9/11 tribute

April 15th, 2013 | Bodega

9-11 oak tree planting

When the 9/11 memorial was originally opened in New York on the tenth anniversary of the atrocity, I was fortunate enough to acquire an entry ticket on only the second day of opening to the public. At that time it was heavily subscribed and I was very fortunate to get in…. it was a moving experience.

The main features of the memorial are of course, the two huge pools surrounded by waterfalls built on the actual footprints of the twin towers. They are the largest man-made waterfalls in North America. The pools are surrounded by bronze panels that include the names of everyone that died not only in the attack of 2001, but also in the attack of 1993. 

In the memorial garden itself there are more than 400 white oak trees planted to convey ‘a spirit of hope and renewal’. The white oaks were picked specifically because of the durability (in a city environment) and their dramatic leaf colours – green in spring and summer, changing to shades of pink, gold and brown during the autumn.

Now comes the confession part of the story…..

During my visit in September 2011 I filled my pocket with a few acorns which had dropped from the young oak trees, and upon arriving back in Spain, planted then in my garden. Last summer I had six or seven small trees growing on my terrace, and only a week or two ago I transplanted them to a new location at the back of the bodega – immediately adjacent to Domingo Martin’s favourite pine tree. The hope is that in a few years we will have one or two sturdy white oak trees of our own, grown virtually from the ashes of the 9/11 memorial itself….

9-11 oak tree planting

When the 9/11 memorial was originally opened in New York on the tenth anniversary of the atrocity, I was fortunate enough to acquire an entry ticket on only the second day of opening to the public. At that time it was heavily subscribed and I was very fortunate to get in…. it was a moving experience.

The main features of the memorial are of course, the two huge pools surrounded by waterfalls built on the actual footprints of the twin towers. They are the largest man-made waterfalls in North America. The pools are surrounded by bronze panels that include the names of everyone that died not only in the attack of 2001, but also in the attack of 1993. 

In the memorial garden itself there are more than 400 white oak trees planted to convey ‘a spirit of hope and renewal’. The white oaks were picked specifically because of the durability (in a city environment) and their dramatic leaf colours – green in spring and summer, changing to shades of pink, gold and brown during the autumn.

Now comes the confession part of the story…..

During my visit in September 2011 I filled my pocket with a few acorns which had dropped from the young oak trees, and upon arriving back in Spain, planted then in my garden. Last summer I had six or seven small trees growing on my terrace, and only a week or two ago I transplanted them to a new location at the back of the bodega – immediately adjacent to Domingo Martin’s favourite pine tree. The hope is that in a few years we will have one or two sturdy white oak trees of our own, grown virtually from the ashes of the 9/11 memorial itself….

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