My friend Miriam Lewin went down to lower Manhattan to witness the final procession from Ground Zero, and wrote a brief report:
The crowd around me clapped but did not cheer. We were respectful yet somehow exuberant -- I was smiling through my tears. I didn't clap -- I had put my hand on my heart when I saw the beam and I could not wrench it off my chest.
It was a beautiful day. A little hotter and muggier than September 11, but still beautiful. There was a nice breeze off the river, and New York felt like home, and a good place to be.
I'm in Charlottesville, VA right now and saw the ceremony on television, so I've got no right to comment. MSNBC's coverage was most remarkable: there was not a word from a talking head for the entire time -- more than 30 minutes.
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