Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Emails Description An account of the resource This collection contains emails which were sent or received on or around September 11, 2001. As of this writing individuals have submitted more than 1,500 correspondences. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. >From: Deb Dreyfuss-Tuchman <ddt@videoaxs.com> >Subject: In Jonathan's Words > >>Friends, Family, Co-workers: > >My slightly offbeat nephew is, we thank God alive. Would but for his >missing a train and wanting to grab a PowerBar, he would have been on an >elevator and our family would have been one of those ones not receiving >the joyful news we did. In his own, shall we say colorful words, Jonathan >describes not only the horror, but the humanity of Tuesday in New York. I >share this because it is powerful and for me will make me remember to >truly appreciate him and each moment of life. > >Much love, >Deb > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >>Family, friends, east side, west side, and elsewhere: >> >>I am okay. >> >>Everyone from my office is okay. >> >>I was about to get on the elevator when the first plane hit. >>Had I been 1 minute earlier, I would have been on the elevator, >>and thus dead. I have never been so glad to miss the first >>NR train than I was Tuesday morning. Some vaguely hobgoblinesque >>(or maybe troll, you know, the squat, slow-moving, almost cubic >>sort of shuffling mound) woman caused me to miss said train by >>30 seconds, and thus, in her own irritating way, helped me live. >> >>The sound it makes when a 500000 pound airplane hits a building >>you're in is pretty fucking amazing. Speak the word 'shoom' >>aloud. Now pretend that word is being spoken by a 110 story >>ventilation system at about 100 dB. Interestingly enough, the >>way speaking the word aloud makes your lungs and diaphram feel >>is pretty similar to the way the shockwave felt across my >>whole body, only obviously much smaller. >> >>Anyway, so this humongous 'sh-OOOM' hits and simultaneously the >>entire ceiling appears to fall in as an enormous upside-down >>wave of thick, choking smoke tsunami'd from the glass doors >>ahead of me. >> >>My immediate thought was that it was some sort of gas-based >>attack, because the smoke was very vivid and dense and just >>sort of rolled toward me in slow motion. I cleverly reasoned >>that I should run like hell. Also, I held my breath. 15 >>strides later, I noticed that I was a: not breathing and b: >>covered in smoke. This allowed me to deduce that it was not >>a gas attack, since I'd be too busy dying to deduce stuff >>if it was. I was more or less running like hell as this thought >>process took place. Either there was not much screaming or >>I just didn't hear any. An old lady fell down next to me and >>as I tried to help her up someone crashed into me. I got up >>and helped her up and then ran up the stairs and out of the >>building. >> >>It appeared to be raining. Actually, it appeared that shit >>was falling from the sky. Wait, in fact, it was. "Hmm," I >>thought, "it appears to be snowing file cabinets." >> >>I decided it was probably relatively safe because nothing >>heavy was falling (yet), but I wanted to see what had happened >>so I walked across the street to this deli that I eat at >>sometimes. >> >>There was an enormous, flaming hole in my building. I >>figured a bomb had gone off. The entire side of the building >>was on fire, and an enormous amount of paper was in the air. >>(People I know in south brooklyn found documents from the >>aircraft in their back yards, and it rained glass in DUMBO.) >> >>At this point the thought popped into my head, fully formed, >>"Gee, I hope my coworkers aren't dead." This was slightly >>irritating to me as I thought my mind should have conjured >>a more eloquent expression of concern, or possibly even an >>emotional response, but alas.. >> >>So anyway I'm standing there looking at this big-ass hole >>in the building, and it's on fire, and people are talking about >>how a plane hit the building. I figured that was bullshit. >>Someone mentioned a twin-engine craft, and I did a quick >>mental calculation of how much Astrolite A-1-5 or RDX you >>could fit into a ~10-seat prop plane, and realized there >>was no way that would put an 8 story hole all the way through >>the WTC. >> >>Right about this time, as I'm doing this sort of tangential >>analysis, the second building got hit. From where I was >>standing we could not see the plane at all. I have no memory >>of a sound, either. Just a new, smaller hole, lower, and >>on the other building. Also, on fire. Also, a huge hunk >>of rubble flew off and hit the AT&T building next door >>whereupon the top of that building caught fire. (Hosing >>cellular, TV, etc..) >> >>I guess the plane hit the other side of the building from >>where I was standing, because the hole looked really small >>compared to the one in WTC1. On the street we all figured >>that a bomb had gone off in WTC2, or that a missile had >>hit