Observations from Ground Zero. (Eclectic Woodworking).

Our assistant editor, Bernadette Freund, compiled responses from 55 members of last year's WOOD 100 Report to see how they're faring since 9-11. (See page 45.) We're heartened to know that most of last year's fast-growing companies are adapting and moving forward.

My personal observations from Ground Zero, more than four months after the terrorist attacks, are hardly significant compared to the first-person accounts of the survivors, rescue and recovery workers, eyewitnesses and grieving family members of victims. My only inconvenience created by the events of Sept. 11 was having to drive home from Massachusetts to Chicago.

Unlike the thousands of victims in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, I could still talk to my family, return home and go on with my life.

When business brought me to New York City on Jan. 21,1 was glad to be making the trip and compelled to record the experience. I've always enjoyed going to New York. As a Chicago native, a trip to the Big Apple always felt like a step into the big leagues. Everything in New York is always bigger and somehow more important than in Chicago. Now, of course, my perspective is magnified by New York's role in the biggest and most tragic event of our lifetime. Paying my respects in person to the city and the victims of the attacks was important to me.

Getting to Ground Zero

I landed at Newark airport at approximately 5 p.m. and made my way to the cab stand. My flight actually landed early and the airport was not congested at all. In the past there was always a long line of people waiting for taxis. Not this time. My cabby told me he was only working part time now and "yes" things were still very slow.

After riding through the Holland Tunnel I could see the glare of lights emanating from where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. Upon closer inspection I saw it as the unmistakable glow of emergency lighting systems that had been in place since the tragedy occurred.

Police barricades blocked my cab driver from getting any closer than a couple of blocks from my hotel, which was in the direction of Ground Zero. I got out and walked the rest of the way.

The winter air was around 32 degrees. The area had the sights, smells and sounds of just about any construction site -- concrete dust, diesel-fueled generators, heavy equipment and workers methodically going about their business. Gone were the remnants of the major structural elements of the WTC. The big difference between the WTC site and a "normal" construction site were the personal memorials and tributes that were scattered and posted everywhere. There's no other way to say it; the area looked like a war zone.

I had elected to stay at the Marriott at the Financial Center on the advice of an associate. I wanted to stay close to Ground Zero, and I did -- approximately block from the former WTC. The closer f got to the Marriott, the more my progress was impeded by police barriers and makeshift walkways and scaffolding. I noted many shuttered businesses and storefronts. In no time the Marriott was in view. In fact, I found out later that my cabby could have driven there if he'd approached from the other side of the distressed area.

The Marriott had reopened only the week before and was still in a state of disrepair. The hotel's elegant grand entrance was still closed due to reconstruction and access could be gained only from two small doors on the side on the hotel. However, once inside, I was greeted warmly by helpful people at every turn. Fresh architectural woodworking and furnishings added to the feeling of renewal.

Room 2102

I checked into Room 2102 and immediately went to the window facing the WTC. My view of the ruins was only slightly obscured. Just below me was the sobering visage of 16 acres of devastation (now four stories deep) that looked more like an old quarry. I imagined the horrific scene through this window on that late summer day.

I decided to go to the "viewing platform," which city officials opened on Dec. 29 and was located about three blocks from my hotel. The somber demeanor of the hundreds of people waiting their turn to get on the platform was akin to those who line up to pay last respects at a wake. And the thousands of sidewalk memorials on display along the western side of Broadway were absolutely heart-wrenching. Even though it looked like a quarry or construction site, the memorials were a reminder that the WTC will always be hallowed ground.

No doubt New York will rebound. But what will become of those 16 acres? The legal and emotional battles in the aftermath of 9-11 will ultimately spawn a dramatic new version of the city's skyline and spiritual core. But it will take time--perhaps a generation or a lifetime -- as one New Yorker told me.