story10860.xml
Title
story10860.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2004-09-10
911DA Story: Story
A recap of my work day on September 11, 2001 in mid-town Manhattan.
8:10am - Sat down at my desk, 22oz. coffee and a corn muffin.
8:56am - Got up from my desk and headed for the kitchen microwave to heat up what was left of my coffee (as I always do). This is where the best view of the towers is and I usually take a glance at it every day while my coffee is heating up. Taking notice to the smoke, I stood and stared along with a few others questioning and guessing about what was going on at the WTC.
9:05am ? 3 of us watched as the 2nd plane crashed into the south tower. People in the office started running around frantically; before I knew it 20 of us were in the kitchen. I couldn?t stay there any longer, had to find out what the hell was going on.
9:15am - Went to talk to the boss.....lent me his radio.......headed back to my office...... sat and listened, while my family and friends used AOL Instant Messenger telling me what I saw from the kitchen window. Heard on the radio that all the bridges and tunnels were closed in and out of the city.........made some phone calls to family & friends before the phones cut out.
9:45am - Radio reported a third aircraft had hit the Pentagon. U.S. Capital begins to evacuate.
10:00am - Heard someone in the office yell that one of the Towers had collapsed, I had to see it with my own eyes.
10:10am - Office meeting to take a head count and talk about what to do, office is now closed.
10:15am - Went to the roof, spent the next 15 minutes on the roof waiting for the dust clouds from the first tower to clear. Up there I heard the second boom and watched the North Tower crash to the ground, that's when I began to run. The thought that either of the towers would crumble to the ground never even crossed my mind. (actually, I remember thinking about how they would ever go about fixing the hole and what the hole would look like when the fires were put out). Seeing them burn is one thing, but to see them crumble to the ground scared me.
10:29am - Back to my office to call home, phones were now completly dead, went to the stairwell to make my way down to the street and up to Penn Station to see if the trains were running before it was too late. 7th Ave. was at a stand still, running around all the cars and people, I looked down the street towards the towers, all I could see was smoke and all I could hear were sirens.
10:42am - Frantic, I ran around inside Penn Station to find out if the trains were still running. They announced one more train was leaving and that it wouldn?t leave without you. Track 15, down the stairs the train was still there, it seemed there was no room left on the train, but I managed to squeeze myself on, half of my body outside the door I held on.
10:48am - Train door finally closed and jammed packed on the last train to Jersey, I began to sweat profusely. After about another 8 minutes they told us the train was not going to leave, Penn Station is now closed, please exit the building immediately. Off to the ATM machine in Penn Station for cash, I had no idea what to do or expect next.
11:05am ? Not wanting to waste time, I began to run again, making my way up to the street level onto W33rd. Thinking I better get away from the Empire State Bldg. (on 34th & 5th) I headed towards the Hudson River. Running too close to the Post Office (which was surrounded by men with guns) I was stopped by 2 Police Officers that thought I was some kind of nut. How was I to know there was was a bomb scare there.
11:10am - Standing in a line of thousands holding cell phones at the 38th St. pier near the Javits Center, I waited to board a NY Waterway Ferry to NJ. Watching F16 fighters fly above and an endless line of emergency vehicles headed south, all I could do was wait and hope they wouldn?t shut down my last hope of getting off the Island. I honestly contemplated swimming to NJ.
11:50am - As I boarded the John Stevens, they announced we weren?t going to Hoboken (where the trains are) and that we were headed for Weehawken (Port Imperial?). We were told there would be buses waiting at the pier to take us to Hoboken. Standing at the stern of the overcrowded boat I watched as smoke billowed for miles and thought about all the innocent lives that were lost in the rubble.
12:05pm - Thank God, I made it to NJ, as we all disembarked, EMS workers were getting on. Walking to the parking area I saw the line for the bus to Hoboken.....no way was I was going to stand in another line, so asked for directions and began to walk towards Hoboken, hopefully get a train anywhere near my car or home.
