fences. Sadly, but not surprisingly, there were also a number of
"entrepreneurs" cashing in on the disaster by selling photographs telling the
story of the twin towers. Fortunately most were keeping a respectable
distance from the fence, signs prohibit the selling of goods near the site but
obviously this is virtually impossible to enforce without a huge input of
manpower. The scene called to mind the vast and continuing trade in images
of Diana, Princess of Wales that began in 1997 when she died.
After viewing the site through the fence, we went into another part of
the World Trade Centre, the Winter Garden, where you can view Ground Zero
through glass and from a slightly higher elevation than the fence - an even
more moving vista as it is less obstructed.
The subtlest impact of 9/11 seems to have been on staff in shops and tourist
attractions. We were consistently met with brusqueness and poor service,
ranging from chatting to colleagues while - or instead of - serving us, to not
bothering to give full information about services available. I had a feeling that
most of this rudeness and inefficiency has arisen due to people being under
increasing pressure and stress since the terrorist attacks over two years ago.
Perhaps the greater need for security checks has made simple courtesy an
unnecessary duty for some staff? A classic case of this mixture of paranoia,
increased security and brusqueness occurred when we visited the beautifully
constructed Guggenheim Museum. Emma was studying a painting by Van
Gogh, standing about a metre away, when a burly security guard grunted:
'You want to step away from the painting, ma’am!'
And yes, he had a gun.