story656.xml

story656.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-05-20

The day began very normally for me. I woke up, showered, and drove a mile to downtown Albany into my office in the New York State Museum, the Cultural Education Center. I parked my car and ventured to the tenth floor of the building giving my usual morning cheers to Tom the parking attendant, to two women exiting their cars, to my regular coffee vendor, and to the security guard who greeted me everyday. I walked inside with many people who also seemed happy to begin their day. We all walked with the usual morning pace, the typical brisk sprint to work; for some a bounce, or with a swing of the brief case or purse.

I came into my office and thought it was strange that no one was here and the radio was on. I puttered around some and started my hotpot and got ready for my daily cup of tea. I fired up my computer. It was 9:45 a.m. I opened my e-mail and saw an unusual ?high priority? message from the Commissioner of the State Department of Education.

** High Priority **

This morning, unidentified persons highjacked two aircraft in Boston and then flew one plane into each tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. There are huge multi-story holes in one tower and smoke is billowing out. One of the towers has now collapsed and another plane crashed into the helipad outside the Pentagon in Washington. Transportation routes have been sealed off. The FBI and City emergency crews are on the scene. It appears that many people are trapped on the upper floors of the building. The State Emergency Management Office Operations Center has been activated.

The State Education Department no longer has any employees that work in the World Trade Center, but our hearts go out to those that perished and to their families.

All State Education Department staff in New York City may go home if they wish unless otherwise instructed by local authorities. If you do leave your work locations please be very careful as normal transportation routes and means may not be available and people some people may panic.

All other staff, outside New York City, should continue normal business. I know that it will be very difficult to focus on other things, but it will not do any good for anyone to panic. This is a terrible day for our country, but we need to carry on in the face of this adversity.

Richard (Cate)


Stunned, I looked out my window only to see the Corning Tower in my view. The Tower resembles the Trade Center. I immediately became concerned for my longtime friend, Sean Keegan, who worked in the vicinity of the World Trade Center. I quickly e-mailed him wondering if he was dead. Seconds later, my friend John Bach called to tell me his cousin was in tower two and had phone his family but was suddenly ?cut off.? We talked about Sean.

Unable to continue ?normal business? and hearing the faint but loud urgent whines of a male radio broadcaster, I buckled. I remember staring and tears crawling down my face. I looked out another window only to see the school where my friend?s mother worked. I wondered if she knew her son might be dead. I packed my things and tried to figure out how to translate my numb feelings into some positive energy. I visited my friend?s mother who was unaware of the magnitude of the event. I left her after hearing Sean was alive.

My other friend's cousin died.

While it is unlikely I will forget the events and how they unfolded in my life, I always will recall what happened when I left the State Museum.

When I got outside the building I saw hundreds of people in the streets exiting the Empire State Plaza offices. Like myself, people were making the exodus home. No one talked. No one said hello. Everyone was looking, but they really were staring and walking a somber pace down the Madison Avenue hill. No one was looking up; some were weeping. They had no bounce in their walk, no greetings of hello, and no words of kindness. Although hundreds of people were on the sidewalks, it was almost totally quite and peaceful. All you heard were shoes clapping the cement and whispers and sniffles. As we all walked away, you could have heard church bells ring, one at a time, slow, slow, slow. The only thing was, no bells were ringing at all but you could hear them in the mood and the pace of the people.

Unlike a typical car ride home no car horns beeped. I never heard a siren and people were kind in driving. It was quiet, and somber, and slow. It was nearly 11 a.m. Finally I heard a noise ? someone yelled. As I traveled home on North Manning Boulevard, residents had tied American flags throughout the trees and were shouting, ?U.S.A.! U.S.A! U.S.A!? to the cars that passed. I heard a car horn beep to them and I waved to these men. One man saluted to me.


Tricia A. Barbagallo
Historian
Albany, New York