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Posted by Apollo26 (OpManager) (Ranked 24 on Hardwood Hearts Ladder) on September 17, 2001 at 09:53:52:

In Reply to: Thank you, please share everything you can. posted by baby2uhoney (Platinum) on September 16, 2001 at 00:40:04:

This is from the son of friend of a friend.

This is the long message I sent to friends from Oxford:

I was 13 or 14 sitting in a classroom when we heard President Reagan had been shot. I was a freshman in college when I saw footage of the Space Shuttle exploding. What I saw on Tuesday, September 11 makes those seem like trivial events.

The day began in typical New York fashion - crammed into a crowded subway car reading the paper. We pulled into my usual station, Fulton Street, at about 9:05 in the morning. As we moved towards the doors, the conductor announced that there was "a bomb scare" and we would have to go to the next station - Wall Street. As commuters everywhere we all grumbled at the minor inconvience in our lives even though the next station is just about 300/400 meters away. I got off the subway and went up the stairs. The first thing I noticed was the "confetti" - it looked like there was a ticker tape parade. As I got to the top of the stairs, people were staring into the sky. I looked up and saw the Twin Towers on fire - huge gaping holes and the metal frame of the building burning like kindling in a fire.

The most mundane thoughts went through my head initially - "I guess I'm not going to go into work today; I guess some of our documents are going to be ruined"; etc. Then I heard people in the streets say that they'd seen a plane go into the building. It quickly dawned on me that this was deliberate. The buildings are too far apart for a single plane to do the damage I saw and the size of the holes were far too big for a single small plane that had inadvertently flown off course. The other awful truth was that it was a magnificent day in New York, crystal blue skies and visibility for miles.

It slowly dawned on me that I had to contact my family. I had just started a temporary attorney job in 2 World Trade Center (the building to the south where the second plane hit and the first building to collapse) - on the 82nd floor. On Monday, the day before, I had been at my desk at 8:45 in the morning. My parents and friends knew that I had just started the new job. My dad was at a meeting in Texas when he heard and immediately left to return to his hotel room in tears. My mom could not get through to any of my friends in New York.

I joined the thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people streaming north. The surreal scenes began - the Brooklyn Bridge and 59th Street bridge full of pedestrians streaming over them heading out of Manhattan. It looked like the New York City Marathon but with the participants fully clothed. I saw a blood van with a police escort racing to the New York blood bank. Stopping to listen to the radio as the reports about what was happening at the Pentagon and with other commercial flights. It was a scene straight out of a war.

I stopped to call my family about a mile from the Trade Center. As I waited in line we heard an enormous rumble and looked up to see 2 World Trade Center crumble to the ground. I contacted a friend here in New York and had her pass on the message that I was safe. As I continued walking home I constantly turned around to look at 1 World Trade Center standing by itself, engulfed in flames. The Twin Towers were part of the skyline, an immediately recognizable sign of "The Big Apple." I thought about the fact that when I would travel north towards New York from my parents house in Maryland, the Twin Towers would suddenly appear on the distant horizon, even though I was still 30-40 miles away from Manhattan. 30 minutes later 1 World Trade Center disappeared from the skyline also.

I know that everyone knows about the human tragedy, but the pictures and images are haunting. The local newscast is full of people holding pictures to the camera and pleading for any news about their loved ones. Entire firms have been wiped out and in many cases almost all employees of those firms are missing. Refrigerated trucks and construction equipment continue streaming into lower Manhattan.

I am, of course, very angry. As I was walking home in a daze that morning I kept thinking that someone, somewhere was celebrating. Celebrating the fact that they'd killed innocent people. I rode the elevators up with these people. They were secretaries, insurance people, computer specialists. They were mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives.

I saw Jen and Nick last weekend and remember telling Jen that I thought I had "one of the best views in the world" - overlooking New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty and Staten Island. I'm just glad I didn't have that view at 9:04 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

Hug someone you love today,

Matt

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: This is from the son of friend of a friend. : : This is the long message I sent to friends from Oxford: : : I was 13 or 14 sitting in a classroom when we heard President Reagan had been shot. I was a freshman in college when I saw footage of the Space Shuttle exploding. What I saw on Tuesday, September 11 makes those seem like trivial events. : : The day began in typical New York fashion - crammed into a crowded subway car reading the paper. We pulled into my usual station, Fulton Street, at about 9:05 in the morning. As we moved towards the doors, the conductor announced that there was "a bomb scare" and we would have to go to the next station - Wall Street. As commuters everywhere we all grumbled at the minor inconvience in our lives even though the next station is just about 300/400 meters away. I got off the subway and went up the stairs. The first thing I noticed was the "confetti" - it looked like there was a ticker tape parade. As I got to the top of the stairs, people were staring into the sky. I looked up and saw the Twin Towers on fire - huge gaping holes and the metal frame of the building burning like kindling in a fire. : : The most mundane thoughts went through my head initially - "I guess I'm not going to go into work today; I guess some of our documents are going to be ruined"; etc. Then I heard people in the streets say that they'd seen a plane go into the building. It quickly dawned on me that this was deliberate. The buildings are too far apart for a single plane to do the damage I saw and the size of the holes were far too big for a single small plane that had inadvertently flown off course. The other awful truth was that it was a magnificent day in New York, crystal blue skies and visibility for miles. : : It slowly dawned on me that I had to contact my family. I had just started a temporary attorney job in 2 World Trade Center (the building to the south where the second plane hit and the first building to collapse) - on the 82nd floor. On Monday, the day before, I had been at my desk at 8:45 in the morning. My parents and friends knew that I had just started the new job. My dad was at a meeting in Texas when he heard and immediately left to return to his hotel room in tears. My mom could not get through to any of my friends in New York. : : I joined the thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people streaming north. The surreal scenes began - the Brooklyn Bridge and 59th Street bridge full of pedestrians streaming over them heading out of Manhattan. It looked like the New York City Marathon but with the participants fully clothed. I saw a blood van with a police escort racing to the New York blood bank. Stopping to listen to the radio as the reports about what was happening at the Pentagon and with other commercial flights. It was a scene straight out of a war. : : I stopped to call my family about a mile from the Trade Center. As I waited in line we heard an enormous rumble and looked up to see 2 World Trade Center crumble to the ground. I contacted a friend here in New York and had her pass on the message that I was safe. As I continued walking home I constantly turned around to look at 1 World Trade Center standing by itself, engulfed in flames. The Twin Towers were part of the skyline, an immediately recognizable sign of "The Big Apple." I thought about the fact that when I would travel north towards New York from my parents house in Maryland, the Twin Towers would suddenly appear on the distant horizon, even though I was still 30-40 miles away from Manhattan. 30 minutes later 1 World Trade Center disappeared from the skyline also. : : I know that everyone knows about the human tragedy, but the pictures and images are haunting. The local newscast is full of people holding pictures to the camera and pleading for any news about their loved ones. Entire firms have been wiped out and in many cases almost all employees of those firms are missing. Refrigerated trucks and construction equipment continue streaming into lower Manhattan. : : I am, of course, very angry. As I was walking home in a daze that morning I kept thinking that someone, somewhere was celebrating. Celebrating the fact that they'd killed innocent people. I rode the elevators up with these people. They were secretaries, insurance people, computer specialists. They were mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives. : : I saw Jen and Nick last weekend and remember telling Jen that I thought I had "one of the best views in the world" - overlooking New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty and Staten Island. I'm just glad I didn't have that view at 9:04 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. : : Hug someone you love today, : : Matt

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