story2037.xml
Title
story2037.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-10
911DA Story: Story
I got in to work, and upon looking out the window, saw lots of what looked like tin foil floating in the air. I joked to myself (mostly), "What's going on? Is (Mayor Rudy) Giuliani celebrating not having to have the headaches of New York City on his head any more?". Then someone said a plane had hit the WTC. The reaction was almost universal: "Yeah, RIGHT!", and then someone turned on a small TV, and we found out it was true.
I thought it might have been an accident - maybe a pilot suffering a heart attack or something like that -- and I went outside. I was standing on the corner of Elk and Chambers Streets, watching the North Tower burning, with two holes in its east and northeast corners, black smoke POURING out of it,when all of a sudden there was a TREMENDOUS EXPLOSION, and a HUGE FIREBALL erupted from the east side of the South Tower.
I will never forget them! I was surprised I didn't FEEL the heat of the fireball! Of course, at that time everyone knew this was no accident! I returned to my office, grabbed all my things, and went to the Brooklyn Bridge subway station on Reade and Lafayette Streets, not knowing whether the subways were still running. I was lucky to get on what very well may have been the very last No. 4 (or 5) train running northbound before the subway system was shut down. On the ride home, I remember the shock of all my fellow riders. Everyone was kind of numb. I kept telling people "Welcome to Israel," to tell them this was the daily fare of the people of Israel.
When I got home, I watched the collapse of the towers on my neighbor's TV. I couldn't believe it! I don't think anyone other than the buildings' architect and engineers ever DREAMED the towers would collapse!!!!!
Jay W. (Yaakov) Kayman
I thought it might have been an accident - maybe a pilot suffering a heart attack or something like that -- and I went outside. I was standing on the corner of Elk and Chambers Streets, watching the North Tower burning, with two holes in its east and northeast corners, black smoke POURING out of it,when all of a sudden there was a TREMENDOUS EXPLOSION, and a HUGE FIREBALL erupted from the east side of the South Tower.
I will never forget them! I was surprised I didn't FEEL the heat of the fireball! Of course, at that time everyone knew this was no accident! I returned to my office, grabbed all my things, and went to the Brooklyn Bridge subway station on Reade and Lafayette Streets, not knowing whether the subways were still running. I was lucky to get on what very well may have been the very last No. 4 (or 5) train running northbound before the subway system was shut down. On the ride home, I remember the shock of all my fellow riders. Everyone was kind of numb. I kept telling people "Welcome to Israel," to tell them this was the daily fare of the people of Israel.
When I got home, I watched the collapse of the towers on my neighbor's TV. I couldn't believe it! I don't think anyone other than the buildings' architect and engineers ever DREAMED the towers would collapse!!!!!
Jay W. (Yaakov) Kayman
Collection
Citation
“story2037.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 10, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/12202.