12:30pm?? ? Exhausted both physically and mentally, dehydrated and tired of walking in the hot sun, I thought why not hitch hike, so I did. Picked up by an older gentlemen in an SUV, he noticed my disarray along with all the sweat and turned the air conditioning on high for me. I explained to him my situation and he happily agreed to drive me as far as he could in the direction of Hoboken.
12:40pm - Dropped off and a bit cooled off somewhere along Park Ave. in Hoboken, I began walking again, looking for a pay phone or someone?s cell phone I could borrow, I stumbled upon a restaurant that looked to be closed. Knocking on the door the women inside agreed to let me in and let me use the phone, but no luck, still couldn?t get through to home.
12:48pm - On the corner of Washington St. and ? in Hoboken, I found a payphone, this time it went through. I spoke with my Dad, told him where I was, my situation and what I was planning on doing from that point forward.
12:51pm - I entered the bar near the payphone, had a large shot of bourbon (Knob Creek) and headed down the street. Stop for a slice of pizza and a bottle of water, then slowly walked towards the Hoboken train station.
1:30pm ? I was told by a local police officer the trains were running again and made my way into the station. Before entering the station I noticed a triage set up right outside where they were helping all the injured from NY, I couldn?t look. Hoboken is the first stop on the PATH train into NJ, so a good part of the injured that made it out of the WTC ended up here. So that?s why the boat didn?t go to Hoboken.
2:11pm - The train finally left the terminal and headed for Newark because at that time the trains weren?t going to New Brunswick something to do with the electricity I guess. Looking out the train window, back at the city, that cloud of smoke seemed to stretch for hundreds of miles. The beautiful blue sky that started the day, was gone.
3:00pm - Finally a train arrives in Newark to take us all south, down the Northeast Corridor towards Trenton, hopefully stopping at New Brunswick where my car was parked. On the train I spoke with a man who work in the WTC for 22 years at Morgan Stanley, I?ll never forget his face as he told of the whole ordeal.
3:50pm - Arriving in New Brunswick, I got in my car and cautiously drove home thinking of all those innocent people who were just going to work making a living, died for no reason at all. How fortunate I was to be alive, going home to my family and friends.
4:20pm - Home at last.
8:10am - Sat down at my desk, 22oz. coffee and a corn muffin.
8:56am - Got up from my desk and headed for the kitchen microwave to heat up what was left of my coffee (as I always do). This is where the best view of the towers is and I usually take a glance at it every day while my coffee is heating up. Taking notice to the smoke, I stood and stared along with a few others questioning and guessing about what was going on at the WTC.
9:05am ? 3 of us watched as the 2nd plane crashed into the south tower. People in the office started running around frantically; before I knew it 20 of us were in the kitchen. I couldn?t stay there any longer, had to find out what the hell was going on.
9:15am - Went to talk to the boss.....lent me his radio.......headed back to my office...... sat and listened, while my family and friends used AOL Instant Messenger telling me what I saw from the kitchen window. Heard on the radio that all the bridges and tunnels were closed in and out of the city.........made some phone calls to family & friends before the phones cut out.
9:45am - Radio reported a third aircraft had hit the Pentagon. U.S. Capital begins to evacuate.
10:00am - Heard someone in the office yell that one of the Towers had collapsed, I had to see it with my own eyes.
10:10am - Office meeting to take a head count and talk about what to do, office is now closed.
10:15am - Went to the roof, spent the next 15 minutes on the roof waiting for the dust clouds from the first tower to clear. Up there I heard the second boom and watched the North Tower crash to the ground, that's when I began to run. The thought that either of the towers would crumble to the ground never even crossed my mind. (actually, I remember thinking about how they would ever go about fixing the hole and what the hole would look like when the fires were put out). Seeing them burn is one thing, but to see them crumble to the ground scared me.
10:29am - Back to my office to call home, phones were now completly dead, went to the stairwell to make my way down to the street and up to Penn Station to see if the trains were running before it was too late. 7th Ave. was at a stand still, running around all the cars and people, I looked down the street towards the towers, all I could see was smoke and all I could hear were sirens.
