There were times when the Republican National Convention looked more like a Florida State University Seminoles game than a political rally.

Delegates quickly caught on to waving their arms back and forth -- like a sideways version of the Seminoles' famous tomahawk chop -- whenever Republican speakers claimed Sen. John Kerry vacillated on issues.

"Flip-flop, flip-flop," the delegates would shout as they swayed their arms to and fro. Vice President Dick Cheney's speech was interrupted a few times as the crowd chided Kerry.

Some delegates wore "flip- flop" buttons that showed a picture of Kerry, then the same one upside down.

Dave Kelly saw a business opportunity.

Kelly, from Tennessee, had 2,000 pairs of flip-flops made with Kerry's face right where the foot goes. He was selling the Chinese-made shoes at delegations' hotels for $10 each. One man liked them so much he bought a pair for every delegate at the convention.

His sign encouraging sales read: "Caution: may change direction at any time."

Sales were brisk, he said.

The wave

One delegate called it "The New York wave."

With extraordinary security measures at the convention, delegates had to show their hotel keys six times to get into the California delegation's hotel. Thus, "the New York wave."

The delegation hired its own security force to guide the delegates through the maze of New York and keep the ever-present protesters at bay.

Protesters could easily spot delegates by the passes they wore around their neck, so many quickly learned to take them off when walking the 10 blocks from the Times Square hotel to Madison Square Garden.

Billionaires for Bush

Don't judge a billionaire by her dress.

At least, if that billionaire is Iona Jetta.

Jetta, aka Melanie Chopko, was part of the protest group "Billionaires for Bush," which was stationed outside the ritzy Waldorf-Astoria hotel. The group lampooned the president, saying his tax cuts help them stay rich.

Though some in the group are allegedly really billionaires, Chopko, of Brooklyn, was not one of them.

As she mocked delegates coming out the hotel, she wore a pink dress that at least looked expensive. It wasn't.

"I bought it for a dollar on the street," she said.

Live from New York

It was only fitting that in the city that spawned the phrase "girlie man," it would come to life again here.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used the phrase to taunt Democratic lawmakers a few weeks ago and caught lots of flak from the opposition, who claimed the remark was sexist and anti-gay. The phrase was coined on "Saturday Night Live," which is filmed in New York.

Schwarzenegger called upon the phrase during his speech Tuesday night and delegates wore "No Girlie Men" buttons on their shirts.

At a press conference Thursday, Schwarzenegger told a political columnist to lighten up on his criticism of the governor using the phrase.

"It's a very effective phrase," he said.

A moment of silence

The chatter stopped when the cab did.

The three women had been talking about the convention, life back in California and restaurants until the cab finally pulled up to ground zero. Then they talking stopped.

"I got a chill," said Leslie Cornejo, a delegate from Oxnard.

Where two buildings once blocked out the sun now was a clear, blue sky. The pit that held the ruins of the towers was emptied and now filling up again with concrete and patches of grass. Workers were building something in its place.

The women leaned on the fence, talking of where they were on the day the world changed. The sound of jackhammers mixed with honking drivers. At least three different languages could be heard.

Cornejo talked about the time she stood on top of New York's tallest building.

"It was so tall it was scary," she said.

Long minutes of silence arrived between quick questions of what is going to be there, what the buildings once looked like.

Protesters shared the sidewalk with delegates and a man who yells out facts about the day, how every window within four blocks was blown out.

"Learn your facts," the man yelled, a tip jar dangling from his hip.

Cornejo took it all in.

"I love humanity," she said.