email370.xml
Title
email370.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
email
Date Entered
2002-08-19
September 11 Email: Body
Thank you Dave. It really helps to know that people are thinking of us and we do feel very connected. My family and I are fine, but this will definitely change all of our lives. I'm back to work after taking off yesterday, and I just cannot seem ot get any work done. Every meeting that I attend today is entirely monopolized by people reflecting on the situation. My boss just told me not to expect to get anything at all done this week. I think we will be ok, but even without directly knowing anyone who may be dead, its still an incredible numbness that has yet to peak.
I walked up 5th avenue Tuesday and it was like a parade route. People mobbed the sidewalks in silence, while fire trucks and emergency vehicles rushed by all going the same direction. About a mile away, I could see the builidings burning and mangled steel hanging out of the huge black hole in the North side. Smoke was pouring off of it like a lit cigarrette. As I walked away towards work, people were sitting on the sidewalk crying, and others were franticaly trying to dial their cell phones while running toward it. Tourists were confused and clearly did not understand what was happening.
My sister-in-law, Lucy went home from the stock exchage immediately after the first plane hit and made it home before everything was closed up. The exchange has lots of clients and employees that worked in the towers and she has been on an emotional rollercoaster ever since. She knows that many of her friends and associates are dead, but there is no confirmation of anything yet. Not one. It could conceiveably take months to know. She is considering the possibility of not going back to work there at all.
On that day, people were wandering away from the building, and many even walked over bridges to get home. It was just like the confusion that you see after an earthquake. Several times I found myself not knowing what to do or how to feel. We were told that all transit was suspended, and that we should sit tight until more information was available. I don't consider my office builiding to be a particular target so I was not worried, but my wife scolded me later for not leaving ritght away. There was nowhwere to go for a while. I considere walking over the George Washington bridge, and then my Brother called. He had been in NY and came to my office when he could not get out. His plan was to walk north until we could get to a commuter railroad that was still operating. It would be a 10 mile walk, but that is what he wanted to do. My office ordered pizza for everyone and when we finished, we heard that some trains were running outbound. We went to Grand Central Terminal where they were packing trains full of people and sending them off. I called Carmela (wife) from my brother's house to tell her that I was safe. That was not good enough and she said that she needed to see me in person to feel like it was over.
Carmela suggested that we hang a flag in front of our house. Normally I would think that seem a bit cheezey, but I did it and feel good about it. I spoke with Eduardo yesterday and I got the feeling that people in LosAngeles are very nervous about the whole thing. We have jets and helicopters patroling the area, and we now hear them frequently from our home at night. There are warships in the area and I've never seen so many police, even in my neighborhood.
When I rode the bus into Manhattan this morning, I could see the NY skyline very well before going into the tunnel. Today, all that I could see was a group of midtown buildings near the Empire State building. The buildings around where the trade center was are not even tall enought to notice.
Sorry for rambling but I thought that some local insight might be interesting. I'm leaving for home now and I think I'll just take tomorrow off too. Thank you for the good word. I'll give em a try.
Stay safe!
John
I walked up 5th avenue Tuesday and it was like a parade route. People mobbed the sidewalks in silence, while fire trucks and emergency vehicles rushed by all going the same direction. About a mile away, I could see the builidings burning and mangled steel hanging out of the huge black hole in the North side. Smoke was pouring off of it like a lit cigarrette. As I walked away towards work, people were sitting on the sidewalk crying, and others were franticaly trying to dial their cell phones while running toward it. Tourists were confused and clearly did not understand what was happening.
My sister-in-law, Lucy went home from the stock exchage immediately after the first plane hit and made it home before everything was closed up. The exchange has lots of clients and employees that worked in the towers and she has been on an emotional rollercoaster ever since. She knows that many of her friends and associates are dead, but there is no confirmation of anything yet. Not one. It could conceiveably take months to know. She is considering the possibility of not going back to work there at all.
On that day, people were wandering away from the building, and many even walked over bridges to get home. It was just like the confusion that you see after an earthquake. Several times I found myself not knowing what to do or how to feel. We were told that all transit was suspended, and that we should sit tight until more information was available. I don't consider my office builiding to be a particular target so I was not worried, but my wife scolded me later for not leaving ritght away. There was nowhwere to go for a while. I considere walking over the George Washington bridge, and then my Brother called. He had been in NY and came to my office when he could not get out. His plan was to walk north until we could get to a commuter railroad that was still operating. It would be a 10 mile walk, but that is what he wanted to do. My office ordered pizza for everyone and when we finished, we heard that some trains were running outbound. We went to Grand Central Terminal where they were packing trains full of people and sending them off. I called Carmela (wife) from my brother's house to tell her that I was safe. That was not good enough and she said that she needed to see me in person to feel like it was over.
Carmela suggested that we hang a flag in front of our house. Normally I would think that seem a bit cheezey, but I did it and feel good about it. I spoke with Eduardo yesterday and I got the feeling that people in LosAngeles are very nervous about the whole thing. We have jets and helicopters patroling the area, and we now hear them frequently from our home at night. There are warships in the area and I've never seen so many police, even in my neighborhood.
When I rode the bus into Manhattan this morning, I could see the NY skyline very well before going into the tunnel. Today, all that I could see was a group of midtown buildings near the Empire State building. The buildings around where the trade center was are not even tall enought to notice.
Sorry for rambling but I thought that some local insight might be interesting. I'm leaving for home now and I think I'll just take tomorrow off too. Thank you for the good word. I'll give em a try.
Stay safe!
John
September 11 Email: Date
9/13/01
September 11 Email: Subject
Re: My prayers are with you and your family
Collection
Citation
“email370.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed July 8, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/39292.