“Reflecting Absence”

In honor of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 (September 11, 2001) I write this post.

Back in October 2025, we visited New York City with my sister and her son after attending Country Calling in Ocean City Maryland (see post 2025: Year in Travel, Part 2 – October). Our hotel was located across from the plaza from “Ground Zero” and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

We were only there two days and had a packed schedule of what the group wanted to see; but one morning I got up early and headed over to the plaza of the 9/11 Memorial area and spent some time at one of the 9/11 Reflecting Pools (“Reflecting Absence” is the official name).

The two pools were created inside the footprints where the original Twin Towers once stood. Here is the one I visited:

It was a very solemn experience.

According to Google AI:

“Reflecting Absence” is the official name of the design for the twin 9/11 reflecting pools located at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan, New York City. They were designed by architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker. The pools are meant to represent “absence made visible”. They symbolize the physical void left by the fallen towers and the emotional emptiness felt after the attacks.Each pool contains massive, multi-tiered waterfalls that are the largest manmade waterfalls in North America. Water cascades 30 feet down the dark granite walls of the basin before dropping another 20 feet into a smaller, central void where it completely disappears from view. The pools are framed by bronze parapets engraved with the names of the 2,983 victims who died in the September 11, 2001 attacks and the February 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing

It is was so chilling to walk around one of the reflecting pools and look at the names of 9/11 victims. I could think about how the lives of their surviving loved ones have forever changed.

I grew up in New York (Long Island and Upstate) and I’ve spent a lot of time in New York City from my childhood on. I always carry in my heart a deep sorrow that this terrible tragedy occurred in my beloved New York State (it would be a terrible tragedy anywhere it occurred of course).

On a little bit more upbeat note, I didn’t visit the museum itself as I had a brief time to wander on my own before meeting up with the rest of the group, but I did wander about around the outdoor plaza area of Ground Zero. It was a lovely and uplifting area. The day was overcast but here are some of the sights I saw as I wandered around:

“Everyone’s Different and Everyone’s the Same” – that made me smile after my solemn experience viewing one of the Reflecting Pools.

Thanks for sharing this memory with me.