story595.xml

story595.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-05-14

I got to work early that morning and I was on the phone with a friend discussing how we were going to get to the Yankees game with our 2 sons the next evening. She lives on 34th St. and 2nd Avenue and has a clear view south. As we were talking, she said, "You are not going to believe it, but I just saw a plane fly into the WTC." I thought, "That's wierd, must be an accident." We kept on talking. Ten minute later, she called back to say, "Another plane just flew into the WTC. I called you because I didn't know what else to do."

I knew it was terrorism. I tried calling my son's school and couldn't get through and then tried my husband's office and couldn't get through. Just then, my assistant walked in and her face was ashen. I said, "Did you hear what happened?" and she replied, "I saw it from the subway coming in from Brooklyn." I told her, "If you can't get home, come to my house." And I flew out the door.

I raced toward my son's school. I will never forget standing on the corner of 34th St and Park Avenue South, looking south at the mushroom-like cloud in the distance. At that point, groups of people had gathered on every corner, but many people did not know what had happened--they thought it was a fire or something.

I was one of the first parents to reach my son's school. There I learned the Pentagon had been attacked. I wanted to take some of my son's friends home but the school wouldn't let me (afterward, they changed their policy...). My son and I walked home in a daze. By the time we reached home the towers had already fallen. We spent the morning staring at the awful events of the day on TV. Then, I went into my bedroom which faces south and saw that the towers were gone.

I truly felt that our lives might end that day but at least I was at home with my son. After living in NYC for over 20 years, I finally understood what it meant to live on an island...

My husband had stayed at work to help victims. His office is right below Canal Street and peopled streamed uptown looking for phones, bathrooms, bandages.

Later, when we left the house I noticed a man who looked homeless. His clothes were in tatters and he was covered with ash. It took me a few minutes to realize he had been at ground zero.

Then we saw 100's and 100's of people streaming up First Avenue on foot. I'll never forget how over 3000 people perished from my city on such a brilliantly gorgeous fall day in September.