story5644.xml
Title
story5644.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-11
911DA Story: Story
My name is Jan Pasquale and I work at HBO (Home Box Office) in mid-town Manhatten, 42st and 6th avenue. That morning I arrived at Grand Central at about 5 minute past 9am and made my usual walk up 42nd st.
The day was an extremely important for HBO as we were going to get the Nielsen ratings for the first part of our mini-series, "Band of Brothers" which aired that past Sunday. I was expecting a big press day, spinning our success for such a great program.
My thoughts were pre-occupied as to how we position the movie, when approaching 5th ave and 42st, there was an unusually large crowd of people looking up toward the sky downtown. It takes a lot to get New Yorkers to stop for something so the crowd definitely grabbed my interest.
Looking up I saw that one of the Twin Towers had smoke coming from the top of it. I asked someone what had happened and they said that a plane had hit the tower. The towers are fairly far from mid-town and the smoke, at that point, did not seem overwhelming. In fact, I thought a small plane had hit the tower and that it would be quickly brought under control. I remember feeling sorry for the few people on the plane who probably got killed and hoped that not too many people got hurt in the building.
I then hurried to my office building to get the ratings. Seeing that I am in the media business, I turned on my television to the usual channel - HBO. As HBO does not carry news, I still had no idea what had just transpired. My main concern was getting the ratings for "Band of Brothers".
When the second plane hit the tower, other people on my floor started coming into the hallway to ask if anyone had heard what was happening. I switched my television to one of the major broadcast networks and became shocked at events. About the same time, the head of HBO at that time, (Jeff Bewkes) and the head of marketing (John Billock), called me to ask what the ratings and promotional points were for "Band". I remember thinking, "Are they kidding, don't they realize what is going on outside?" How could any media even care about our program.
As soon as I got off the phone, I called my wife, Karen, who was at work in Ridgefield, Ct. She had no idea what was going on, never mind the severity of it. My window faces Byant Park (next to the public Library) and The Empire State Building. The skyline is downtown, facing the World Trade Center. Smoke was billowing up over the buildings, covering the entire skyline. There were constant sirens and crowds of people in the street. In the background, the news coverage was scrambling to get a handle on what was happening with a shot of the Two Towers on fire in the background. It was surreal.
I told my wife that I would call her back as soon as I could get more information. I remember calling my parents down in Beverly Hills Florida. While talking to them, the first building collapsed. Later there was another rumor that a plane had struck the Pentagon and another had hit the capitol.
After I told my parents that I was okay, I called my wife back and told her what had happened. She wanted to know if we were evacuating. I told her we were told to stay put as the bridges and tunnels were closed. Grand Central was being evacuated.
Here I was, in the middle of so many landmarks. I was surrounded by Grand Central, The Empire State Building, Times Square, and Rockefeller Center. No one knew what was going to happen next. We felt like we under attack, yet it didn't seem real. There was no place to go and I could only sit in my office and stare in disbelief at the chaos outside and on my television.
People began to leave HBO around noon, if they lived in the city. Other people in my office were trying to reach people they knew that worked down at the Towers. I was trying locate one person from IT who commutes by the Towers and when no one had heard from him and I had earlier expected to have a conference call with him. He was heard from much later that day.
I felt sick to my stomach by 1pm having heard, seen, felt and smelled the disaster. It was obvious that so many people had died as the Trade Centers typically have well over 10,000 people on any given day. The sirens all day long had begun to unnerve me, as well as seeing the horrendous events taking place at the towers. We had already heard of people jumping. A woman in my group had heard that a close freind of hers had spoken to their friend in the Trade Towers, just before it collapsed. He was stuck on his floor and never made it. Another woman in my group had a friend who was a fireman, and he was missing.
He also perished that day.
By mid-afternoon, Grand Central had re-opened. I left to go home, selfishly worrying about the abspestos in the air and what kind of delay we would have on the trains. I remember looking at the people who had finally made it from downtown to mid-town. Their clothes were covered in ash and their faces white from shock and exhaustion. I remember sitting on the train and noticing looking at the shoes to see which people were from downtown. Finally, the shock wore off and it took every ounce of energy not to breakdown and cry for all that had transpired.
When I got home, I was so thankful that I was alright. I also began to feel guilty for not going downtown to see how I could help. My daughter gave me the biggest hug I have ever received and I got so choked up. I was so happy to see my wife and kids, yet I was so depressed by what I had experienced that day (and days/months to come).
The surealness continued that evening as I had forgotten that the roter rooter man was at our house to clear up a major drain problem. He and I were dealing with this drain well into the night. It seemed so insignificant and I was just operating on auto pilot.
People out of the city can have no sense as to what that environement was like in NYC that day. Just as I have no sense as to what the people near and in the Trade Centers went through that day. It scars you for life and has created such a sadness for humanity to see what people are capable of doing to one another.
However that day, and days to come, showed me the compassion of many people. It fostered great pride in our nation. It brought family values to the foreground and pushed greed to the back. There has been much good to come out of this tumultuous time. Although there is still much evil that exists. I believe that the human spirit will remain strong and overcome the ills of man. Life still has many great moments to share with us.
