Thoughts

Thud    by Dave Weisman   9/11/01
As I sit here typing this letter, I still can't fully comprehend what I saw on live TV this morning as those buildings collapsed only a mile away! Loads of people were in the streets this afternoon, a gorgeous day I might add which added to the strange calm eeriness... subways were out of service. so was our phone. My friend Kai worked in the 75th floor in the WTC, he described the thud, then flaming fuselage falling by his window --was evacuated just minutes before the building collapsed -- ! outside, the scene was broken glass covered with blood and guts.. sounds of football game cheers of cries and screams as the buildings where falling down and people were running. It seems so unreal and everyone is highly emotional ...

Update from Ground Zero    by Wayne Weil   9/12/01
Words cannot even begin to describe what I have just seen. I just returned from the area which was once the world trade center, liberty center, millenium hotel, and battery park city. The world trade center is now a pile of rubble 20 feet high and 10 city blocks wide. There are crushed cars, ambulances, fire trucks strewn about like they were match box cars. We walk around with goggles and masks becuase there is so much smoke and debris in the air. Thousands of rescue workers, heavy construction equipment, police, army, fire department, fbi people are all over the place. There is a three inch layer of soot everywhere. Burnt out buildings are still on fire. All the surrounding buildings have had their windows blown out. It is eerily quiet. People walk around with blank expressions on their faces. There is nothing for the medical people to do. The most helpful thing we do is irrigate out fir! efighter's eyes and give them oxygen. The extracted bodies are being taken to the chelsea piers ice rink which has now become a morgue. Body parts are being continually found. Isolated hands are being fingerprinted, skulls are being xrayed for dental records. There are rumors at the site of 1500 live people trapped in the mall underneath the WTC. Only time will tell. For lack of a better description, I now know what hell must look like. The hospitals are essentially quiet, we are treating injured firefighters and rescue workers which slowly trickle in. I'll be in touch.

from ground 18  by Jenny Horn   9/13/01
After the twin towers went down 2 days ago, the atmosphere in New York is unlike I have ever experienced here. Everyone here is different now. I woke up Tuesday morning around 9:20 and after a phone call from a friend to turn on the news, that the trade center was on fire, I watched both towers go down as it happened. I am four blocks away from 14th St. which is the point where the city is blocked off from traffic, open business and most people. I did walk around below yesterday with some friends who live below that point. We found that the 14th street movie theater stayed open to provide free movies for everyone all day for distraction. And last night I walked down to Washington Square and even at 2 in the morning their were people lighting candles in the park and silently experiencing this highly emotional and emotionally paralyzing event. My mind constantly flips back and forth from everyday subject matter like doing laundry or laughing at a funny line in a movie to larger, scarier thoughts of insecurity and loss, a harsh reality that seems more like a folktale. This morning there is still a constant cloud of dust and smoke that looms in the downtown sky, visible from most locations I have been. And when the wind catches it right the smell of something like burning rubber fills everyone's senses. Even sitting in the movie theater last night didn't stop the smells from coming at us. And even today a small percentage of people are walking around with protective masks over their nose and mouth. The sound of ambulance sirens is a frequent occurrence. I myself thankfully did not suffer any loss of loved ones. I have a friend who's relatives have been displaced from their home and another who is missing two friends who are cops. Its so strange that these last 3 days have been some of the most beautiful weatherwise -- sunny, breezy and bright blue sky-ed. Except for that constant dirty-white airborne leviathan with its origin where the unrealistically huge towers used to be. Love Jen

Reply from Winston R. Von Engel   9/13/01
thank you for your cousin's eyewitness account. i am sorry he has to go through this, though somehow we all know that this is what it must be like. who could survive such a horrendous disaster? i hope he makes it through okay. tell him, if you like, that he is doing the work for everyone else in this city. that if he weren't doing it, someone else would have to and for that all new yorkers are grateful. even if there are so few survivors. take care!

