story1324.xml

story1324.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-20

I will never forget that day, as probably no one else will. I live and work outside of Boston, and happened to be in the women?s lounge when our receptionist popped in to say my husband is on the phone and it?s important. So I very quickly hurried down the hall to a phone. He immediately asked if I was watching the news because a plane had just hit the trade center. I was one of the first people in the office to hear of anything happening. I quickly asked out loud across a room of cubicles if anyone had heard the news and proceeded to ask my husband for more details. You see I had immediately assumed he was talking about the Trade Center in Boston! (Located on the other side of the harbor across from Logan Airport.) At that point he said ?No the WORLD Trade Center in NYC? I was speechless and fell back into the chair. I told him I?d call him back once I found out more. Quickly I logged onto the Internet and asked someone to turn on the TV in the conference room.

I?m a native New Yorker born and raised with family all over the city and long Island. I have cousins who work at offices in the business district, who are firefighters, and policeman in NYC. This was big news- but no one was prepared for what was unfolding. I still at that point only thought of it as an accident- when the Internet froze, I ran to the conference room. People from the office started gathering and we watched in absolute horror- a second plane had already hit and we watched the buildings collapse.

I know the WTC very well, we make yearly trips to the city and it?s always a stop. I?m an architect and engineer so buildings are of particular interest to me. We?ve done silly things like standing against the side of the tall WTC building with our cheeks pressed to the side of the pillars staring up to see if we get dizzy. I remember walking the marble patterned plaza many times and gazing at the sculpture like it was yesterday. I remember riding up and down the escalators and taking pictures in the lobbies. But the only thing I kept remembering while watching the news is ?50,000 people on any given day working there? It?s crazy to think about- so many lives forever changed in one little moment in time!

I broke down and cried- in front of everyone and just kept mumbling- ?all those people?- over and over again. I was more than just shaen up. In Boston the biggest building is Hancock Tower or the Prudential building. What many people didn?t realize was that each tower is at least TWICE the height and THREE times the area. That?s equivalent to FIVE Prudential buildings collapsing in the center of Boston. Incomprehensible! We closed the office early. The ride home was surreal- there was no music on the radio only news?

The rest of the day was spent trying to make phone calls and watching the news- learning about where the planes came from and who was behind this. Not knowing if it was over with? learning about the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. Thankfully also learned that my relatives that are so deeply connected to the WTC area are all safe- shaken up too but safe.

As the anniversary fast approaches and our lives move on, the years will go by but we should never forget whom and what was lost, or how fragile we truly are. We should never forget the good things around us- our family and friends. And to take time to do those silly things in life like pressing your cheek against the side of building and staring up to see if you get dizzy- the opportunity might not be there tomorrow.

I will try to live today a little better than yesterday.