On September 11, 2001, I arrived at work just before 9am. I walked through the waiting room, (I worked at a car dealership), and quickly glanced at the TV…..I saw a building in flames and asked the customers that were waiting, what had happened….they told me that a plane had hit a building in New York City. I raced upstairs to my office, and then went to the business office because they had a TV. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing…..the girls filled me in on what was going on, and then I ran back to my office, this time in a panic because I knew that my son Todd, who lives in NYC, took the train to work that passed directly under the World Trade Center. I had no idea what time he left for work. I called him immediately, and just prayed that he answered, ‘Please God, let him answer, please God, let him answer’…...he did, “I Mom, what’s up?” he asked in a calm voice. My God, I was so happy to hear his voice. . .I said, “Todd, do you know what’s happening outside?”...he said that he didn’t, and I told him what had happened, he couldn’t believe what I was telling him. He went to turn on the TV.
I then ran back to the business office.. . As we stood watching in horror as the second plane hit, we all gasped! One of the girls said that the pilot must have been blinded by the smoke…..I looked at her and told her that this was no accident, it was a terror attack. This was so surreal…...could we actually be watching this happen? It didn’t seem to register for any of us that this was indeed really happening. And then, we watched as the first building fell. . . .dear God, how could this happen????
I went back to my office once again to call Todd. He lived in Brooklyn then, in D.U.M.B.O. to be exact, which was directly across the river from South Street Seaport, and a block away from the Brooklyn Bridge. He said that when the building fell, he lost all TV connections, and that he was taking his camera to the end of the street and that he’d call me later.
Again, I went to the business office…..by this time, we watched the second building fall. . .we were all in shock. I couldn’t seem to get my insides to calm down, I was still worried about Todd, even though I knew he wasn’t in Manhattan, no one knew what would happen next. I decided to go home.
Once I home, I was glued to the TV. Todd called at one point to tell me what he had witnessed. He said that what he thought was paper falling from the second building, were actually people jumping. He also said that the people that were running on the Brooklyn Bridge looked like they were on a conveyor belt, moving across the bridge to the other side, and that the air smelled of concrete and ash. I told him to try and get out of the city if he could, but that was almost impossible to do. Later in the day, he did get out through Brooklyn, and went to say with friends.. . .I was very relieved knowing that, and I told him to check in with me later on.
For the rest of the day, I sat in utter disbelief in front of the TV, watching as events unfolded. . I kept the phone in my hand. . .and just cried.
I then ran back to the business office.. . As we stood watching in horror as the second plane hit, we all gasped! One of the girls said that the pilot must have been blinded by the smoke…..I looked at her and told her that this was no accident, it was a terror attack. This was so surreal…...could we actually be watching this happen? It didn’t seem to register for any of us that this was indeed really happening. And then, we watched as the first building fell. . . .dear God, how could this happen????
I went back to my office once again to call Todd. He lived in Brooklyn then, in D.U.M.B.O. to be exact, which was directly across the river from South Street Seaport, and a block away from the Brooklyn Bridge. He said that when the building fell, he lost all TV connections, and that he was taking his camera to the end of the street and that he’d call me later.
Again, I went to the business office…..by this time, we watched the second building fall. . .we were all in shock. I couldn’t seem to get my insides to calm down, I was still worried about Todd, even though I knew he wasn’t in Manhattan, no one knew what would happen next. I decided to go home.
Once I home, I was glued to the TV. Todd called at one point to tell me what he had witnessed. He said that what he thought was paper falling from the second building, were actually people jumping. He also said that the people that were running on the Brooklyn Bridge looked like they were on a conveyor belt, moving across the bridge to the other side, and that the air smelled of concrete and ash. I told him to try and get out of the city if he could, but that was almost impossible to do. Later in the day, he did get out through Brooklyn, and went to say with friends.. . .I was very relieved knowing that, and I told him to check in with me later on.
For the rest of the day, I sat in utter disbelief in front of the TV, watching as events unfolded. . I kept the phone in my hand. . .and just cried.
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