewhat of an enigma to me, and these days it's shrouded in a darkness that I can't shake so my feelings on the buidling were mixed. It's almost as if I have to love it, because, whether I like it or not, it is so important in this country and impacts so much of the world.

Walking closer to the water, we visited The Charging Bull. According to wikipedia, An artist in the 80's constructed this huge, bronze statue to symbolize the "strength and power of the American people." The oversize sculpture depicts a bull, the symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity. One night, the artist dropped it off in the middle of the city. The people loved it immediately. When the police hauled it away one day, the people uproared. And today, due to popular demand, the bull stands in Wall Street with many admirers surrounding it. Hail to the Bull Market!

All of these events happening in such a concentrated area was stimulating. So much so that my intended next stop was the Museum of Modern Art, which is free on Friday nights. But, on my way over I saw a bookstore that I popped into and spent a few hours. The quiet and peace of the store gave me time to assimilate all that I had seen and gave me time to process on some level. Nothing like a vacation where you get R&R and food for thought!