Where were you?
I was on my way to work, in Michigan. Driving down 1-96, listening to , Howard Stern. When he said that a call had come in that we were under attack, The World Trade Center had been hit by a plane, I didn’t believe him..I thought it was a joke…As I kept listening, I heard Howard, turn from his very cynical/joking self, into a scared, concerned, citizen. I ran into my office, where my project manager, Heather was, and told her that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane, by the time we turned on the little TV that we had in our office, we saw the horror of the 2nd tower crumbling to the ground. It was the scariest and saddest thing I have ever seen. Then, the country changed forever.
Now that I live in New York, I can see that the experience from the outside ( outside of the city and surrounding areas) was much different than the experience for those here in the city. When Grant and I arrived here in 2004, there were still “Missing” signs, at the Trade Center Site, the windows in surrounding buildings were still missing. As we looked around, we could just feel a very tiny bit of what it must have been like, to be right there when it happened. To this day, every single person we meet who is from this area, has a story of their own, some who have family members and friends who survived, some who were trapped in the city, not being able to find their husband and wives, a few whom never did.
Today, we will remember the brave men and women who risked, and lost their lives to save others, the Fireman, Police, Nurses, Doctors, volunteers who did everything they could to help everyone around them, the families who lost a loved one, and the survivors who live with this tragedy everyday.
Where were you?
I was living and working in Washington, DC. My office was 4 blocks from the White House. I was late to work, in a cab and putting my make-up on in a tiny power blush mirror. The radio was turned low, and I just happened to catch “smoke coming from the World Trade Center.” Stopped what I was doing, and asked cab driver to turn it up. I listend for about 30 seconds and then immediately called my brother who lived blocks from WTC. I got right through. He said he was okay, and that they were watching and trying to figure out what was going on. Hearing he was okay, the fact that I got right through to him, and that the news switch off to a commercial, to be honest, I didn’t think much of it at the moment. I went to my office and got to work. I was sitting at my desk, and one of my designers, Tracie, (and now, one of my best friends) came into my office in near tears, “A plane has hit the WTC!!!” We went online immediately, and I tried to all Andrew. The lines were tied up. I was able to get an email through. We roughly learned what had happened, although it would be hours before I truly understood the scope and magnitude. Our building was evacuated, due to our proximity to the White House. There were all sorts of rumors about bombs in cars and a plane headed for the White House. I hadn’t heard about the Pentagon yet. Andrew was working out by it at that time. He and I eventually met up at our apartment. I had a part walk/part ride back home. My friend Tracie’s (then fiance) somehow found us in a sea of people evacuating the area and drove us home. We watched, learned, cried and prayed, and called our family and loved ones to be sure everyone was safe. Tracie and Kevin came over and we drank a lot of wine and basically just cuddled up on the couch together. Reeling. Shocked. It was about a year later that we moved to NYC.
Rebecca, No matter whose story I hear, it brings tears to my eyes 🙁 Such a scary day. Thanks for sharing 🙂