Chicago visitors pay their respects
Anthony Villarreal, left, 43, and Bill Patterson, right, 41, leasing drove to New York City from Chicago. (Sept. 11, 2011) Credit: Newsday/Ted Phillips
"Which way is the World Trade Center?" Anthony Villarreal asked as he and his friend crossed Canal Street on Sunday, heading south on Warren Street.
Villarreal, 43, a fork lift operator, and Bill Patterson, 41, a leasing consultant, drove 12 hours from Chicago to be at the World Trade Center on the 10th anniversary. Neither has a personal connection to anyone who was lost there, but each felt a strong need to pay his respects.
"Today we're all New Yorkers," Patterson said. The mood of the city "seems melancholy," he said.
As they moved closer to the trade center site, nearing where police had set up barricades and scores of people had gathered, Villarreal said he was "excited, but sad."
"My heart's beating faster," Villarreal said.
The two picked up American flags from a vendor who was selling photographs of the pre-Sept. 11 skyline, when the Twin Towers still stood.
"I didn't know what to expect," Patterson said. "But I feel I have to be here."
