email690.xml

email690.xml

born-digital

email

unknown

yes

2002-09-09

From: Kapcar, Carissa
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2001 11:57 AM
Subject: yesterday

First of all, thanks to everyone who called yesterday to see if we were ok.
Very thoughtful or you and appreciated. I'm also finding out through your
emails today that many of you couldn't get through to DC phone lines...sorry
that we weren't on email yesterday to reply either. We're ok..shaken
up...but ok.

I know that there are many stories floating around today on the news and
internet about the survivors and eye-witnesses and who experienced what.
While our experience was certainly not as heroic, dramatic or thankfully as
tragic as some, I though I'd share the details and our perspective of the
day with you nonetheless:

As those of you who have visited us know, the Pentagon is about 3 miles from
where we live in Arlington, VA...right across the river from DC.

Yesterday AM I was at work in Virginia when we got news of what was
happening in NYC. Everyone in my office found their way to a TV set to
watch the events unfold. On TV we learned that there had been an explosion
at the Pentagon and rumors were circulating of a fire on the National Mall.
At this point I became very worried b/c Chris was working in Crystal City,
Arlington yesterday...which is a group of mostly governmental buildings
surrounding the Pentagon (his client is the Navy so he is usually at the
Navy Yard in DC). I was also worried about Chris' sister who works
downtown in the thick of things and friends of ours who work on Capitol
Hill.

Eventually I was able to use the phone lines and found Chris ... he was
pretty scared b/c everyone in Crystal City was evacuating. Rumors were
circulating that the USA Today buildings near our house had been bombed, the
Supreme Court, the State Department and various other locations in the
District. He takes the subway to work so was kinda of stuck right there in
Crystal City (the subway didn't seem like the best place to be right then).
We decided on a location in Arlington where we would meet b/c he thought he
could get a ride there.

Our office closed and I left work about 10:30 very frightened....everyone
was telling each other to take care and not knowing really how to depart.
As I was leaving there was talk that there was a commercial jet circling
Dulles Airport (about 10 miles to the West) and also one headed back to
Arlington/DC (about 4 miles to the East). I didn't know which way to go
East or West...if I should take a major roadway or side roads, fill up with
gas, etc. I ended up taking a highway and heading East to Arlington to find
Chris...as I was driving helicopters and jets were flying overhead and cars
with sirens pushing us off the road. I know that sounds dramatic, but it
was surreal. A very long 4 mile drive needless to say.

I waited for Chris at our meeting spot for about 90 minutes. I didn't know
where he was. One of the spookiest moments of the day happened at this
point, while I was standing outside looking for Chris.....there were ATF
agents on the street and sirens, etc. A jet flew over head (which ended
up being a US defense jet) and then there was silence - I think everyone was
afraid it was another plane about to crash somewhere....again, I know this
sounds dramatic, but during this silence I looked up an American flag still
flying at full mast..and I angrily thought "why haven't they lowered the
flag to half mast?!" And it struck me that we were still in the middle of
this, that this (whatever it was) was still happening and that it was too
soon to even lower the flag!!!!!!!!!!

It was really scary to think that Bush was in an unknown location and that
Cheney, the Cabinet and Hastert had all been taken out of DC b/c it wasn't
safe enough for them..and here in DC/VA we sat.

Chris finally came to the meeting spot. As it turns out the person who was
to give him a ride couldn't even get out of the parking garage in Crystal
City (somewhat funny story is that while he was in the garage for 20 minutes
trying to get out, Chris saw 2 cars just back-up and ram directly into a
cement pole in the garage..everyone was so frantic). After all of this
Chris decided to walk to our house and then drive to our spot to meet.
During his walk he went right by the Pentagon and saw the hole, apparently
it was so smoky on the walk that he had to cover his face. It was bizarre
how friendly everyone was being...a women asked him if he had accounted for
all of his loved ones, and then asked if he could walk a few feet ahead of
her in case anything/one was just ahead.

So Chris and I found each other and tried to follow-one-another home. We
got separated again b/c they had blocked off all the roads to our house
since it is so close to the river and District. I had to leave my car in a
parking lot about a mile away and walk home. My second spooky moment of the
day was when I sat down right in the middle of a highway and put on my
running shoes (I happened to have them with me to go to the gym) so I could
walk home. As I'm putting on my shoes, I see a herd of people coming from
where we live, walking toward me. Three of them had on chef uniforms and it
just struck me as so bizarre....all of these people out walking on the
streets, me sitting on the ground putting on sneakers and 3 chefs walking
from Lord knows where to Lord knows where. Everyone was just in a daze.

Walked home where I found Chris. His sister was also there who abandoned her
car downtown and walked to our place. Later in the day we walked to an
Irish pub close to our house and had dinner. Everyone in the pub was
watching the TV and started cheering when Bush landed back in DC and
Congress sang on the Capitol steps.

Chris is working from home today and I'm headed there soon. Most schools
and business are still closed. The District, VA and MD are all still in a
state of emergency so there are armed guards on the streets and jets
overhead still...a scary sound.

The good news is that we have been in touch with most of our friends and
everyone seems to be ok. Everyone has their own story from yesterday and
I'm sure we'll all continue to retell them --- it took one of our
girlfriends 5 hours to drive home from the Capitol to Virginia yesterday
(should take 20 minutes) and one of our friends who lives on Columbia Pike,
near the Pentagon lost all water pressure and had his windows shake when the
plane hit. The plane flew down Columbia Pike and into the Pentagon (for
those of you who have visited Columbus Pike is where I first lived when I
moved here and where Bob & Edith's diner is).

Thanks for putting up with this long and emotionally charged email. It was
almost therapeutic for me to write, I think. There is something about
needing to talk and communicate in odd times like these. I keep thinking
that we are all over-reacting and being dramatic (I do have a tendency to do
that).....but then I really think about what has happened.

I hope that you have all accounted for your friends and family. I know a lot
of you know people in NY and DC. I decided that I had learned three key
lessons yesterday that I'll pass on (some more serious than others):
1. always have my cell phone with me (the one day I forgot it was
yesterday).
2. carry sneakers with me (they saved me during the walk).
3. always know where those I care about are and make sure they always know
that I love them...it was very scary for a few minutes yesterday when I
couldn't find Chris and didn't remember which office he was working in.

The only other thing I have to say is to continue praying for peace, b/c I'm
worried that this is just the beginning of a time like none we've known
before (again, that is a dramatic statement, I realize).

Take care.
love,
C
ps: the good news is that I found my car this AM and it was still there..no
tickets or anything. Bridget, Chris' sister, also found hers and it is
fine. I guess the DC parking police weren't exactly out yesterday!

9/12/01

Yesterday