email199.xml
Title
email199.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
email
Date Entered
2002-07-15
September 11 Email: Body
Ciao, Jennifer,
Thank you for writing, it was very thoughtful of you. Fortunately, my friends and family are all ok. We are among the lucky ones.
As you know, Tuesday was indeed horrific. I was walking toward my office at a few minutes before nine, shortly after the first plane hit. We had a beautiful view of the Trade Center from 5th Ave, they stood larger than life. And after they survived the bombing in '93, to me they always symbolized strength and invincibility, for want of a better word. I used to think that the horror that
the bombers intended - to topple one tower onto the other - was so unfathomable that it simply could never happen. I used to think that no God could ever allow it to happen. How wrong I was.
I saw the smoke from the first plane crash, which everyone thought was a terrible accident. And no one realized how bad it was. We watched in horror and disbelief at the hideous explosion in the south tower. In an instant it was a fireball. I will never forget the sick feeling that came over me. Thinking of those people trapped inside. It was the worst thing I have ever seen in my life. Yet even then, as bad as it was, I don't think anyone expected the towers to fall.
Upstairs in the office we heard on the radio about the Pentagon, then we heard that the south tower had collapsed, which was just too unbelievable. We went back downstairs and saw the sky filled with smoke. It was so strange to see the north tower standing by itself, it reminded me somehow of a wounded animal, I was so filled with a weird sadness. And when I saw the antenna start to tilt, I just covered my eyes because I knew what was happening, and it was too horrible to watch. And the next two days just got worse, with additional buildings falling, and others in danger of falling, and hundreds of police and firemen killed, and then bomb scares in the subways and Grand Central and other places. It's like we're living the unimaginable.
I volunteered at a relief center yesterday and wound up collecting money and supplies with two other women near Bloomingdale's. It was the best thing I could have done, because the outpouring of support and caring and generosity was unbelievable. We collected almost $10,000 in four hours, and dozens of boxes of supplies for the rescue workers. People just couldn't do enough, all ages, colors, all walks of life, they all gave what they could. One man wrote a $2000 check on the spot, others gave wads of 20's, tens, whatever they could. Some high school kids apologized for not having more than a few quarters, and one boy gave me a poem he had written for the firemen, an old man who could barely walk leaned on his cane while he pulled a dollar out of his pocket. Few people passed by without stopping. And people were thanking and blessing us for the small thing we were doing! It was unreal. The owners of Felidia, a well known restaurant nearby, invited us in for lunch, another restaurant owner asked how he could get food down to the rescue workers, some women from a nearby office photocopied flyers for us, the manager of a convenience store donated cases of water and juice, and gave us boxes for the supplies. People were asking how they could help and where they could volunteer. It was all so touching and I felt good for the first time since this happened. I was so proud of my city and my fellow New Yorkers. I'm going to volunteer again over the weekend. Today I attended the noon service at St. Patrick's, and the crowds overflowed onto the street. The final hymn was "America the Beautiful" and there were not many dry eyes in the cathedral.
Things are starting to get back to normal, at least on the surface, and away from downtown, but it will take a very long time to recover, and there is a general feeling that life will never be quite the same. Our city will certainly never look the same, and I will always feel a sense of loss and tragedy.
Anyway, that's the story from NY, thanks again for writing, and I hope you're feeling better soon. Take care and keep in touch.
Joan
Original Message:
Jennifer (Surname and email address withheld) wrote:
Ciao Joan!
I hope that you and your loved ones are all okay and
safe in the aftermath of Tuesday's terrorist attack.
It is difficult to comprehend what it must be like in
NY City at this time. It is all so horrific and from
watching the news and reading the newspaper, it makes
me want to cry. There is a flag and banner store in
my neighborhood and they keep running out of American
flags. I saw people lined up around the block this
morning to buy some. I'm not religious but I wanted
you to know that I'm thinking of you and hope that
everything is well with you.
Best wishes for you and your family. We Americans are
tough and will get through this with our heads held
high!
Take care.