it, or something. Nobody knew it was a plane, at least >>where I was standing. >> >>So at this point I'm just standing there looking at these >>two beautiful buildings burning. It was one of the most >>beautiful mornings in recent memory, not a cloud in the >>sky, 78 or 80 degrees, just beautiful. And it was quite >>a tableaux, these pillars of industry, towers of babylon >>or what have you (gosh I like that expression), burning in >>the morning sun. >> >>Hmm, speaking of morning, I'm not really sure what happened >>to the coffee I was drinking when the plane hit the first >>time. I had been awake for less than 40 minutes. >> >>Watching the buildings I saw some objects falling straight >>down, in contrast to the lighter stuff that was just filling >>the air like some kind of sick tickertape parade. I said >>something to the effect of my, those objects must be heavy, >>they're falling awful straight. Someone said, "Dude, those >>are people." I couldn't fucking believe it. It wasn't >>just people, it was A LOT OF PEOPLE. After the first dozen >>I just couldn't stand it, and I turned around and walked >>away, north. >> >>I stopped in front of the federal building to turn around >>and gawk, and then realized that was probably a poor choice >>of location in a terrorist war zone. >> >>Groups of people were huddled around radios, in shock, >>listening. The calm and reasonable way the citizens of >>NYC handled themselves was ASTONISHING. People were >>walking briskly but not running, other people were calming >>those in histrionics, etc. >> >>I figured well, I can't go home unless I walk across the >>bridge to Brooklyn, and since I've had such a rough morning >>I really don't feel like walking to Brooklyn, so I better >>go find a bar and get a beer. Even if it was 9:15 am. >> >>Unfortunately, modulo terrorist attacks, there is little >>demand for bars in downtown manhattan at 9:15 am on a >>tuesday. So I proceeded north, thinking, "dammit, I will >>find a beer." [Note: beer from a bodega was not an >>option because the last time I'd seen someone do that >>(well, actually, encouraged them) I accidentally got these >>two idiot brokers from Jersey ticketed when they failed >>to recognize my slang ("six-up!") for "there's a cop >>driving by, put your beer down."] >> >>Anyhoo, (got distracted there, sorry, forgot to take my >>ADD meds today), headed north to ~houston and sullivan. >>No bars open. Okay, fuck it. There are lines 10 deep >>at the payphones, which don't work anyway. I wait for >>one, since I didn't really have anything else to do. >>As soon as I try dial 1800COLLECT (damn, it was that >>ad with mister t) people start screaming from the >>corner, crying, and really, really losing it. There >>was a straight view down sullivan to the WTC complex, >>where instead of 2 buildings, there was now 1 and an >>enormous plume of smoke. Like a mushroom cloud. Over >>manhattan. >> >>After being hugged by some dred with a table selling >>fake sunglasses and rapping with him for a little bit, >>I decided to use the phone again. Once again, as soon >>as I started to put my call through, the other goddamn >>building fell down. Where there used to be two enormous >>buildings, there was nothing but fire, smoke, and chaos. >> >>At this point I'm having a really, really shitty morning. >>So I sit down on the ground and petulantly jut out my lip >>in the hopes that some knight errant, perhaps a female one, >>will come and provide me with something better to do with >>my morning than sitting on the ground hugging my knees and >>rocking back and forth in the middle of a war zone. >> >>This occurs. >> >>Some dutch woman gives me a hug and helps me up, and we >>decide to walk up the west side highway to 63rd street >>where she works. We had a brisk walk. It was such a >>nice day out. I kept being struck by that. >> >>As we reached chelsea piers I was suddenly struck by the >>urge to go to their driving range. [They have a driving >>range where you can hit golf balls into the river, and >>it basically faces the now-missing WTC complex.] Ironically, >>she was having the same idea. It's unclear why, but it >>just seemed like the only appropriate thing to do. We >>tried to execute on this plan, but unfortunately the piers >>were occupied by medical workers doing stuff involving >>ambulances, stretchers, and really damaged human bodies, >>who didn't appear too interested in allowing us to complete >>our mental scene. Bother. >> >>So we walked up to the hotel, I made some phone calls, >>discovered that my ssh applet wouldn't work through their >>goddamn firewall, swore a little bit about my lack of >>internet access (the only meaningful kind of internet >>access is a shell account--I mean what is this everything- >>over-HTTP crap anyway #*@!@!