WTC: Update    by Linda Blank   9/13/01
I'm glad you're ok. Reading your cousin's account brings back what I've seen and heard from all accounts. I've had some terrible news yesterday. Did you know Abigail Ross who was Nancy Evans' editorial assistant for almost a year? Well, she lives in the Boston area and her father was one of the passengers on Flt 11 that was the first to hit the WTC. I'm sick thinking about it. Also, someone who used to work for iV's outside PR agency is missing. This is one awful tragedy but tomorrow we're all going to display American flags to show our solidarity.

Ok in NYC!  by Bonnie Hammer   9/13/01
Frankly, I don't feel like doing anything today. I'm still in shock, still worried and wondering if this will happen again. However, we have to reclaim our lives at some point--the sooner, the better. Our lives have forever changed and I'm scared. For the first time in my life, I really feel like things are totally out of control and there is nothing we can do about it. All I can think to say in closing is that I hope you and your loved ones are safe, and if you lost anyone in this tragedy my thoughts and prayers are with you. God bless. I wish you all safety and well-being. On a personal note, i am downloading the pictures from my brothers wedding this past saturday, and in doing so, helping to remember a happier time, not so long ago. I wish all of you the same.

Something to think about  from Mindi Rosen   9/16/01
The date of the attack: 9/11 = 911 and 9 + 1 + 1 = 11 September 11th is the 254th day of the year: 2 + 5 + 4 = 11 After September 11th there are 111 days left to the end of the year. 119 is the area code to Iraq/Iran: 1 + 1 + 9 = 11 Twin Towers - standing side by side, looks like the number 11 The first plane to hit the towers was Flight 11 There is More....... State of New York - The 11th State added to the Union New York City - 11 Letters Afghanistan - 11 Letters The Pentagon - 11 Letters Ramzi Yousef - 11 Letters (convicted of orchestrating the attack on the WTC in 1993) Flight 11 - 92 on board - 9 + 2 = 11 Flight 77 - 65 on board - 6 + 5 = 11

Hello!  from Chris Brenner   9/18/01
Well guys, Thanks for your concern. In fact, I do work in the Trade Center, 26th Fl of Tower 2 (South Tower) and yes, I was there on Tuesday. I had gone in early for a meeting, and just as we got started, someone yelled down the hall that there was a fire in Tower 1, and we should head down. I dropped everything and climbed down the 26 floors. At ground level it became apparent something was very wrong. Debris was everywhere, but the people in the lobby of 2 (hundreds) were not upset. Many were standing around, making cell phone calls, waiting to return upstairs. One of my co-workers and I just felt uneasy, and decided to walk outside and up to the corner to get a better handle on things. Once outside, the smell of Jet-A and the burning wads of paper, falling glass started to make us realize that this was a big deal. We started to run- 2 blocks away, the second jet hit, what a horrific sound! glass and debris showered everything! We got back to our feet and ran like hell- all the way to the river. I was able to get ona ferry and find my way home, once on the boat we looked back and watched as the tower collapsed- I was sure many of my friends had been killed, but amazingly all the Sun employees escaped. We did have a Boston employee on Flt 11, though. My little town has lost 8 or 10 Moms and Dads, our county has almost 150 dead. I'm back to work, but it really takes a lot to get into it again. I want all of you to hug your loved ones a little more, and pray we never witness anything like this again. I'm trying to rebuild losing all my papers, my palm pilot, car keys- everything. Those are the little things- at least I got the big thing out! Be well, I'm glad to be able to send this! Chris

WTC Photos  by Mark Smith   9/20/01
This is just a note to thank you all for your kind words about the pictures of September 11 that I posted to www.camazotz.com/wtc. My apologies for a mass-mailing, but I'm in danger of not catching up with the feedback, for which I'm very grateful. Despite the difficulties still ahead, New York shows encouraging signs of recovery, if only because we're honking and shouting at each other more again (music to my ears these days). Your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated. stay safe, Mark