email626.xml
Title
email626.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
email
Date Entered
2002-08-30
September 11 Email: Body
From:
To:
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2001 4:02 PM
Subject: New York Trip--Part 2
Another strong impression of being in New York during the tragic days after September 11, revolves around a dinner my wife and I had with a friend of ours in the city. The impression has to do with the spirit of the people of this great metropolis. We had passed up getting theatre tickets on Wednesday, September 12 just so we could enjoy a few drinks and a dinner with Jane Marx. Several Alamogordo citizens know Jane because she is a tremendously talented tour guide in the city and has worked with Lonnie Jarrett and Roger Haley when they take theatre groups to Manhattan.
To say that Jane is a typical New Yorker is some sort of vast understatement. She is not a typical anything. She is more like a force of nature all bound up in a New York wrapper. She knows New York. It is her town. She knows its history, its culture, its sights and sounds, its nuances. When Jane guides you on a tour she shows you how to survive in New York--with a necessary attitude.
We had a date to meet Jane at the Delta Bar and Grill On 48th Street at 9th Avenue. The Delta has good food of the down home type, with a touch of Cajun, in a neighborhood atmosphere. The events of the day before added an immediacy to the renewal of our friendship and to our conversation.
I was tremendously eager to hear this New York lady's take on the events. Jane was as stunned as anyone by the events, and, like the rest of us, was looking for some sort of explanation for the unexplainable. But beyond that she was extremely angry. This was her town and someone had tried to take it away from her. This was where she lived and worked and had her being. This had all been attacked for no reason that she could discern and she was mad. It is that spirit and feeling that had impressed me so much the day before when New York immediately responded to the disaster.
One of Hitler's greatest mistakes in World War II was the merciless bombing of London and other sites in England. It rallied the English people as nothing else could have. It gave the old lie to the idea that a war can be won simply by the destruction of countless numbers of non-combatants. I remember in those war years how I as a nine through thirteen-year-old-kid was tremendously impressed by the spirit of the Londoners. They were exhausted and stressed by constant threat but they were absolutely defiant. That was basically Jane's attitude, "This is my town and you cannot have it."
Jane, who has an outsized sense of humor, spent some time regaling us with stories about the New Yorkers' reaction. She noted funny things that were said while she was standing in line to donate blood--she had been turned away, as had many, because she did not know her blood type and the harried donor center workers did not have time to type blood and draw it at the same time. She was invited back at a less stressful time.
She also felt that it was the greatest irony that Washington, D.C.,a town which she and many New Yorkers hold in the greatest disdain, and New York should end up in this same boat. The president had not visited New York at this time and she had heard he would be visiting soon. She noted that New York City had voted against Bush by 80% of its voter turnout. She felt if he visited he would probably lose New York by about 80% at the next election but they would like to see him anyway. She had nothing but praise for Mayor Giuliani, a person she had never liked or voted for. Wife and mistress aside, he had proven worthy of the office and Jane hoped he would stay in office until a sensible primary could be rescheduled.
Jane was as confused as the rest of us by a proper course of action for the future. We all had a sense that the threat was still there. New Yorkers are notoriously blasé. When a plane flies over they hardly bother to look up. That changed. Military aircraft were in the air within minutes of the attack and all commercial and private aircraft were grounded. New Yorkers gazed skyward every time a plane flew over. They seemed to have the feeling that another attack was imminent. Jane reflected this nervousness, as if this were not over and a person needed to be ready. That again called to mind the pictures of Londoners in World War II.
When our evening came to an end, we walked with Jane--who is one of the world's great walkers, over to Grand Central Station. It was a strange walk for her and for us. She could not help being the tour guide: pointing out places of interest, commenting about how few people there were on the street compared to usual, and generally celebrating our time together. But she was sad. I think Jane knows that New York will never be quite the place she had so deeply loved and cherished. Her own business had already suffered as tours cancelled out in large number, but it was beyond that; it had to do with something spinning out of control and the time it would take to restore sanity and decency.
On our walk, we passed a neighborhood fire station. People were gathered in a candlelight vigil. Flowers were stacked in an impromptu altar by the entrance. Evidently, the fire station had lost a member or members of its firehouse gang. This sight was one of the most powerful I saw on our trip.
We walked on in silence to Grand Central Station, one of my favorite structures in all of Manhattan. It was ringed by police and tight security. We accompanied Jane inside and exchanged hugs and goodbyes. We told her we would see her in March when we have another trip planned. We were a bit wistful as we wondered if we could keep that March date.
