story20660.xml
Title
story20660.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2006-09-11
911DA Story: Story
Today is September 11, 2006. It is the fifth anniversary of the worst day of my life.
I'm Donna Hofmann and I was the Office Manager at The Reserve Bank of Australia, New York Representative Office, a business located at One Liberty Plaza, 46th floor, New York. The building is located directly across the street from 1 WTC. It is so close that, there is (was) a tunnel connecting the two buildings. During inclement weather I didn't even have to go outside to get to my office after exiting the subway inside the WTC. Downtown is not very attractive but I loved the Trade Center. I shopped in the beautiful stores in the Concourse almost every day. I went to the TKTS to get half priced Broadway Show tickets. I bought my son clothes at Banana Republic and J. Crew. I bought something in Bath and Body Works nearly every day! I ordered lunch from Fine and Shapiro. Oh, I loved those buildings.
One Liberty Plaza, occupies a full square block. The streets are Church, Cortland, Broadway and Liberty. For three days after the terrorist attacks, it was reported that my building had structural damage and was in danger of collapse (in the end, repairs were made and we returned to the building)on November 19th but with fires still burning and the air still smelling, we all had scratchy throats and red, watery eyes.
On that terrible September 11th, I was in my office at 8 a.m. My private office was located next to our dealing room. I had just put on a second pot of coffee in the dealing room and returned to my office when I heard one of our dealers shout out "holy s..." in a really screechy, loud, frightening voice. I ran next door to the dealing room to see what was happening. It was 8:46 a.m. A plane had passed right by our building and crashed into 1 WTC. For the next half hour, I stood at the window, jaw dropped open, watching with horror as the situation worsened. I watched as millions of papers and tons of debris flew in the air, swirling around our windows. I remember yellow - I think a lot of the papers must have been yellow. I watched, in disbelief, as people began to jump out of windows of 1 WTC. This was within a minute or two of the first crash. Then I watched in horror as the second plane came from the other side. I saw that plane coming but could not believe what I was seeing. Then, it went right through 2 WTC and came partially out the other side, facing my office windows. It was 9:03 a.m. I was in shock. I was also the fire warden for my office and we were getting messages on the public address system to stay in the building. I did not agree. I discussed this with my superior Michael and we agreed it was time to leave the building. At that point there were only six of us. We headed for the staircase. It was about 9:15 a.m.
We had to walk down 46 floors which are actually 92 flights of stairs. The staircase was crowded but calm. People were rushing but not panicked. We reached the street at about 9:35 or 9:40 and my colleague Anton said he thought one building looked like it might "come down." I am middle aged and I was a smoker at the time so I was out of breath. My legs were like rubber and I wanted to rest (and smoke) but Anton said we needed to leave the area immediately. However, we then realized that we had been separated from the only other female colleague, Peggy, during our decent in the staircase. Anton agreed we could not leave without her. We waited for what seemed a very long time but it was probably only about five minutes and then she came out. Also a middle-aged smoker, she was in the same shape as me. "My hero" as I now call him, Anton, took charge. He told me and Peggy to take off our shoes. Then he took my handbag and gave Peggy's handbag to another colleague, George. Then he took my hand and we started to run. We were running East on Maiden Lane because we had exited the building on Broadway. (Anton and me and Peggy and George - We had lost Michael and Jon in the staircase but they made it home safely). Anton never let go of my hand. After a few blocks, we stopped to buy water at Duane Reade which is on John Street. Therefore, we must have gone north for one block. We got two bottles each and drank one. We had just continued on our journey toward uptown when the first tower collapsed. We were spared from the terrible cloud that overtook so many people but, only because of Antons worst case scenario, we better get out of here attitude. Otherwise, Peggy and I would most certainly have been sitting on the stairs of One Liberty Plaza, smoking a cigarette and would have been caught in the collapse.
It took us all day to get home. But that is another story. I did eventually get home in the late afternoon but I couldn't walk for two days. I had been walking for hours "on adrenaline" and I had wreaked havoc on my legs. I set up a home office. I worked from home to see that the administrative needs of the company and employees were met (payroll, bill paying for all the expatriate staff expenses, etc). Then, repairs were finished on One Liberty Plaza and our building was re-opened. November 19th, we returned to work at One Liberty Plaza. But I had changed. I had stopped listening to music. I no longer enjoyed shopping whereas, prior to September 11th, I was a shopaholic and loved to spend hours at shopping malls. Then, when the area re-opened to the public, I began to resent the tourists, "gawkers" as I called them. It really annoyed me that they were there, clogging up the streets and gawking and taking photos and smiling. I was fearful on the subway and in tunnels. I had to look at and walk past "ground zero" every day, to and from my office. I was unhappy. I was depressed. I could not sleep. I cried every day. I decided that I had to make changes in my life. I gave up smoking. I resigned from my job. I sold my house and I have moved to Ohio. I live in a beautiful college town where I am surrounded by life. Thousands of young, exhilarating students. Trees, birds, deer. I live near relatives that I love dearly. I am doing volunteer work but my private health insurance is costing me too much so I need to get a job with benefits. I hope to get a job in a non-profit environment here. My preferance would be in some type of crisis center. I don't care how little I earn as long as I have health coverage! I am hopeful that by doing something that makes me feel good, I will satisfy my social conscience, which in turn will bring some peace to my life. That is my plan, my dream, my hope.
And, by the way, not one single day goes by that I don't think of September 11, 2001 and what I witnessed on that day. Not one single day, ever.
