A Story I'm Not So Happy About − 11 September, 2001
Living in Weehawken (I still think of it as another borough of NYC) was awesome, until today.
I woke up normally and took a shower and got dressed for work. I started every morning at that time at 10 a.m. I jumped on the bus and around 9:30 a.m. On the loop of the Lincoln Tunnel, I got a call on my cell phone from my buddy Simon Moyal, "Dude, some stupid mother fucker just flew a plane into the World Trade Center!" I thought he was kidding. I looked to downtown Manhattan and saw the top of Tower 2 in flames. My first thought was, "Man, how are they gonna fix that?" Simon told me he called me because he knew I worked a block away and a friend of ours, Justin, worked in Tower 2 on the 75th floor.
I looked around the bus and everyone was either on their cell phones or trying to get on them. I told him I'd try to get a hold of Justin and call him back. The bus stopped right before entering the tunnel and was told to turn around. I got home about 15 minutes later. There was a girl I liked sitting next to me on the bus and she happened to live on my block so we walked to the end of the block, which happens to have a scenic overlook of Manhattan. On the way there, we stopped at her house and she turned on the TV. As soon as we turned it on, we saw the second plane hit. We heard a faint boom about 2 seconds later.
We left her house and ran to the overlook. Both towers were now smoldering. "Fucking Osama Bin Laden!" I was surprised that everyone around me said, "Who?" I thought everyone knew he was a huge terrorist and was behind the U.S.S. Cole and several other hits at our embassies in foreign countries. I assumed that he'd do this too.
As we watched from the outlook, people in their homes screamed and came out their doors and said, "We're under attack, the Pentagon has just been destroyed!" We were all in shock, watching those towers which we've all taken for granted, wondering how they would stop the fire and rebuild the section of the buildings over the coming months.
I'll never forget the feeling I had when Tower 1 started to tilt. I saw it with my own eyes, from just across the Hudson river. I didn't need FOX News or CNN to replay it 1,000 to get pissed off over the imagery. It is forever etched in my brain. As the building fell down, I still wondered, "What the hell are we going to do with 1 tower?"
These odd questions give you a clue into my state of mind. While others around me were crying and screaming for those that died during the collapse if the smoke hadn't gotten to them already, I was thinking about engineering and physics. It wasn't until later, when I would see the replays on the News, that I would sob like a little baby for the dead. The mother's, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, cousins of so many people... gone, with no hope as they perished in the heat.
I went home, forgetting about my crush, now wasn't the time. I called my mom to let her know I was okay. My mother immediately wanted every Arab dead. I argued with her and told her that not every Arab is bad and that I worked with alot of Arabs and was friends with many more. Instead of realizing my mom was distressed and angry, I thought she was a racist. She's not, she's okay with Arabs. :)
I was trying to get ahold of my boss and my friend Justin all day but as anyone around NYC knows, the cell networks were jammed, considering one of the WTC towers hosted Verizon's cell tower.
Around 5 p.m. I finally got a call from my boss and she told me she had just got home. She was stuck in the subway when it happened and had to walk home, as all public transit was shut down. She just walked in the door when she called me, so it took her a hell of a long time to get home.
About an hour later, Justin finally called my house. I really thought he was dead. Turns out, he was late that day as everyone in his office wasn't supposed to be in until 10.
At this point, I don't know anyone personally that died in the attack and for that I'm glad. But, in a way, I knew every single person that died that day, I walked past them in J & R Music World and in the parks downtown before that day. As a city, New York is still grieving. As those far away can distance themselves from it, the people of New York and those that saw it with their own eyes live with it everyday. I was a mile away from the towers that day, but could have been a block away and saw people jumping from the flames on the 110th floor. I'm so glad I didn't start work at 8.
I called my buddy Jim who was, at the time, a volunteer fireman with the Englewood Fire Department. I volunteered to go with them and help clean up rubble, but of course they wouldn't allow that for insurance reasons. I just wanted to do something. I felt helpless and dumb sitting and staring at the news anchors and hearing their speculations and stupid comments when everyone knew all along who did it and why.
Did 9/11/01 push me away from New York? Maybe, on some level, but I still love the city though.
