story6509.xml

story6509.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

I am the front office supervisor at the Capitol Plaza Hotel.Upon returning from a break I heard that an airliner had just hit one of the world trade center towers. My heart jumped in my mouth. My daughter Kari lives a few blocks from the trade center. By the time I returned to the desk, I discovered another plane had hit the south tower. The desk area has a TV for guests. Needless to say, I tuned in to find out what was going on. As I am watching, my wife phones from her place of work very distraught about Kari. As a Christian, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me at that moment, "I'll take care of Kari, you take care of Judy"(my wife).
Judy returned to our home and kept the phone lines open.
For the next few hours we answered concerned friends and family as best we could as to how our daughter was doing.
One friend phone from Austria and others from over the U.S.
Our concern was that she told us the previous week, that she thought on Tuesday she would go get her books and the antivirus software for her new computer, and then go look around the trade center. Several hours later we discovered, that her class at New School University had interviewed Bruce Willis and ran late into the early AM hours and she had slept in that morning. She was in her apartment dorm.
Greatly relieved at her being alive, we kept hearing from her sporadically because of communications breakdown. Her room mate's father worked on the 72nd floor and she was also dealing with a distraught companion. By the time Building 7 collasped the National Guard evacuated her building. For the next several hours we again heard from her as they moved them from building to building due to bomb threats. As we watched the TV broadcast we could hear the local sounds in the background everytime Kari phoned.
By the early AM of September 13, we could speak with her. We discovered that she and her companion had returned to her companion's parents home. Her father had survived and they were trying to rest. We celebrated with that lengthy phone call and were pleased to tell her of the many friends inquiries and prayers. She was touched and replied (I'm paraphrasing now)I love you all. God's presence got us through, but pray for the people who didn't make it. It was terrible. When I heard the noise, I grumbled about the noisy city. Later I realized they were running for their lives. One of these days, I'm gonna take some pictures to show my children someday of what hate can do.
Judy and I understand the term running because we were also running;definately not the same literal sense of people in NY but running none the less. Our family was changing and we had no control. We couldn't get to NY to help Kari nor even if we could get to NY we couldn't get in. Even after we knew Kari was alive and in the presence of a caring home away from home, we slept very little. Little things disturbed our rest and would for the next few days; a flash of light, the noise of a neighbor next door. At one point I turned on the attic fan in our hallway off from our bed room and my wife bolted out of bed calling my name and saying she heard an airplane coming at our home. The next minute she realized all was well.
It has been a year now and by the grace of God there was a September 13 for us in 2001 and one in 2002. Our family will never be the same but we go on. Our hearts go out to the families of others that day that will also never be the same and some of them will not go on. Thank you for taking time to read our story. God took care of us and He will take care of you.