story7261.xml

story7261.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-13

On September 11, when the first plane hit I was in a classroom beginning a math lesson. Another teacher came in to tell me of the plane hitting the trade center. She returned 15 minutes later to tell me about the next plane.
My school had an amazing view of the towers. I couldn't look at the view that day. I was new to this school and this teacher had no idea what I was feeling and how many people I was thinking about.
My husband is a NYC fire lieutenant and I did not know where he was all day. As luck would have it, I had his car and in his car his gear. He has size 13EEE shoes and was held up from borrowing gear because of this. I thank God today that I was too lazy to pull out my own car in the morning and took his instead. There is much to be said for laziness. He didn't arrive at the scene until much later. It was well after the collapse.
My sister-in-law worked in the towers and would have been at work well before the plane hit. She worked in tower two on the eighty-eighth floor. She was spared because she felt ill that morning and took a much later express bus.
Unfortunately, my husband's brother, also a fire lieutenant did not make it out alive. Lt. Kenneth J. Phelan was not supposed to be at work. He was called in because he owed a tour.
So this is where I was that day. My family will relive that day forever. We will forever remember 9/11. Most of us relive it daily.