I remember one of my co-workers telling me that she felt uneasy that morning, and we did something unusual for corporate America: we had a prayer circle! As I have a degree in Theology and am trained as a minister, I was asked to lead the prayer.
So, we gathered in a circle and all prayed for peace and comfort in the world. After this we felt a little better, but that sense of being unsettled seems to have spread among us…that day seemed different.
Shortly afterwards I had a meeting with my boss to go over one of my projects, and when I came out of his office, someone came up to me and said “A plane just hit the World Trade Center!” And my response was something smart like “What, they didn’t see it?” as I was thinking it was a small plane that hit the tower. Then, my friend said “It wasn’t some small plane, but a jet, an airliner!”
When I got back to my desk, I checked the CNN site, and after a long wait, I finally got on, but did not learn much more than I already knew. However, that is when I first heard the word “terrorist”, although we had already begun to speculate that what happened was not an accident.
I tried a few other sites, but the internet service was getting slower, and I realized that it was because so many people were doing the same thing that I was, and the service was not as robust then, as it is today.
Then, I was told that the TVs were on in the company gym, and as work had pretty much ground to a halt for the day, I went to the gym, where I got my first real view of one of the towers burning! Having once worked at the Trade Center, it was even more shocking to see the building on fire!
While standing there, one of the other people watching said “I am worried about my nephew, who works on the 83rd floor of one of the towers.” Someone else added, “I have a nephew who just started working for Cantor Fitzgerald, up at the top of the tower, I hope he’s okay.”
That’s when I began worrying about my niece, who was in Seven World Trade, and I was wondering about my old co-workers in Building Five. My Brother In-law (the niece’s father) was retired from the FDNY, so I was not concerned about him, but I still did not comprehend the scope of the disaster…no one did, yet.
As we watched the drama unfold on the TV, the anchors speculated more and more about possible terrorism, and then, the unthinkable happened! The second plane hit the towers, and we all knew!
What I did not know was that while my niece was already being evacuated from Building Seven, her brother was walking up to the building as the one of the planes hit, but then was able to turn around and run to safety.
He later worked at the site and became a firefighter himself, and made us all even more proud of him than we already were.
We stood there in the gym and watched transfixed as the towers burned, and I was thinking of what the skyline would look like with the towers scorched and burned, and wondered how they would be taken then…but then, the question answered itself when the first tower fell, and that is when it all came home to me, and everyone else!
From then, we knew it was just a matter of time until the other once fell, and we knew that our world would never be the same.
I spent a couple of hours watching the coverage, traveling back and forth between the gym and my desk, answering emails and talking to my work partners on the phone. We had a big conference call scheduled for that morning, but after a few minutes realized that we would not be able to get any work done that day.
At lunch, I decided to go to my regular AA meeting, seeing as it was my 12th Sober Anniversary. As I drove over to the meeting, I noticed that people were being more respectful as they drove, and I also saw that there were a lot of American flags popping up, on front porches and even trailing from people’s cars.
Although it was my anniversary, I didn’t say anything about it at the meeting, as we did not follow the usual format, because everyone wanted to share about the disaster. Many were angry, all were sad and confused.
When I got back to work, it had been decided that there would be no business done that day, and we began to head home for the day.
At that point, I was still thinking of what to do, I thought I should be heading to NY, to check on everyone, and see if I could do anything to help…but I soon realized that would be a waste, that there was nothing for me to do, but take care of my own daughter, who had her own questions.
I stopped to pick her up on the way home, and at seven, she had the ability to comprehend some of what had happened, and she did have questions.
I tried to explain it as best as I could, and also made myself turn off the news (and it was on almost every channel) and instead we chose to watch a movie, and she made a small American flag, and we went outside to wave it at the passing cars, and she called out “God Bless America!”
I did not turn the news back on until after she went to bed, because I felt she had enough, and to be truthful, I also felt overwhelmed! The news was so sad, so frustrating, but there was nothing I could do.
Before ending the day myself, I made sure to call my sister, to ensure that everyone was okay…if not “good”.
I would go up to New York about ten days later. I took my usual route, driving into Staten Island, and then across on the ferry, I figured it would be easier since driving into Manhattan was still difficult and because I wanted to see it for myself.
I remember riding on the front of the boat, along with many other people and gasping as we pulled out of the slip and got a good look at skyline! There, in place of the towers, was a gaping hole, with smoking rising out of the center!
“It’s gone, it’s really gone!” one of the riders said…saying it for us all!
Ordinary Adventures 