story3431.xml
Title
story3431.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-11
911DA Story: Story
My wife called as soon as the report came on televsion. She told me that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center Towers. I told my coworkers, and all who had radios turned them on. We pretty much unanimously thought it was a just a terrible accident until shortly thereafter when we heard that a second plane crashed into the other tower, the South Tower.
The worst part about this day was knowing that we had offices (and a couple hundred employees) in the South Tower.
We, like most I suppose, were very confused for a while; we just had no idea what the heck had just happened. The next thing we knew our building was evacuated and we all stood around outside wondering what to do.
After a half-hour or so the building security guard advised that the mayor had suggested we all leave town. There was a mass exodus from Cleveland, and within a couple of hours our town looked a lot like a ghost town. It was eerie.
Our company lost twelve people in New York that day. One of them was a close work associate, Carlos Cortez. A nicer, kinder person would be hard to find. His work ethic probably contributed to his untimely death. We all believe he went back to work that morning instead of leaving the tower.
Four days after 911 I ran 100 miles in memory of Carlos. It took 23 hours and 11 minutes to do it.
The worst part about this day was knowing that we had offices (and a couple hundred employees) in the South Tower.
We, like most I suppose, were very confused for a while; we just had no idea what the heck had just happened. The next thing we knew our building was evacuated and we all stood around outside wondering what to do.
After a half-hour or so the building security guard advised that the mayor had suggested we all leave town. There was a mass exodus from Cleveland, and within a couple of hours our town looked a lot like a ghost town. It was eerie.
Our company lost twelve people in New York that day. One of them was a close work associate, Carlos Cortez. A nicer, kinder person would be hard to find. His work ethic probably contributed to his untimely death. We all believe he went back to work that morning instead of leaving the tower.
Four days after 911 I ran 100 miles in memory of Carlos. It took 23 hours and 11 minutes to do it.
Collection
Citation
“story3431.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 11, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/11771.