story7432.xml
Title
story7432.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-14
911DA Story: Story
It was just before 9am 9/11/2001 when my wife called me to inform me that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Centers. How lucky I was..My last day working at 2 World Trade Center was 6/8/2001. I had worked for the prior 4 1/2 years on the 74th and 62nd floor of 2 WTC. For the 6 1/2 years prior I had worked across the street at the World Financial Center. My first job out of college was on the 96th floor of 1 World Trade Center...12 1/2 years at or around what would become known as "Ground Zero"...How lucky I was.
My thoughts immediately turned to my friends and colleagues who were not as fortunate as me and were still working in the Trade Centers. I had access to CNBC on my computer and sat dazed and in shock. This funk would hold for the next 3 hours. I was horrified, confused and emotionally devastated.
After the call from my wife I turned on the coverage, only to witness the 2nd tower being hit. I did not see the plane from the angle of the news coverage, all I saw was the explosion. I could feel my heart grow heavy as I felt helpless...all I could do was watch the events unfold in horror.
When the first tower gave way (2 World Trade Center - the tower in which I had recently worked) I saw the sudden cloud of smoke and was convinced it was just a large explosion, my colleague said no, the tower had collapsed..I could not accept that...soon, what I had denied in my mind was confirmed on the screen...who would have ever thougth that one of Americas great symbols could be destroyed by such a cowardly act...this would not be the end...as if one tower collapsing was not horrific in and of itself, 1 World Trade Center shortly followed...Oh the horror.
While in shock, all I could think of was how lucky I was to have taken on a new job only 3 months to the day (6/11/01) after 13 1/2 years of commuting from Southern Connecticut to Wall Street.
I did not know what to do...shock...finally around 12:30pm I left the office to be with my family. My wife and youngest son were home. When I walked in, I realized that life had forever changed. My son Kyle 4 1/2 years old had seen the news coverage and was on the portch recreating the events with his legos and a model airplane...how inocent yet disturbing. I looked at my wife and decided I would go up to my older son (7 years old) Matthew's school just to let him know that I was OK (not being sure he would realize that I no longer worked in the World Trade Center). When I got to the schools office they asked if I was there to take Matt home, I said "no, I just want to let him know I'm OK". They proceeded to call him to the office over the school's intercom...well, that's when my emotions hit me. They built like a tidal wave and when I saw him I couldn't help but hug and kiss him as tears fell from my eyes...Yes, the world had changed forever.
Well, like millions of other "human" beings I sat in shock and remained in shock for what seemed like an eternity. It is now 369 days later and the horror of those events are still fresh in my mind. They are no less vivid and troubling.
I can only wish and pray for better times and things to come for my wife, my children and all of humanity.
My thoughts immediately turned to my friends and colleagues who were not as fortunate as me and were still working in the Trade Centers. I had access to CNBC on my computer and sat dazed and in shock. This funk would hold for the next 3 hours. I was horrified, confused and emotionally devastated.
After the call from my wife I turned on the coverage, only to witness the 2nd tower being hit. I did not see the plane from the angle of the news coverage, all I saw was the explosion. I could feel my heart grow heavy as I felt helpless...all I could do was watch the events unfold in horror.
When the first tower gave way (2 World Trade Center - the tower in which I had recently worked) I saw the sudden cloud of smoke and was convinced it was just a large explosion, my colleague said no, the tower had collapsed..I could not accept that...soon, what I had denied in my mind was confirmed on the screen...who would have ever thougth that one of Americas great symbols could be destroyed by such a cowardly act...this would not be the end...as if one tower collapsing was not horrific in and of itself, 1 World Trade Center shortly followed...Oh the horror.
While in shock, all I could think of was how lucky I was to have taken on a new job only 3 months to the day (6/11/01) after 13 1/2 years of commuting from Southern Connecticut to Wall Street.
I did not know what to do...shock...finally around 12:30pm I left the office to be with my family. My wife and youngest son were home. When I walked in, I realized that life had forever changed. My son Kyle 4 1/2 years old had seen the news coverage and was on the portch recreating the events with his legos and a model airplane...how inocent yet disturbing. I looked at my wife and decided I would go up to my older son (7 years old) Matthew's school just to let him know that I was OK (not being sure he would realize that I no longer worked in the World Trade Center). When I got to the schools office they asked if I was there to take Matt home, I said "no, I just want to let him know I'm OK". They proceeded to call him to the office over the school's intercom...well, that's when my emotions hit me. They built like a tidal wave and when I saw him I couldn't help but hug and kiss him as tears fell from my eyes...Yes, the world had changed forever.
Well, like millions of other "human" beings I sat in shock and remained in shock for what seemed like an eternity. It is now 369 days later and the horror of those events are still fresh in my mind. They are no less vivid and troubling.
I can only wish and pray for better times and things to come for my wife, my children and all of humanity.
Collection
Citation
“story7432.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 27, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/8701.