story1117.xml
Title
story1117.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-08-19
911DA Story: Story
I originally posted this on Askme.com's Atheism board, where I am a frequent contributor under the name "Andiri".
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Just wanted to say that I witnessed the attack on the WTC, and I'm okay. I take a subway that stops at the WTC every day. The first plane hit while I was in the station; the second when I was a few blocks away. When the first tower collapsed I joined the flood of refugees walking up along the East River toward Midtown.
And yes, there remain atheists in foxholes.
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The first plane actually hit just as the train was pulling into the station. I recall a slight thump. My first impression was that there had been another transformer fire; there had been one a few months earlier, and the filling of the station with smoke seemed similar. The police were hustling us out of the station, and I recall being puzzled by people who were loitering, perhaps waiting to meet up with others. I headed out as quickly as possible, worried that there was a spreading fire. It wasn't until I was out of the building and saw the "snow" of debris that I realized that there had been an explosion far up on the building. I thought it might have been a bomb but could have been an accident. The police were asking people to get away from the base of the tower to make room for rescue workers and besides I was having trouble breathing, so I headed off towards my office near the South Street Seaport. When I was only a few blocks away, I heard the whine of the second plane and caught a glimpse of the explosion as it hit the other tower. That was when I realized what was going on, but there was nothing to do except continue on to the office. Telephone and cell phone service were interrupted, but I was able to contact my wife by AOL IM and reassure her, and of course everyone sat around speculating about what was going on and surfing the web for information. My wife, who worked in 2 Penn Plaza, told me she was leaving early because Penn Station was a possible target. Then we heard people screaming in the street. We went out to see what was going on, and saw a wall of debris from the collapsing towers sweeping through downtown. I was actually more afraid then than I had been earlier. A coworker and I ran to the river, then walked north, looking for a functioning PATH station or even a working phone, but eventually ending up in midtown, where his wife worked. Her office was closed, but she knew a friend farther uptown who was able to let us into her office. Phone service was still poor but I was able to get in touch with friends and family via email, and got in touch with my brother, who lives in Manhattan. We met up and I stayed at his apartment listening to CNN until Mayor Guilliani announced that "diplomatic relations with New Jersey had been restored", as I joked, and I was able to get home.
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Just wanted to say that I witnessed the attack on the WTC, and I'm okay. I take a subway that stops at the WTC every day. The first plane hit while I was in the station; the second when I was a few blocks away. When the first tower collapsed I joined the flood of refugees walking up along the East River toward Midtown.
And yes, there remain atheists in foxholes.
-----------
The first plane actually hit just as the train was pulling into the station. I recall a slight thump. My first impression was that there had been another transformer fire; there had been one a few months earlier, and the filling of the station with smoke seemed similar. The police were hustling us out of the station, and I recall being puzzled by people who were loitering, perhaps waiting to meet up with others. I headed out as quickly as possible, worried that there was a spreading fire. It wasn't until I was out of the building and saw the "snow" of debris that I realized that there had been an explosion far up on the building. I thought it might have been a bomb but could have been an accident. The police were asking people to get away from the base of the tower to make room for rescue workers and besides I was having trouble breathing, so I headed off towards my office near the South Street Seaport. When I was only a few blocks away, I heard the whine of the second plane and caught a glimpse of the explosion as it hit the other tower. That was when I realized what was going on, but there was nothing to do except continue on to the office. Telephone and cell phone service were interrupted, but I was able to contact my wife by AOL IM and reassure her, and of course everyone sat around speculating about what was going on and surfing the web for information. My wife, who worked in 2 Penn Plaza, told me she was leaving early because Penn Station was a possible target. Then we heard people screaming in the street. We went out to see what was going on, and saw a wall of debris from the collapsing towers sweeping through downtown. I was actually more afraid then than I had been earlier. A coworker and I ran to the river, then walked north, looking for a functioning PATH station or even a working phone, but eventually ending up in midtown, where his wife worked. Her office was closed, but she knew a friend farther uptown who was able to let us into her office. Phone service was still poor but I was able to get in touch with friends and family via email, and got in touch with my brother, who lives in Manhattan. We met up and I stayed at his apartment listening to CNN until Mayor Guilliani announced that "diplomatic relations with New Jersey had been restored", as I joked, and I was able to get home.
Collection
Citation
“story1117.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 13, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/15373.