The day was an extremely important for HBO as we were going to get the Nielsen ratings for the first part of our mini-series, "Band of Brothers" which aired that past Sunday. I was expecting a big press day, spinning our success for such a great program.
My thoughts were pre-occupied as to how we position the movie, when approaching 5th ave and 42st, there was an unusually large crowd of people looking up toward the sky downtown. It takes a lot to get New Yorkers to stop for something so the crowd definitely grabbed my interest.
Looking up I saw that one of the Twin Towers had smoke coming from the top of it. I asked someone what had happened and they said that a plane had hit the tower. The towers are fairly far from mid-town and the smoke, at that point, did not seem overwhelming. In fact, I thought a small plane had hit the tower and that it would be quickly brought under control. I remember feeling sorry for the few people on the plane who probably got killed and hoped that not too many people got hurt in the building.
I then hurried to my office building to get the ratings. Seeing that I am in the media business, I turned on my television to the usual channel - HBO. As HBO does not carry news, I still had no idea what had just transpired. My main concern was getting the ratings for "Band of Brothers".
When the second plane hit the tower, other people on my floor started coming into the hallway to ask if anyone had heard what was happening. I switched my television to one of the major broadcast networks and became shocked at events. About the same time, the head of HBO at that time, (Jeff Bewkes) and the head of marketing (John Billock), called me to ask what the ratings and promotional points were for "Band". I remember thinking, "Are they kidding, don't they realize what is going on outside?" How could any media even care about our program.
As soon as I got off the phone, I called my wife, Karen, who was at work in Ridgefield, Ct. She had no idea what was going on, never mind the severity of it. My window faces Byant Park (next to the public Library) and The Empire State Building. The skyline is downtown, facing the World Trade Center. Smoke was billowing up over the buildings, covering the entire skyline. There were constant sirens and crowds of people in the street. In the background, the news coverage was scrambling to get a handle on what was happening with a shot of the Two Towers on fire in the background. It was surreal.
I told my wife that I would call her back as soon as I could get more information. I remember calling my parents down in Beverly Hills Florida. While talking to them, the first building collapsed. Later there was another rumor that a plane had struck the Pentagon and another had hit the capitol.
After I told my parents that I was okay, I called my wife back and told her what had happened. She wanted to know if we were evacuating. I told her we were told to stay put as the bridges and tunnels were closed. Grand Central was being evacuated.
Here I was, in the middle of so many landmarks. I was surrounded by Grand Central, The Empire State Building, Times Square, and Rockefeller Center. No one knew what was going to happen next. We felt like we under attack, yet it didn't seem real. There was no place to go and I could only sit in my office and stare in disbelief at the chaos outside and on my television.
People began to leave HBO around noon, if they lived in the city. Other people in my office were trying to reach people they knew that worked down at the Towers. I was trying locate one person from IT who commutes by the Towers and when no one had heard from him and I had earlier expected to have a conference call with him. He was heard from much later that day.
I felt sick to my stomach by 1pm having heard, seen, felt and smelled the disaster. It was obvious that so many people had died as the Trade Centers typically have well over 10,000 people on any given day. The sirens all day long had begun to unnerve me, as well as seeing the horrendous events taking place at the towers. We had already heard of people jumping. A woman in my group had heard that a close freind of hers had spoken to their friend in the Trade Towers, just before it collapsed. He was stuck on his floor and never made it. Another woman in my group had a friend who was a fireman, and he was missing.
He also perished that day.
By mid-afternoon, Grand Central had re-opened. I left to go home, selfishly worrying about the abspestos in the air and what kind of delay we would have on the trains. I remember looking at the people who had finally made it from downtown to mid-town. Their clothes were covered in ash and their faces white from shock and exhaustion. I remember sitting on the train and noticing looking at the shoes to see which people were from downtown. Finally, the shock wore off and it took every ounce of energy not to breakdown and cry for all that had transpired.
When I got home, I was so thankful that I was alright. I also began to feel guilty for not going downtown to see how I could help. My daughter gave me the biggest hug I have ever received and I got so choked up. I was so happy to see my wife and kids, yet I was so depressed by what I had experienced that day (and days/months to come).
The surealness continued that evening as I had forgotten that the roter rooter man was at our house to clear up a major drain problem. He and I were dealing with this drain well into the night. It seemed so insignificant and I was just operating on auto pilot.
People out of the city can have no sense as to what that environement was like in NYC that day. Just as I have no sense as to what the people near and in the Trade Centers went through that day. It scars you for life and has created such a sadness for humanity to see what people are capable of doing to one another.
However that day, and days to come, showed me the compassion of many people. It fostered great pride in our nation. It brought family values to the foreground and pushed greed to the back. There has been much good to come out of this tumultuous time. Although there is still much evil that exists. I believe that the human spirit will remain strong and overcome the ills of man. Life still has many great moments to share with us.
Collection
Citation
“story5644.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed April 13, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/12523.