story1706.xml

story1706.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-03

On 9/11, I left at 7:00 AM on Amtrack Penn Station on a train which was to arrive in Baltimroe 9:21, to attend a biotechnology convention. I mormally like to travel by air, but my travel agent convinced me to take the train on this day. At 9:05 AM, after a pleasant ride, I picked up my cell phone and called my office. I told Victoria, my assistant to call our travel agent and thank him for suggesting the train. The ride had been pleasant. During our conversation, Victoria apologized and asked me to hold on since she had to take an emergency call. She got back to me a few minutes later and said the emergency call was my daughter, Karyn. Karyn was sitting at her desk on the 46th floor of the McGraw Hill building when she looked out and saw a plane hit into one of the twin towers. Said to Victoria, "I spoke to my Mom last night, and I know she is travleing today, I think to Baltimore. But tell me is she on a plane or a train - I didn't pay attention to her. Victoria said, she is on a train and I have her holding on her cell phone now. What's up Karyn? While Victoria and Karyn were speaking Karyn missed seeing the second plane hit the second tower. However, Karyn had seen enough and has had enough nightmares with the sight she had seen.

While I was checking into my hotel in Baltimore, there was a big commotion in the lobby, and I found out that the Pentagon had just been hit. So I had the news of hits on both ends.
It was unreal, the twin towers and the Pentagon in one day.

One of my colleagues who left Penn Station at 7:30 was forced off Amtrack in Phildadelphia, and he had to stay over at a hotel in Philadelphia. Amtrack closed down. There were bomb threats at the convention center and when the expo hall was open we were all either saying prayers or gathered by televsions to see the news.

When I finally was able to return to New York and I saw from the train the NY skyline from the Jersey side, it was an awesome sight to see what appaered to be a large pillow of smoke around this wound where the twin towers once stood tall. Seeing it with my own eyes was not anything at all like what I had seen on TV. When I got out at Penn Station, the air quality was very poor.

I cried for New York. It was so sad. It was the end of innocence for everyone in the country.