I remember
Sep. 11th, 2004 08:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
puppetmakerBehind the cut is what happened to me on September 11th 2001
I remember
I remember where I was when the first plane hit. I had just gotten my breakfast smoothie and was on my way back to my desk. I was going through a secured door when the door came back at me and knocked the smoothie all over my right shoe. I cleaned up the mess and went back to the cafeteria to replace my breakfast.
I remember
I remember Luiz gave me a free smoothie that day even n told her I would pay for it. It was an accident she said no need to pay. Luiz was from Guatemala. She had two boys. One born there and one born here. She had been very lucky in the immigration lottery and was grateful to be in the United States. One of the kitchen personal can running out and was talking rapidly in Spanish. A small plane hit the World Trade Center came the translation. I went back up stairs.
I remember
I got back up stairs and Shelly told me to come with her. We went to the head of publicity’s office since she was one of the few who had a TV with cable in the building. Her office was crowded with people. There was smoke pouring out of a hole in the Tower. I heard the announcer say that there were unconfirmed reports of that a small plane had crashed into the Tower. Then it happened. The second plane hit. We saw the visual and heard the sound shortly afterwards rolling up from Wall Street. We knew something was very wrong.
I remember
I went back to my desk and called up the NPR radio feed on the computer. I called my husband on my cell phone. Last time it worked that day. He could tell my stepdaughter that I was OK and nowhere near Wall Street. They started talking on the radio about a plane that crashed into the pentagon. I tried calling other members of my family but the cell wasn’t working and the landlines were all busy. E-mail became the way to communicate with people.
I remember
I heard the rumble and felt the building shutter. Then a cloud of dust billowed up into Time Square. The wind shifted and the dust dissipated quickly. The Towers had fallen. The city was sealed off. We didn’t know what would happen next.
I remember
Since the city was sealed off, we didn’t know when or if we could make it home. There was a scramble for hotel rooms for the employees. Del Rey snagged a couple. We still didn’t know what happened to Steve since he flew out that morning to California about 8 am. He checked in and said all planes had been sent to ground and he was in the Midwest but OK. His cell phone worked one more time to call his wife and then he couldn’t get a line back into New York.
I remember
They reopened some of the subway lines into Queens. If I could make it to Jamaica station I might be able to get home. A bunch of us who knew each other from work and the LIRR commute decided to try to get to the train station together. They were only letting people into two entrances of the subway at Time Square. We got down to the platform and it was packed. We managed to get our group all into one subway car. One of our number was pregnant and a gentleman gave up his seat to her.
I remember
At one of the subway stations were you transfer a woman covered in dust got on the train. She looked shell shocked. A young woman got up and offered her the seat. The woman sat down and started to shake. There was a doctor on the car with us who we managed to get through the crowd to this woman. She was in shock. She had just gotten clear of the towers when they fell. She had a cut on her arm. The doctor convinced her to come with him to the hospital which was at the next stop. It was the hospital where he worked. We helped her stand and two people got off with them even though it was not their stop to help get her to the hospital.
I remember
It was dark in the tunnels. The lights kept flickering on and off in the car. We made it to Queens and walked to the train station at Jamaica. As did a lot of other people. No one was allowed up on the platform unless they were boarding a train. I was put in the wrong line but a nice woman in a floral dress sent me to talk to a transit officer. He told me to immediately go to platform 5 since there was a train going out my direction. I just made the train and was on my way home. Cell phone didn’t work but I had e-mailed Peter about our plans to get to the train.
I remember
I remember the look of relief on Peter’s face when I got home. I remember the feeling of relief when I got home. I hugged my family and we watched the news to find out what happened. I was one of the luck ones.
I am grateful I made it home that day.
I remember
I remember where I was when the first plane hit. I had just gotten my breakfast smoothie and was on my way back to my desk. I was going through a secured door when the door came back at me and knocked the smoothie all over my right shoe. I cleaned up the mess and went back to the cafeteria to replace my breakfast.
I remember
I remember Luiz gave me a free smoothie that day even n told her I would pay for it. It was an accident she said no need to pay. Luiz was from Guatemala. She had two boys. One born there and one born here. She had been very lucky in the immigration lottery and was grateful to be in the United States. One of the kitchen personal can running out and was talking rapidly in Spanish. A small plane hit the World Trade Center came the translation. I went back up stairs.
I remember
I got back up stairs and Shelly told me to come with her. We went to the head of publicity’s office since she was one of the few who had a TV with cable in the building. Her office was crowded with people. There was smoke pouring out of a hole in the Tower. I heard the announcer say that there were unconfirmed reports of that a small plane had crashed into the Tower. Then it happened. The second plane hit. We saw the visual and heard the sound shortly afterwards rolling up from Wall Street. We knew something was very wrong.
I remember
I went back to my desk and called up the NPR radio feed on the computer. I called my husband on my cell phone. Last time it worked that day. He could tell my stepdaughter that I was OK and nowhere near Wall Street. They started talking on the radio about a plane that crashed into the pentagon. I tried calling other members of my family but the cell wasn’t working and the landlines were all busy. E-mail became the way to communicate with people.
I remember
I heard the rumble and felt the building shutter. Then a cloud of dust billowed up into Time Square. The wind shifted and the dust dissipated quickly. The Towers had fallen. The city was sealed off. We didn’t know what would happen next.
I remember
Since the city was sealed off, we didn’t know when or if we could make it home. There was a scramble for hotel rooms for the employees. Del Rey snagged a couple. We still didn’t know what happened to Steve since he flew out that morning to California about 8 am. He checked in and said all planes had been sent to ground and he was in the Midwest but OK. His cell phone worked one more time to call his wife and then he couldn’t get a line back into New York.
I remember
They reopened some of the subway lines into Queens. If I could make it to Jamaica station I might be able to get home. A bunch of us who knew each other from work and the LIRR commute decided to try to get to the train station together. They were only letting people into two entrances of the subway at Time Square. We got down to the platform and it was packed. We managed to get our group all into one subway car. One of our number was pregnant and a gentleman gave up his seat to her.
I remember
At one of the subway stations were you transfer a woman covered in dust got on the train. She looked shell shocked. A young woman got up and offered her the seat. The woman sat down and started to shake. There was a doctor on the car with us who we managed to get through the crowd to this woman. She was in shock. She had just gotten clear of the towers when they fell. She had a cut on her arm. The doctor convinced her to come with him to the hospital which was at the next stop. It was the hospital where he worked. We helped her stand and two people got off with them even though it was not their stop to help get her to the hospital.
I remember
It was dark in the tunnels. The lights kept flickering on and off in the car. We made it to Queens and walked to the train station at Jamaica. As did a lot of other people. No one was allowed up on the platform unless they were boarding a train. I was put in the wrong line but a nice woman in a floral dress sent me to talk to a transit officer. He told me to immediately go to platform 5 since there was a train going out my direction. I just made the train and was on my way home. Cell phone didn’t work but I had e-mailed Peter about our plans to get to the train.
I remember
I remember the look of relief on Peter’s face when I got home. I remember the feeling of relief when I got home. I hugged my family and we watched the news to find out what happened. I was one of the luck ones.
I am grateful I made it home that day.
