story1377.xml

story1377.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-21

I will never be able to forget the horror I saw when I rounded the corner of Metropolitan Ave. People were staring across the river and my mouth dropped as I saw the towers burning. My hands flew to my face and I called on God. I remember saying to no one in particular "this day will live in infamy like Pearl Harbor" I watched for awhile; people told me it was a terrorist attack. I then went home and put the TV on, only Ch. 2 was broadcasting. I realized that I had to take photographs of this horrendous sight. I took various pictures at different stages crying all the time. After fielding phone calls about my brother who works near the WTC, but was not at work that day, I remembered a third cousin works in the WTC. This cousin was there in 1993 when the terrorists bombed the WTC and he was carried out because he is a parapledgic. To make a long story short, he was carried out, in a special chair he got after 1993 by 9 co-workers who would not leave him there. This was written up in the NJ Star Ledger Oct. 16, 2001. A picture of him being carried is also on photographer Bill Biggerts web site of pictures he took as the towers were coming down. He was killed but pictures were able to be printed from one of his digital cameras.
To this day I cannot pass Metropolitan Ave. without looking towards the city and wishing I could wake up from the nightmare. I try to picture the WTC still there. The 3000 souls and those beautiful buildings are lost but never will be forgotten. They live in our hearts and minds forever.