#). >> >>This woman (whose name I don't think I ever got) booked a >>room at the hotel for me, on her, but I figured I'd just >>jet down to my friend's house at 29th street. She attempted >>to get me a beer from the bar, but the bartender was missing. >>So I just gave her a hug, and jetted. (Oh, another amusing >>anecdote, as we walked down the street we passed a fella >>unloading a Grolsch truck and she attempted to obtain beers >>from him by repeatedly insisting, "I'm DUTCH, dammit. I'm >>DUTCH!". He was not interested.) >> >>So yeah. That's the corpus of the story. I've basically >>spent the last two days sitting around with friends who >>lost many of their professional and personal relations, >>watching CNN, and wondering what the hell to do. I have >>no office, it's unclear if I have a job, it's unclear if >>the software we spent a year building is gone (the >>'off-site' backup was in 1WFC next door, which may or >>may not fall down and is in any case completely destroyed.) >> >>But I'm alive. >> >>Now a brief answer to some of the press conference Q&A: >> >> > Exactly how much porn did you lose on your office computer[lr]? >> >>None. We don't have office doors. Hmm. Now that I think of >>it, we *REALLY* don't have office doors. I did lose about 10 >>gigs of MP3s and a bunch of perl scripts. >> >> > Did you take the elevator or the stairs to get out[lr]? >> >>No. >> >> > What floor did you work on[lr]? >> >>46. >> >> > What did it feel like when the first plane hit your building[lr]? >> >>See the above description involving the onomonopoetic >>characteristics of the word 'shoom', which may have been >>evocative in the way I intended or simply just a bit >>manic and effusive. >> >>It really did feel like 'shoom', though. >> >> > How was the evacuation announced[kmc]? >> >>PA system. >> >> > Does the hand of god...tickle[lr]? >> >>It's not clear that I'm any more conventionally religious than >>I was before this. I don't remember invoking 'god' at any time. >>If there is a god, though, thanks, I owe you one. I actually >>felt like I should pray or something but to date have not >>defined a mode of communication appropriate to express my >>relationship with the divine. >> >> > Are you glad you bought glasses in time to see your way out?[kmc] >> >>Yeah, although I mostly got them cause they look cute. :) >> >> > What do your new glasses look like[kmc]? /insert photo here--> >> >>http://resin.csoft.net/~jdc/my-name-is-dieter-glasses.jpg >>http://resin.csoft.net/~jdc/business-casual-ha-ha-glasses.jpg >> >>Please excuse the condition of my pores, skin, and unibrow. >>Exfoliation and tweezing have not been my strong points this >>week, and jet fuel smoke is about the least noncomedogenic >>thing I can think of except maybe lard. >> >> > How do you feel about the loss of Saleem's beloved grey squirrel[lr/kmc]? >> >>It's a tragedy. I offered to help him build a mylar pyramid to >>bury it in, but he demurred. Perhaps a weekend's squirrel-fishing >>would yield another fuzzy playmate. >> >> > Where were you when the buildings collapsed? How did you get out of >> the way[mdz]? >> >>See above, but as an aside: >> >>You know that Quasimoto song where he goes, "...come on feeet...walk for >>me..." >>over and over again? By repeating that in my head. >> >> > What is the most terrible thing you saw? Most heroic[mdz]? >> >>People jumping out by the dozen. >> >>The UTTERLY, UTTERLY wonderful behavior of all the people on >>the street. >> >> > How long did it take you to get out of the building? Did you have to >> run down 71 flights of stairs?[ks] >> >>It took the dudes on 46 25 minutes to get down. >> >>Said and I did this before for the hell of it and it's quite a >>long way. Probably a lot longer with a bunch of scared people >>going down and firefighters running up. >> >> > Have you been able to work out a way to use this to pick up chicks? >> >>Well, kinda, but she was married and the driving range we tried to >>go on a date at was closed. >> >> > Have you come to any great life decisions because of this event? [sHouse] >> >>Working in a huge building that has already been a bombing target is >>not smart. >> >>Fire is real hot. >> >>New Yorkers are good people. >> >> > Did those plane tickets escape the WTC or did you lose them as I >> predicted? --hh >> >>Alas, two separate sets of tickets are lost. Also, my keyboard, >>which has been through many timezones, companies, source files, >>and a thesis with me. I will miss her. >> >>Much love, >> >>jon September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 9/13/2001 September 11 Email: To The email addresses, and optionally names of the message's recipients ddt@videoaxs.com September 11 Email: From The email address, and optionally the name of the author. September 11 Email: CC The email addresses of those who received the message addressed primarily to another. September 11 Email: Subject A brief summary of the topic of the message. In Jonathan's Words Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource email272.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. unknown Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. unknown Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. yes Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 208.186.249.192