story6314.xml

story6314.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

I RMEMEBER DRIVING TO WORK THAT MORNING AND THINKING OF MY
COLLEGE FRIENDS - WE USED TO RATE THE DAYS AND THINKING
THAT TUESDAY MORNING IT WAS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE TEN BEST
DAYS, BEAUTIFUL BLUE SKY NOT TO HOT SUNNY - ALMOST PERFECT
I WAS AT MY DESK WHEN MY BOSS CAME OUT TO TELL US THAT THE
WORLD TRADE CENTER WAS ON FIRE. WE TURNED ON THE
TELEVISION IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON.
WE THEN FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS A PLANE THAT HAD GONE IN THE
SIDE OF THE BLDG. WE WERE SPECULATING AS TO WHETHER IT WAS
A NAVIGATIONAL ERROR WHEN WE SAW THE SECOND PLANE FLYING
TOWARD THE TOWERS. WE SAW THE PLANE HIT AND THEN THE SCREEN WENT
BLACKA SECOND. NOW WE KNEW THAT IT WAS SOMETHING TERRIBLE
AND I KNEW MY HUSBAND HAD LEFT FOR WORK ON THE 8:46 TRAIN
( THE EXACT TIME THE FIRST ON HIT) TO GO TO WORK IN MIDTOWN-
I ALSO REPUTED MYSELF,HE DID NOT HAVE A CELL PHONE. I CALLED
MY SISTER WHO STARTED TO FIND INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITES BUT
TO NO AVAIL. I CALLED MY INLAWSTO MAKE SURE THEY HAD THE TV ON.
I REMEMBER GOING BACK INTO THE CONFERENCE ROOM AND LISTENING TO THE SHOCK IN THE ANNOUNCERS VOICES. I
WAS CONCERNED BECAUSE I HAVE MANY RELATIVES AND FRIENDS WHO
WORK IN AND ARROUND THE TRADE CENTER. HOW DO WE GET IN TOUCH
WITH THEM. AND THEN TO ME THE WORLD SEEMEDTO SPIN OUT - THE
PENTAGON WAS ON FIRE- ANOTHER PLANE HIT AND THERE WERE REPORTS
OF SEVEN DIFFERENT PLANES IN THE AIR THAT WERE READY TO BE USED
AS MISSLES. WHERE WAS JERRY ?? i CALLED MY DAD VERY SCARED - jERRY
HAD NO MONEY AND NO CREDIT CARDS NO CELL PHONE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN
i STARETED TO THINK IT WOULD BE LIKE THE RIOTS OF THE 70'S IN NY WHEN
THERE WAS A BLACK OUT IT WAS THE ONLY TIME I EVER RECALLED NYC AS
OUT OF CONTROL.- THEN THE UNTHINKABLE HAPPENED
THE TOWERS FELL RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY EYES - I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT
THERE WAS WHITE SMOKE - INSTEAD OF BLACK I THINK THEN I THOUGHT
THE WORLD WAS COMING TO AN END AND I REMEMBER KNOWING MY SONS
LIFE WOULD BE DIFFERENT THAN MINE. I SPENT THE NEXT FEW HOURS FINDING
OUT HOW A FEW SECONDS CAN CHANGE YOUR LUCK- AN UNCLE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE BREAKFAST MEETING
AT THE REST ON 110 WAS RUNNING LATE AND LEFT HIS OFFICE ON 1 LIBERTY
TO FIND THE FIRES. WENT BACK TO 1LIBERTY WHICH WAS DESTROYED IN THE FALLING TOWERS RUBLE AND
BUT EVACUATED AND RAN WITH THOUSANDS TO MIDTOWN
A COUSIN WHO WORKED FOR PA IN HVAC WAS IN THE STAIR WLL WHEN TE SECOND TOWER
GOT HIT AND MADE IT OUT - ANOTHER COUSIN WHEN INTO HIS OFFICE EARLY TO FIND
HE NEEDED TO BE IN NJ AND LEFT AT 8:30 AM HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE
86TH FLR- ON OTHER COUSIN WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AT NYSE BUT HER DAUGHTERS FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL
AND A CASE OF SEPERATION ANXIETY CAUSED HER TO BE LATE AS SHE WAS WALKING UP TO THE STREET
FORM THE SUBWAY SHE SAW EVERYONE RUNNING TO THE SUBWAY - HAD AN INSTINCT AND TURNED AROUND AND WENT HOME
FINALLY JERRY CALLED - HE WAS ON THE TRAIN BORROWING SOMEONES CELL PHONE
THE TRAIN WAS EERILY QUIET - HE WAS IN QUEENS STUCK ON THE TRAIN AND THEY HAD JUST WATCHED THE TOWERS FALL
HE SAID IT WAS SURREAL BECUASE THE TRAIN WAS SILENT AND OFCOURSE THEY COULD NOT HEAR ANYTHING
THEY JUST WATCHED IT FALL AS IF WATCHING A MOVIE
I LEFT WORK AT THREE TO PICK GERARD UP AT THE BUS - THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAD THE BLOCK PARTY
THE PREVIOUS SATURDAY- SO WE HAD THE NEW COMMRADERIE TO LEAN ON. FIVE MOTHERS AND GRANDOTHERS STOOD WAINTING
CHECKING TO MAKE SURE THE IMIDIATE MEMBERS OF ALL FAMILIES WERE OK
WE TRIED TO EXPLAIN TO THE CHILDREN IN SOME WAY WHAT HAD HAPPEND - IN AMTTER OF HOURS -FLAGE WNET OUT
DOORS CANDLES WERE ASSEMBLED AND THEN THE f-16'S FLEW OVER- THE CHILDREN WERE FRIGHTENED BY THE SOUND
I TOLD MY SON IT WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT AMERICA IS THE SAFEST PLACE ON EARTH - WHIL I BELEIVE THAT IS TRUE
IS NOT AS SAFE AS IT APPEARED TO BE 48 HOURS BEFORE. JERRYS TRAIN NEVER MADE IT TO NYC
AND THAT NIGHT WE DID WHAT SO MANY FAMILIES IN THE UNITED STATES DID WE LIGHT A CANDLE WE LISTENED
TO OUR PRESIDENT, WE WENT TO CHURCH TO PRAY WITH OTHERS AND WE WEPT. tHE NEXT FEW DAYS WERE HEARTBRAKING
AS WE FOUND CHILDHOOD FRIENDS HAD ANSWERED THE HEROS CALL AND DIDNOT RETURN - MY BROTHER IN LAW IS A FIREMAN WHO WAS
OFF THAT MORNING BUT LOST MANY FROM HIS HOUSE - HE WOULD CALL FORM THE WAITNG AREA IN QUEENS TO LET US KNOW WHO WAS
OK AND WHO WAS NOT- ANOTHER BROHTER IN LAW IS AN IRON WORKER FOR LOCAL 40 HE WAS PART OF THE RECOVERY
EFFORT WORKING 20 TO 24HOURS AT A CLIP SLEEPING FOR A FEW NEAR GROUND ZERO AND RETURNING
- I SPENT ONE NIGHT BAGGING SOCKS BANDANAS HANDKERCHIEFS
T-SHIRTS TOOTHPAST MOUTHWASH AND GUM COOKIES AND ORANGES -
EACH WITH A THANK YOU NOTE AND PRAISE FOR THE BRAVERY OF
THE RECOVERY WORKERS. MY SON AND I SENT THEM TO THE RESUE WORKERS
VIA THE FIREMAN. IT WAS OFTEN LIKE A 1940'S MOVIE ABOUT THE
WAR EFFOERT - THEN THE FUNERALS BEGAN AND WE WENT TO THE WAKES - IT WAS NOT LIKE A MOVIE THEN IT WAS AS
SCARY AS I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE WHEN THE TOWERS FELL
WE FOUND COMFORT IN OUR PRESIDENT STRONG HONORABLE AND
COURAGEOUS, OUR MAYOR AND OUR GOVENOR - TIMES MAKE THE MAN OR MAN MAKES THE TIMES
IN THIS CASE WE PRAYED IN THANKS FOR HAVING THESE STRONG LEADERS IN OFFICE WHEN
THE CATASTROPHY HIT. WE CONTINUE TO PRAY IN THE WAR EFFORT
FO THE HONORABLE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS AIRMAN ETC WHO NOW MAKE THE GREATEST SACRAFICE
FOR OUR FREEDOM.