10:42am - Frantic, I ran around inside Penn Station to find out if the trains were still running. They announced one more train was leaving and that it wouldn?t leave without you. Track 15, down the stairs the train was still there, it seemed there was no room left on the train, but I managed to squeeze myself on, half of my body outside the door I held on.
10:48am - Train door finally closed and jammed packed on the last train to Jersey, I began to sweat profusely. After about another 8 minutes they told us the train was not going to leave, Penn Station is now closed, please exit the building immediately. Off to the ATM machine in Penn Station for cash, I had no idea what to do or expect next.
11:05am ? Not wanting to waste time, I began to run again, making my way up to the street level onto W33rd. Thinking I better get away from the Empire State Bldg. (on 34th & 5th) I headed towards the Hudson River. Running too close to the Post Office (which was surrounded by men with guns) I was stopped by 2 Police Officers that thought I was some kind of nut. How was I to know there was was a bomb scare there.
11:10am - Standing in a line of thousands holding cell phones at the 38th St. pier near the Javits Center, I waited to board a NY Waterway Ferry to NJ. Watching F16 fighters fly above and an endless line of emergency vehicles headed south, all I could do was wait and hope they wouldn?t shut down my last hope of getting off the Island. I honestly contemplated swimming to NJ.
11:50am - As I boarded the John Stevens, they announced we weren?t going to Hoboken (where the trains are) and that we were headed for Weehawken (Port Imperial?). We were told there would be buses waiting at the pier to take us to Hoboken. Standing at the stern of the overcrowded boat I watched as smoke billowed for miles and thought about all the innocent lives that were lost in the rubble.
12:05pm - Thank God, I made it to NJ, as we all disembarked, EMS workers were getting on. Walking to the parking area I saw the line for the bus to Hoboken.....no way was I was going to stand in another line, so asked for directions and began to walk towards Hoboken, hopefully get a train anywhere near my car or home.
12:30pm?? ? Exhausted both physically and mentally, dehydrated and tired of walking in the hot sun, I thought why not hitch hike, so I did. Picked up by an older gentlemen in an SUV, he noticed my disarray along with all the sweat and turned the air conditioning on high for me. I explained to him my situation and he happily agreed to drive me as far as he could in the direction of Hoboken.
12:40pm - Dropped off and a bit cooled off somewhere along Park Ave. in Hoboken, I began walking again, looking for a pay phone or someone?s cell phone I could borrow, I stumbled upon a restaurant that looked to be closed. Knocking on the door the women inside agreed to let me in and let me use the phone, but no luck, still couldn?t get through to home.
12:48pm - On the corner of Washington St. and ? in Hoboken, I found a payphone, this time it went through. I spoke with my Dad, told him where I was, my situation and what I was planning on doing from that point forward.
12:51pm - I entered the bar near the payphone, had a large shot of bourbon (Knob Creek) and headed down the street. Stop for a slice of pizza and a bottle of water, then slowly walked towards the Hoboken train station.
1:30pm ? I was told by a local police officer the trains were running again and made my way into the station. Before entering the station I noticed a triage set up right outside where they were helping all the injured from NY, I couldn?t look. Hoboken is the first stop on the PATH train into NJ, so a good part of the injured that made it out of the WTC ended up here. So that?s why the boat didn?t go to Hoboken.
2:11pm - The train finally left the terminal and headed for Newark because at that time the trains weren?t going to New Brunswick something to do with the electricity I guess. Looking out the train window, back at the city, that cloud of smoke seemed to stretch for hundreds of miles. The beautiful blue sky that started the day, was gone.
3:00pm - Finally a train arrives in Newark to take us all south, down the Northeast Corridor towards Trenton, hopefully stopping at New Brunswick where my car was parked. On the train I spoke with a man who work in the WTC for 22 years at Morgan Stanley, I?ll never forget his face as he told of the whole ordeal.
3:50pm - Arriving in New Brunswick, I got in my car and cautiously drove home thinking of all those innocent people who were just going to work making a living, died for no reason at all. How fortunate I was to be alive, going home to my family and friends.
4:20pm - Home at last.
Collection
Citation
“story10860.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 19, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/18314.