the World Trade Center Memorial design was chosen today. it's actually a really beautiful, really subtle idea. my friend told me about it, using the phrase, "water is so meditative."
it got me thinking. yes. water is meditative, until people throw coins and stuff in there.
it's such a strange phenomenon that we as a human race (let's say we as a western civilization human race, because i'm pretty sure it's not widespread) just can't help tossing coins into bodies of water, especially man-made bodies of water. we're so attracted to the idea of wishes and fortune and luck.
i think the sentiments of wishes and good luck are sweet and hopeful - traits that are usually absent from any other kind of human phenomenon... but i was momentarily struck by how inappropriate it would be for people to toss coins and make wishes at the site of a massive tragedy - at a giant grave site.
but then the more i think about it, maybe it is strangely, obtusely, beautifully appropriate to be wishing for good fortune at the WTC memorial.
either way, then. i really do love the concept of the pools. whether they be silent bodies of water, reflecting light, sky, grief, community, and beauty, or whether they be a place for children and lovers and tourists to make wishes and envision better lives.
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