I'm Donna Hofmann and I was the Office Manager at The Reserve Bank of Australia, New York Representative Office, a business located at One Liberty Plaza, 46th floor, New York. The building is located directly across the street from 1 WTC. It is so close that, there is (was) a tunnel connecting the two buildings. During inclement weather I didn't even have to go outside to get to my office after exiting the subway inside the WTC. Downtown is not very attractive but I loved the Trade Center. I shopped in the beautiful stores in the Concourse almost every day. I went to the TKTS to get half priced Broadway Show tickets. I bought my son clothes at Banana Republic and J. Crew. I bought something in Bath and Body Works nearly every day! I ordered lunch from Fine and Shapiro. Oh, I loved those buildings.
One Liberty Plaza, occupies a full square block. The streets are Church, Cortland, Broadway and Liberty. For three days after the terrorist attacks, it was reported that my building had structural damage and was in danger of collapse (in the end, repairs were made and we returned to the building)on November 19th but with fires still burning and the air still smelling, we all had scratchy throats and red, watery eyes.
On that terrible September 11th, I was in my office at 8 a.m. My private office was located next to our dealing room. I had just put on a second pot of coffee in the dealing room and returned to my office when I heard one of our dealers shout out "holy s..." in a really screechy, loud, frightening voice. I ran next door to the dealing room to see what was happening. It was 8:46 a.m. A plane had passed right by our building and crashed into 1 WTC. For the next half hour, I stood at the window, jaw dropped open, watching with horror as the situation worsened. I watched as millions of papers and tons of debris flew in the air, swirling around our windows. I remember yellow - I think a lot of the papers must have been yellow. I watched, in disbelief, as people began to jump out of windows of 1 WTC. This was within a minute or two of the first crash. Then I watched in horror as the second plane came from the other side. I saw that plane coming but could not believe what I was seeing. Then, it went right through 2 WTC and came partially out the other side, facing my office windows. It was 9:03 a.m. I was in shock. I was also the fire warden for my office and we were getting messages on the public address system to stay in the building. I did not agree. I discussed this with my superior Michael and we agreed it was time to leave the building. At that point there were only six of us. We headed for the staircase. It was about 9:15 a.m.
We had to walk down 46 floors which are actually 92 flights of stairs. The staircase was crowded but calm. People were rushing but not panicked. We reached the street at about 9:35 or 9:40 and my colleague Anton said he thought one building looked like it might "come down." I am middle aged and I was a smoker at the time so I was out of breath. My legs were like rubber and I wanted to rest (and smoke) but Anton said we needed to leave the area immediately. However, we then realized that we had been separated from the only other female colleague, Peggy, during our decent in the staircase. Anton agreed we could not leave without her. We waited for what seemed a very long time but it was probably only about five minutes and then she came out. Also a middle-aged smoker, she was in the same shape as me. "My hero" as I now call him, Anton, took charge. He told me and Peggy to take off our shoes. Then he took my handbag and gave Peggy's handbag to another colleague, George. Then he took my hand and we started to run. We were running East on Maiden Lane because we had exited the building on Broadway. (Anton and me and Peggy and George - We had lost Michael and Jon in the staircase but they made it home safely). Anton never let go of my hand. After a few blocks, we stopped to buy water at Duane Reade which is on John Street. Therefore, we must have gone north for one block. We got two bottles each and drank one. We had just continued on our journey toward uptown when the first tower collapsed. We were spared from the terrible cloud that overtook so many people but, only because of Antons worst case scenario, we better get out of here attitude. Otherwise, Peggy and I would most certainly have been sitting on the stairs of One Liberty Plaza, smoking a cigarette and would have been caught in the collapse.
It took us all day to get home. But that is another story. I did eventually get home in the late afternoon but I couldn't walk for two days. I had been walking for hours "on adrenaline" and I had wreaked havoc on my legs. I set up a home office. I worked from home to see that the administrative needs of the company and employees were met (payroll, bill paying for all the expatriate staff expenses, etc). Then, repairs were finished on One Liberty Plaza and our building was re-opened. November 19th, we returned to work at One Liberty Plaza. But I had changed. I had stopped listening to music. I no longer enjoyed shopping whereas, prior to September 11th, I was a shopaholic and loved to spend hours at shopping malls. Then, when the area re-opened to the public, I began to resent the tourists, "gawkers" as I called them. It really annoyed me that they were there, clogging up the streets and gawking and taking photos and smiling. I was fearful on the subway and in tunnels. I had to look at and walk past "ground zero" every day, to and from my office. I was unhappy. I was depressed. I could not sleep. I cried every day. I decided that I had to make changes in my life. I gave up smoking. I resigned from my job. I sold my house and I have moved to Ohio. I live in a beautiful college town where I am surrounded by life. Thousands of young, exhilarating students. Trees, birds, deer. I live near relatives that I love dearly. I am doing volunteer work but my private health insurance is costing me too much so I need to get a job with benefits. I hope to get a job in a non-profit environment here. My preferance would be in some type of crisis center. I don't care how little I earn as long as I have health coverage! I am hopeful that by doing something that makes me feel good, I will satisfy my social conscience, which in turn will bring some peace to my life. That is my plan, my dream, my hope.
And, by the way, not one single day goes by that I don't think of September 11, 2001 and what I witnessed on that day. Not one single day, ever.
Collection
Citation
“story20660.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 10, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/5893.