WTC visit recap

What a special visit it was to the World Trade Center site and 9-11 Museum. It shouldn't have surprised me, but it did when I thought about how young you all were when this happened (I was about that age when JFK was assassinated). As I mentioned to you onsite, I woke up to my radio alarm clock and heard Rebecca broadcasting the news of the first plane crashing into the North Tower. Shortly after planes were flying again, I came to New York City to check on our interns at ABC News. Ground Zero, as the WTC site instantly became known, was still smoldering. Funerals for first responders had begun at St. Patrick's Cathedral. New Yorkers hugged firefighters as they sought respite at nearby St. Paul's Chapel. Of course, 9-11 changed everything in America, but it also changed the way I viewed New Yorkers—no longer the impersonal, hurried stereotype, but people of heart. Just as the nation came together in the immediate aftermath of the attack, I saw first-hand how this diverse city united. I'll never forget it. I'll try to dig up some photos and video from that visit.

Incidentally, some of you asked me about the building with the large wings. That's the WTC Transportation Hub. Parts of it were just recently opened. It is meant to replace the hub destroyed on 9-11 that accommodated the subway and PATH trains. This particular structure is a source of controversy. It was hugely expensive and while unique and imposing, its architecture has also drawn criticism.