To:
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2001 4:02 PM
Subject: New York Trip--Part 2
Another strong impression of being in New York during the tragic days after September 11, revolves around a dinner my wife and I had with a friend of ours in the city. The impression has to do with the spirit of the people of this great metropolis. We had passed up getting theatre tickets on Wednesday, September 12 just so we could enjoy a few drinks and a dinner with Jane Marx. Several Alamogordo citizens know Jane because she is a tremendously talented tour guide in the city and has worked with Lonnie Jarrett and Roger Haley when they take theatre groups to Manhattan.
To say that Jane is a typical New Yorker is some sort of vast understatement. She is not a typical anything. She is more like a force of nature all bound up in a New York wrapper. She knows New York. It is her town. She knows its history, its culture, its sights and sounds, its nuances. When Jane guides you on a tour she shows you how to survive in New York--with a necessary attitude.
We had a date to meet Jane at the Delta Bar and Grill On 48th Street at 9th Avenue. The Delta has good food of the down home type, with a touch of Cajun, in a neighborhood atmosphere. The events of the day before added an immediacy to the renewal of our friendship and to our conversation.
I was tremendously eager to hear this New York lady's take on the events. Jane was as stunned as anyone by the events, and, like the rest of us, was looking for some sort of explanation for the unexplainable. But beyond that she was extremely angry. This was her town and someone had tried to take it away from her. This was where she lived and worked and had her being. This had all been attacked for no reason that she could discern and she was mad. It is that spirit and feeling that had impressed me so much the day before when New York immediately responded to the disaster.
One of Hitler's greatest mistakes in World War II was the merciless bombing of London and other sites in England. It rallied the English people as nothing else could have. It gave the old lie to the idea that a war can be won simply by the destruction of countless numbers of non-combatants. I remember in those war years how I as a nine through thirteen-year-old-kid was tremendously impressed by the spirit of the Londoners. They were exhausted and stressed by constant threat but they were absolutely defiant. That was basically Jane's attitude, "This is my town and you cannot have it."
Jane, who has an outsized sense of humor, spent some time regaling us with stories about the New Yorkers' reaction. She noted funny things that were said while she was standing in line to donate blood--she had been turned away, as had many, because she did not know her blood type and the harried donor center workers did not have time to type blood and draw it at the same time. She was invited back at a less stressful time.
She also felt that it was the greatest irony that Washington, D.C.,a town which she and many New Yorkers hold in the greatest disdain, and New York should end up in this same boat. The president had not visited New York at this time and she had heard he would be visiting soon. She noted that New York City had voted against Bush by 80% of its voter turnout. She felt if he visited he would probably lose New York by about 80% at the next election but they would like to see him anyway. She had nothing but praise for Mayor Giuliani, a person she had never liked or voted for. Wife and mistress aside, he had proven worthy of the office and Jane hoped he would stay in office until a sensible primary could be rescheduled.
Jane was as confused as the rest of us by a proper course of action for the future. We all had a sense that the threat was still there. New Yorkers are notoriously blasé. When a plane flies over they hardly bother to look up. That changed. Military aircraft were in the air within minutes of the attack and all commercial and private aircraft were grounded. New Yorkers gazed skyward every time a plane flew over. They seemed to have the feeling that another attack was imminent. Jane reflected this nervousness, as if this were not over and a person needed to be ready. That again called to mind the pictures of Londoners in World War II.
When our evening came to an end, we walked with Jane--who is one of the world's great walkers, over to Grand Central Station. It was a strange walk for her and for us. She could not help being the tour guide: pointing out places of interest, commenting about how few people there were on the street compared to usual, and generally celebrating our time together. But she was sad. I think Jane knows that New York will never be quite the place she had so deeply loved and cherished. Her own business had already suffered as tours cancelled out in large number, but it was beyond that; it had to do with something spinning out of control and the time it would take to restore sanity and decency.
On our walk, we passed a neighborhood fire station. People were gathered in a candlelight vigil. Flowers were stacked in an impromptu altar by the entrance. Evidently, the fire station had lost a member or members of its firehouse gang. This sight was one of the most powerful I saw on our trip.
We walked on in silence to Grand Central Station, one of my favorite structures in all of Manhattan. It was ringed by police and tight security. We accompanied Jane inside and exchanged hugs and goodbyes. We told her we would see her in March when we have another trip planned. We were a bit wistful as we wondered if we could keep that March date.
September 11 Email: Date
Saturday, September 22, 2001 4:02 PM
September 11 Email: Subject
New York Trip--Part 2
Collection
Citation
“email626.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed September 28, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/37095.