story2683.xml

story2683.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

It was early in the morning when the first plane hit. We heard a loud "boom" and looked out the window. All we saw was confetti like debris falling from the sky but no more than 10 seconds later we saw file cabinets, documents and other things as well. We then went down to the lobby where I proceeded to phone my friend in NJ. He called me back within 2 minutes and told me that a plane hit the Trade Center. I initially thought he was kidding until I heard all of the talk around me. We all just presumed it was a freak accident of some kind but we KNEW we were not going back upstairs... we just had a feeling. I was on my way out of the lobby when I noticed a coworker of mine crying. She said her sister worked in the Trade Center and she needed to call her to make sure she was okay. I gave her my cell phone and walked away, that was my first mistake because it delayed me from going home. That is when we heard another boom and saw crowds and crowds of people running away from our building. I grabbed my coworker's hand (not the one with my phone because I could not find her) and we ran out of the building and merged with the crowd. We got a few blocks away when we ran into the coworker with the phone and decided our best bet would be to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. All I could think about was my one year old daughter and how much I wanted to hold and kiss her. Since we knew we'd be walking for a long period of time, we went into Foot Locker where I bought them each a pair of shoes (that was my second mistake) because no sooner did I pull out the card when we saw what looked like all of NYC running frantically by the store. We didn't know what was going on so we just kind of stood there, frozen. A man (God Bless him whoever he was) started to bang on the door and tell us to get out of there NOW!!!! That's when we snapped out of it and ran for our lives. We saw mounds and mounds of billowy smoke but thankfully it never caught up to us. We walked and walked and walked until we got to 40th Street near the UN building. Along the way we stopped at pay phones because the cell phones weren't working to call our loved ones and to make sure my coworkers sister was okay. I finally got in touch with my mom who contacted my coworkers mom and found out her sister was okay. We finally found a cab that was willing to take my 2 coworkers to Queens, NY. I decided to walk home (I live in the Bronx). I didn't get further than 2 blocks when I heard voices calling my name. I turned around and there they were, telling me they couldn't leave me because we started this together and we are all going home together. So into another cab we went, and headed for Queens, NY. My coworkers family was so sweet and polite and we stayed there until 8/9pm that day. My boyfriend came and picked me up and I finally was able to go home to my daughter and kiss her up which is something that I wanted to do ALL DAY LONG. To this day all I think about is what if my friend and I would have went shopping in the Trade Center concourse which we planned to do because it was early and no one would be there. What if we didn't make it? Thankfully, I did not know anyone who perished in the building but that does not stop me from mourning for all of the people who did. All I can say to them is Be Strong for God has a plan for all of us. He called his Angels to him because he needed them with him. By the way, my coworker's name is Emma L. and Deborah O. A special God Bless You goes to Emma because without you I do not think I would have made it through another year. ;-)