story8628.xml
Title
story8628.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-11-06
911DA Story: Story
Since it was such a beautiful day, I decided to take the ferry to my office at 2 WTC instead of the PATH train as I usually did. I even spent a few extra minutes outside the building,just enjoying the scenery, and I remarked to myself how lucky I was to work in such a beautiful place.
I was at my desk and had just sent an email to a friend in New Jersey inviting him and his wife to dinner in NYC that coming friday. (He still has the email!)
All of a sudden the bright sunshine disappeared for a split second and a I heard what sounded like a freight train scream past. Our building shook from the impact on Tower 1.
I looked out the window and saw smoke and debris all around, and said to myself "That must have been an airplane hitting the building." A co-worker came down the hall and confirmed what happened. We immediately began evacuating the 37th floor (our company occupied floors 33-37) of
Tower 2. After we made sure everyone was off the floor, 3 of us got on the elevator and took it down to the lobby. I remained in the lobby for a while, finding people from our company and directing them to our marshalling point across the street at the Wrold Financial Center. I left the lobby in time to find 2 close friends.We were discussing what to do next when all of a sudden what sounded like a thousand missles screaming overhead caused us to look up at the instant the plane flew into Tower 2, directly over our heads. We all ran to escape the falling flames and debris. A short while later, somehow,I was lucky enough to meet up with one of the people I was with when the second plane hit. After standing and watching the buildings for a while we decided to walk across West Street and then North to get out of the area. That is when the first building collapsed. We were again able to outrun the debris. We got a few blocks north when we heard yet another horrific sound and turned around to watch Tower 1 collapse. After watching in stunned silence for a long while we made our way north to the Javits Center and got on the ferry to Weehawken.
A year later, these events are still fresh in my mind. It seems impossible that a year has passed already. The senselessness and enormity of this cowardly act are to me impossible to fathom. I hope everyone in this country remembers September 11 for as long as they live, so we can all fight to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.
I was at my desk and had just sent an email to a friend in New Jersey inviting him and his wife to dinner in NYC that coming friday. (He still has the email!)
All of a sudden the bright sunshine disappeared for a split second and a I heard what sounded like a freight train scream past. Our building shook from the impact on Tower 1.
I looked out the window and saw smoke and debris all around, and said to myself "That must have been an airplane hitting the building." A co-worker came down the hall and confirmed what happened. We immediately began evacuating the 37th floor (our company occupied floors 33-37) of
Tower 2. After we made sure everyone was off the floor, 3 of us got on the elevator and took it down to the lobby. I remained in the lobby for a while, finding people from our company and directing them to our marshalling point across the street at the Wrold Financial Center. I left the lobby in time to find 2 close friends.We were discussing what to do next when all of a sudden what sounded like a thousand missles screaming overhead caused us to look up at the instant the plane flew into Tower 2, directly over our heads. We all ran to escape the falling flames and debris. A short while later, somehow,I was lucky enough to meet up with one of the people I was with when the second plane hit. After standing and watching the buildings for a while we decided to walk across West Street and then North to get out of the area. That is when the first building collapsed. We were again able to outrun the debris. We got a few blocks north when we heard yet another horrific sound and turned around to watch Tower 1 collapse. After watching in stunned silence for a long while we made our way north to the Javits Center and got on the ferry to Weehawken.
A year later, these events are still fresh in my mind. It seems impossible that a year has passed already. The senselessness and enormity of this cowardly act are to me impossible to fathom. I hope everyone in this country remembers September 11 for as long as they live, so we can all fight to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.
Collection
Citation
“story8628.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 12, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/4400.