story1164.xml

story1164.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-19

I work for a law firm in NYC and was sitting talking with my lead attorney about her honeymoon when she got a call from her new husband telling her that a plan had hit the WTC. We ran to the balcony and from there could see flames coming from the direction of the towers. Someone asked what kind of plane had hit it and I remember someing responding that it had to have been a commercial plane - a smaller plane would not have created such enormous flames. We stood there in disbelief for some time. I ran back to my office to find my phone ringing and was told by a friend that it was a commercial jet and I ran back to relay this information. I made several calls to family and friends to let them know I was okay, but I was unable to get through to my husband. I knew he would be beside himself with and it would be several hours before we actually spoke.

Eventually we all made our way down to the main conference room to watch NBC. I remember the utter silence. From the angle provided by the news coverage we couldn't see the second plane hit the tower, and I thought the explosion it caused was coming from the first tower. After a moment we realized what it really was. Throughout this, I remember being rather calm and thinking I would just get home and everything would be okay. But then the first tower fell, and this cold, black wave came over me and for the first time in my life I felt terror. I knew I had to get home.

I had been in touch with a friend who was also in the city and decided to make my way to her and we would try to get home together. She worked around 42nd and Broadway and I started out down Madison. About two blocks from Grand Central I was suddenly swept up in a crowd of screaming, running people and was pushed back into an office building. "There's a bomb in Grand Central!" I remember thinking, "What the hell are we doing in a building? Get outside." I pushed my way out the door and continued down Madison, running against the tide, past police officers yelling Run! Move your feet! Get out of here! When I finally made it to my friends office I fell into her arms and broke in to tears.

We spent the next several hours at her office (where they actually continued work and even held a staff meeting!) trying to get information on trains or ferry service back to NJ. We eventually set out for Penn Station around a little after 4:00 and were able to walk down the middle of Broadway, through Times Square which was completely deserted - no cars, very few people, just silence. It was a scene I will never forget.

We finally got a train back to NJ to a friends house where we waited for our husbands to come get us. I finally arrived at my house at 11:30 that night.

The one year anniversary is only three weeks away, but I feel as if it happened just this morning. As I pull out of Hoboken terminal and see the empty skyline that is just across the river I am reminded everday of how my life, our lives, will never be the same.