nmah5407.xml

nmah5407.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-01-14

I lived in New York City on that famous date of September 11, 2001 (9/11). It was a beautiful, clear, and comfortable morning. For several days, before that date I had nightmare on something bad happening. But I couldnt pinpoint what really it was. I headed to work, I lived and worked in Brooklyn. My place is in the area of Downtown Brooklyn, from the building roof you can see the beautiful skylines of lower eastside.
I got to work about 7:45am that morning. I was in normal routine of eating breakfast. I open the office for the clients to come in. It was odd. Its been awhile since we had no one waiting on the clients waiting area.

I get a chilling phone call from my friend who works across the street from the World Trade Center. That a plane had just hit one of the Trade building. I told him you sure. Then my other co-worker got a phone call from her daughter that a plane hit Tower. My wife called me and confirmed the same thing. Now, I began to get nervous. I hung the phone and head to the roof of the building. As I got there I can see from the distance the black smoked. As Im there in disbelieved, I see far in the distance another plane. I said… Maybe they are re-routing air traffic. Because we know over the island of Manhattan, there is no commercial airline traffic, some little small planes, and helicopter flies only flies over.

But as I saw the plane come down, in the direction of the second building, and saw the impact (fire and smoke). I ran back down to the office, and told everyone what just happen. It felt like a movie. It was the most scariest thing I have ever been a witness to.
My wife called me again she saw it on Television on the second plane. I told her: This is terrorism… She told me, they havent said anything, I told her trust me. I told people in my office is time to go home. Im not part of the managerial staff, they all look at me like I was crazy. Then a few minutes later… we saw the Pentagon on television fire and they had said a plane had crashed… I told my manager, Im leaving. I took my personal belonging and headed outside…


Downtown Brooklyn, looked like a war scene, people running away from the enemy, but we couldnt see the enemy. People were looking up at the sky. People were crying. Even, grown big men were crying like children. I saw mass of people mentally lost, like a wondering lost puppy. New York City Transit stopped all subway services. So the only way I could get home was by bus. Which is the way I always go home. I felt my place of employment at exactly 10:15am. It took 1.5 hours to get home. On a normal day, it takes me 30 minutes to get to and from work. When I got home, I hugged, and kissed my wife. We both started to cry together. Because we knew horrible scene we both saw. Many men and women wouldnt have this moment ever again.

It definitely has changed my life. I know look-up at the sky when I see planes. I have numerous of nightmare. It got so bad, I would go night with having a good eight (8) hours of sleep. Some day I would only sleep 1 (one) hour. It affected to the point that on February of 2002 I got a mild heart-attack. I eventually resigned from my job. And on August 31, 2002 moved out of New York City to the state of Pennsylvania. Looking for a less stress atmosphere. I got tired of every time there was a threat, I was always jumpy and nervous.

My sympathy go out to surviving families members of that tragedy. I feel their pain, their sorrow, and missing piece of there life. I did loose several friends. And I missed them too.

I hope this little side of my event of September 11, 2001 (9/11) may help other to see. They are not the only one.

I don't think it should be remembered, because, we don't always remember December 7, 1941. That was another tragedy in American's history. The more you remember, the longer the healing process would take.

Nope!