story3087.xml

story3087.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I saw the events on the internet and tv as I was getting ready for work. My husband works at The American Craft Museum in New York City. He works in the basement of the building where all of the offices are located. They had no phone service, cell phones were not working, no tv. They did have a Bloomberg radio (a free promotional radio) that someone had. They had no idea if the city was going to be bombed and didn't know if they should leave or stay in the building. There was a quick announcement on the radio that the Long Island Railroad would reopen for a very short time. My husband raced twenty-five blocks to the station. 1500 people were waiting to get in. There were policeman everywhere. As they were waiting, a plane flew overhead and everyone looked up at once, terrified at first, but happy to find out that it wasn't another attack. They let one person into the huge train station at a time. My husband sat on the train for an hour and then they let the trains leave. Shortly afterward, the train station was closed.

My husband arrived home at about 3:30. When I saw him I cried my eyes out. He stayed home for the next two days and the museum had no phone service for a few months after.
He always walks from the train station to work now and almost never takes the subway, as a safety precaution.