9-11, Ten Years Gone
I am reading a good book on 9-11 called the Eleventh Day. The authors did an incredible job researching the details of that terrible day. Although ten years have already passed I am surprised to find it difficult to get through the pages. It has been emotionally exhausting but something I know I finally want to do for myself. The time has come for me to look back on that awful day even though the wound is still raw.
One really strange happening that I have never shared with anyone and that I will never forget was walking in New York City the night of 9-10-01. I was right near Rockefeller Center and it started to pour. It was raining so hard that I had to duck into the nearest place that I could find. It just so happened that place was a museum like learning center called the FDNY Fire Zone. “At the Fire Zone, visitors are led into a Simulated Fire scene. Through real life testimonies, they learn how easily fires can start, and how quickly they can spread, and most importantly, how an escape plan could get them to safety.” I spent a good half hour walking through the Fire Zone waiting out the rain and learning about the horrors of a fire with no idea that in a little over twelve hours I would personally witness the most devastating effects of a fire in American history.
I happened to work in Midtown Manhattan at the time and I remember coming into my office at 225 West 34th street on the morning of 9-11. Freddy the building Super told me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. In my mind it was some tiny twin engine plane. I then took the elevator up to my office and I remember walking in the door and a colleague telling me that a another plane had hit the other tower. I turned on the radio and a disc jockey was talking about America being under attack. A few people in my office gathered around the radio to listen to details on the developing story. I felt completely helpless and frightened as to what was going to happen next. I was in total shock. The DJ talked about more planes still in the air targeting other sites. It was a harrowing experience. Growing up in this country and up until that exact moment it never even crossed my mind to worry about being attacked in such a manner. This was the United States for God’s sake. 9-11 marked the end of the innocence for me and so many others. The unbelievable had happened and I witnessed it first hand. No longer could I ever think or believe that something could not happen. Now anything was possible.
A group of us went up to the roof of our building which provides a clear view of downtown Manhattan. The sky was a perfect shade of blue that day. A beautiful Indian Summer day. It was easy to see the smoke coming out of both Towers. As we stood aghast I didn’t even realize we were standing in the shadow of the Empire State Building another potential target. I was too enthralled by the spectacle I was witnessing to even make the connection. I watched as each tower crumbled to the ground. It was totally surreal. Still to this day when I find myself in lower Manhattan it is hard to comprehend that the towers are simply no longer there.
Ten years later when I think about that day the first image that comes to my mind is of the people caught above the impact of where the planes hit the building. The ones who had no where to go because they were cut off from being able to walk down the stairs. These are the people who were forced to decide to either jump or become engulfed in flames. There are photo’s I have seen over the years of people standing in the broken out windows of the top floors peering down hundreds of floors above the ground knowing that they had to choose how they would die. It is so difficult to look at these photo’s and think about those people as to what was going on in their minds at that very moment.
At my local gym which I have been a member of since 1999 there are pictures of two guys tacked to the bulletin board near the basketball court. The two guys were regulars in our pick up basketball games. The photo’s were cut out from the New York Times which ran stories on every person who died in the towers shortly after 9-11. The photo’s have been pinned up on the wall for ten years. I often look at the pictures of the two guys. As each year passes I often think to myself what these two people missed and all the wonderful things in life that they never got to experience. They were my age at the time of their deaths. I think about all I have experienced since that day like marriage, children, new friendships, and so much more.
They probably died never having heard the words Osama Bin Laden and certainly not capable of knowing the meaning 9-11. I often wondered if they were to walk back into the gym today ten years gone all of the things I could fill them in on. It’s incredible to think how much has changed in our world in just ten short years. I don’t even think they could comprehend technology and the changes that have happened since 2001. Iphone, Ipads, Social Networks, and so on. Its incredible what has changed. How about the first African American President? Or the Boston Red Sox actually winning the World Series. Even more incredible is the New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl champs and New Orleans itself was almost wiped off the map. What would they think if I told them Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns no longer exist. Gone. How about taking a trip to see a game at the new Yankee Stadium, new Shea Stadium, new Giants Stadium, new Devils Arena, and the new Red Bulls stadium. What would they think looking at these amazing structures. So much has changed and so much has been missed by all those who perished. Thinking about 9-11 always reminds me to enjoy all the blessings I have been able to experience in my life. As I quickly found out on 9-11, anything can happen in this world of ours and nothing is guaranteed so make sure to be thankful for all the good we are able to experience.
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