I woke up normally and took a shower and got dressed for work. I started every morning at that time at 10 a.m. I jumped on the bus and around 9:30 a.m. On the loop of the Lincoln Tunnel, I got a call on my cell phone from my buddy Simon Moyal, "Dude, some stupid mother fucker just flew a plane into the World Trade Center!" I thought he was kidding. I looked to downtown Manhattan and saw the top of Tower 2 in flames. My first thought was, "Man, how are they gonna fix that?" Simon told me he called me because he knew I worked a block away and a friend of ours, Justin, worked in Tower 2 on the 75th floor.
I looked around the bus and everyone was either on their cell phones or trying to get on them. I told him I'd try to get a hold of Justin and call him back. The bus stopped right before entering the tunnel and was told to turn around. I got home about 15 minutes later. There was a girl I liked sitting next to me on the bus and she happened to live on my block so we walked to the end of the block, which happens to have a scenic overlook of Manhattan. On the way there, we stopped at her house and she turned on the TV. As soon as we turned it on, we saw the second plane hit. We heard a faint boom about 2 seconds later.
We left her house and ran to the overlook. Both towers were now smoldering. "Fucking Osama Bin Laden!" I was surprised that everyone around me said, "Who?" I thought everyone knew he was a huge terrorist and was behind the U.S.S. Cole and several other hits at our embassies in foreign countries. I assumed that he'd do this too.
As we watched from the outlook, people in their homes screamed and came out their doors and said, "We're under attack, the Pentagon has just been destroyed!" We were all in shock, watching those towers which we've all taken for granted, wondering how they would stop the fire and rebuild the section of the buildings over the coming months.
I'll never forget the feeling I had when Tower 1 started to tilt. I saw it with my own eyes, from just across the Hudson river. I didn't need FOX News or CNN to replay it 1,000 to get pissed off over the imagery. It is forever etched in my brain. As the building fell down, I still wondered, "What the hell are we going to do with 1 tower?"
These odd questions give you a clue into my state of mind. While others around me were crying and screaming for those that died during the collapse if the smoke hadn't gotten to them already, I was thinking about engineering and physics. It wasn't until later, when I would see the replays on the News, that I would sob like a little baby for the dead. The mother's, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, cousins of so many people... gone, with no hope as they perished in the heat.
I went home, forgetting about my crush, now wasn't the time. I called my mom to let her know I was okay. My mother immediately wanted every Arab dead. I argued with her and told her that not every Arab is bad and that I worked with alot of Arabs and was friends with many more. Instead of realizing my mom was distressed and angry, I thought she was a racist. She's not, she's okay with Arabs. :)
I was trying to get ahold of my boss and my friend Justin all day but as anyone around NYC knows, the cell networks were jammed, considering one of the WTC towers hosted Verizon's cell tower.
Around 5 p.m. I finally got a call from my boss and she told me she had just got home. She was stuck in the subway when it happened and had to walk home, as all public transit was shut down. She just walked in the door when she called me, so it took her a hell of a long time to get home.
About an hour later, Justin finally called my house. I really thought he was dead. Turns out, he was late that day as everyone in his office wasn't supposed to be in until 10.
At this point, I don't know anyone personally that died in the attack and for that I'm glad. But, in a way, I knew every single person that died that day, I walked past them in J & R Music World and in the parks downtown before that day. As a city, New York is still grieving. As those far away can distance themselves from it, the people of New York and those that saw it with their own eyes live with it everyday. I was a mile away from the towers that day, but could have been a block away and saw people jumping from the flames on the 110th floor. I'm so glad I didn't start work at 8.
I called my buddy Jim who was, at the time, a volunteer fireman with the Englewood Fire Department. I volunteered to go with them and help clean up rubble, but of course they wouldn't allow that for insurance reasons. I just wanted to do something. I felt helpless and dumb sitting and staring at the news anchors and hearing their speculations and stupid comments when everyone knew all along who did it and why.
Did 9/11/01 push me away from New York? Maybe, on some level, but I still love the city though.
Comments:
kga245 (August 2, 2006. 02:59am)
Thanks for sharing Brian. I just added my own 9-11 account <a href="http://www.dandelife.com/story/9322">here</a>
BrianZimm (August 10, 2006. 02:47pm)
Cool, I love reading different perspectives about 9-11. It really helps me stay focused on this "successful" war on terror and wondering why we're in Iraq. :)