I was waiting for my neighbor and walking partner. I had turned the radio on (as I often did before I left for my walk-to make any burglars think someone was home-not that we really have many burglars in my neighborhood -one can't be too careful). Anyway, it was about 8:45 AM. The first thing I heard was that a plane had hit one of the towers. They were surmising that it was a private pilot who had lost his bearings. I ran into the den and turned on the TV-to the "Today Show", with Katie Couric and Matt Lauer. They were discussing the mysterious and horrible "accident" when the second plane hit the other tower. At that point, everyone knew it wasn't an accident. My neighbor arrived and I ushered her in to watch TV with me. She didn't know what had happened. We stayed glued to the unfolding events.
My husband was on a flight to Chicago, with his business partner, at the very moments when this all transpired. Rumors were flying within the media, that a plane was on the way to hit the Sears Tower in Chicago. I was frantic. I also had the added terror that my oldest son was living in Brooklyn and could have conceivably have been on lower Manhattan, near the World Trade Center. Anyone who lived in NYC could have been near the WTC-for one reason or another. I unsuccessfully tried to contact Gerry. I couldn't get through to my son. I was a mess.
Gerry finally called me from O'Hare airport, in Chicago. The flight attendant had announced the tragedy in New York, just as they landed. She informed everyone that every plane in the country was grounded and that passengers would have to make other arrangements to get where they needed to go. Everyone was in shock. Gerry said that when they entered the terminal, every eye was on the TV monitors and you could hear a pin drop-it was that quiet. Many were on their cell phones, trying to figure out what to do. There wasn't a car to rent or a train in service. Many were stuck at the airport-with nowhere to go and no way to get there. Fortunately, Chicago is about 5 hours from us. An employee of Gerry's drove to Chicago to pick them up and drive them back.
I finally got in touch with my son-after the towers collapsed. He had been asleep, due to a late night of work the previous evening. He had no idea what had happened. I told him. He said he could smell smoke, hear the sirens and that there were bits of paper and ash floating through the air. He was stunned. We spoke for a bit and then he said he needed to make a few phone calls, in order to find out if all of his friends were ok. I spoke to him several times, throughout the day, when I could make the connection. So many people were calling to and from New York-the lines were jammed.
My younger son was at work-locally-and came home to be with me. We watched the news and shared our disbelief and horror. Gerry wouldn't be getting home until about 10:30 that evening and I hated to be alone. When he did arrive, we hugged each other for a very long time.
In the days after 9/11 we spoke often with our older son. He described the scene in New York.....
Immediately after I had spoken with him, on that morning of 9/11, he went down to the Brooklyn Promenade, which is a park on the river-close to the Brooklyn Bridge (which many of the people in Lower Manhattan walked across, to get to safety). It's also directly in view of the former WTC. Justin said there were columns of smoke rising from where the towers used to be. Most of the people crossing the bridge were covered in ash, wearing business attire and looking dazed. It was all very somber.
He said that in the days following the attack, New York was uncharacteristically quiet-no honking horns, no radios blaring from windows, nobody yelling. He walked into a bar and it was full of people, yet eerily silent-except for the television on which everyone was watching the news about the attacks. Lower Manhattan was closed to the public, except for residents. New York City was in a state of shock.
One month later, Gerry, our son AJ and I drove to NYC to see Justin. As we approached the Lincoln Tunnel, into the city, an alert was broadcast over the radio for everyone to be on the lookout for unmarked white vans-occupied by terrorists. There were what seemed like a bazillion unmarked white vans approaching the tunnel, along with every other kind of vehicle! WELCOME TO NEW YORK, POST 9/11! Everyone looked like a potential terrorist! We were that paranoid....
All over New York, there were signs, letters and posters-thanking the police and fire departments for their wonderful response to the tragedy. There were first responders from all over the country walking the streets of New York. People were stopping them, thanking them and taking their pictures. New Yorkers were friendly, helpful and concerned-very unusual for a city of that size, temperment and reputation. Our previous visits to the city had never been like that. It was amazing.
There was also an anthrax scare at NBC News while we were there. The media was swarming all over the NBC building.
On October 12th, 2001, we walked down to Lower Manhattan, to pay homage to the victims of 9/11. As we approached the Financial District and Wall Street, I was struck by the height and closeness of the buildings. I thought "OMG, it must have been so horrible for those who were near the WTC! The buildings there are (were) so much taller and there were so many panic-stricken people running for their lives!" A shiver went through me....
Closer to the disaster site, there were thousands of notes and letters posted from people looking for loved ones. There were a few hundred people walking about-mostly in reverent silence. We got closer to the site and noticed the soot covering the buildings, windows and even inside the closed businesses. There were many volunteers, firefighters, police, emergency personnel, military and city workers beyond the area which was cordoned off from the public. About 3-4 city blocks from where we stood, you could see the smoke still rising from what used to be the WTC-and this was one month later! The buildings immediately surrounding the WTC were a twisted mass of metal and concrete. I could see the huge American flag which workers had placed at the ruins. It was all terribly sad and brought tears to my eyes. Many people were crying. I have never felt so helpless and hopeless-yet proud of my country and what these wonderful people were doing, who had come from all over the world, to look for remains and clean up the horrible mess that had been made by the terrorists.
Tomorrow I will remember, as I do every year on September 11. I will remember where I was, how I felt and what I was doing. Nothing will ever be the same. We became too complacent in this country, thinking that we were safe from what so many other countries have had to deal with. We were naive. There is no protection from suicidal extremists who will stop at nothing to promote their cause...