Jennifer
Thank you for writing, it was very thoughtful of you. Fortunately, my friends and family are all ok. We are among the lucky ones.
As you know, Tuesday was indeed horrific. I was walking toward my office at a few minutes before nine, shortly after the first plane hit. We had a beautiful view of the Trade Center from 5th Ave, they stood larger than life. And after they survived the bombing in '93, to me they always symbolized strength and invincibility, for want of a better word. I used to think that the horror that
the bombers intended - to topple one tower onto the other - was so unfathomable that it simply could never happen. I used to think that no God could ever allow it to happen. How wrong I was.
I saw the smoke from the first plane crash, which everyone thought was a terrible accident. And no one realized how bad it was. We watched in horror and disbelief at the hideous explosion in the south tower. In an instant it was a fireball. I will never forget the sick feeling that came over me. Thinking of those people trapped inside. It was the worst thing I have ever seen in my life. Yet even then, as bad as it was, I don't think anyone expected the towers to fall.
Upstairs in the office we heard on the radio about the Pentagon, then we heard that the south tower had collapsed, which was just too unbelievable. We went back downstairs and saw the sky filled with smoke. It was so strange to see the north tower standing by itself, it reminded me somehow of a wounded animal, I was so filled with a weird sadness. And when I saw the antenna start to tilt, I just covered my eyes because I knew what was happening, and it was too horrible to watch. And the next two days just got worse, with additional buildings falling, and others in danger of falling, and hundreds of police and firemen killed, and then bomb scares in the subways and Grand Central and other places. It's like we're living the unimaginable.
I volunteered at a relief center yesterday and wound up collecting money and supplies with two other women near Bloomingdale's. It was the best thing I could have done, because the outpouring of support and caring and generosity was unbelievable. We collected almost $10,000 in four hours, and dozens of boxes of supplies for the rescue workers. People just couldn't do enough, all ages, colors, all walks of life, they all gave what they could. One man wrote a $2000 check on the spot, others gave wads of 20's, tens, whatever they could. Some high school kids apologized for not having more than a few quarters, and one boy gave me a poem he had written for the firemen, an old man who could barely walk leaned on his cane while he pulled a dollar out of his pocket. Few people passed by without stopping. And people were thanking and blessing us for the small thing we were doing! It was unreal. The owners of Felidia, a well known restaurant nearby, invited us in for lunch, another restaurant owner asked how he could get food down to the rescue workers, some women from a nearby office photocopied flyers for us, the manager of a convenience store donated cases of water and juice, and gave us boxes for the supplies. People were asking how they could help and where they could volunteer. It was all so touching and I felt good for the first time since this happened. I was so proud of my city and my fellow New Yorkers. I'm going to volunteer again over the weekend. Today I attended the noon service at St. Patrick's, and the crowds overflowed onto the street. The final hymn was "America the Beautiful" and there were not many dry eyes in the cathedral.
Things are starting to get back to normal, at least on the surface, and away from downtown, but it will take a very long time to recover, and there is a general feeling that life will never be quite the same. Our city will certainly never look the same, and I will always feel a sense of loss and tragedy.
Anyway, that's the story from NY, thanks again for writing, and I hope you're feeling better soon. Take care and keep in touch.
Joan
Original Message:
Jennifer (Surname and email address withheld) wrote:
Ciao Joan!
I hope that you and your loved ones are all okay and
safe in the aftermath of Tuesday's terrorist attack.
It is difficult to comprehend what it must be like in
NY City at this time. It is all so horrific and from
watching the news and reading the newspaper, it makes
me want to cry. There is a flag and banner store in
my neighborhood and they keep running out of American
flags. I saw people lined up around the block this
morning to buy some. I'm not religious but I wanted
you to know that I'm thinking of you and hope that
everything is well with you.
Best wishes for you and your family. We Americans are
tough and will get through this with our heads held
high!
Take care.
Jennifer
September 11 Email: Date
9/14/01
September 11 Email: Subject
Collection
Citation
“email199.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed July 5, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/37981.