i was in bed still when the first plane hit. my dad called to make sure i was okay (ie: not in the city) and then told me to turn on the tv. a little cranky still from being woken up i said, "why!?" he told me what happened, "no...kidding?"
"they did it on purpose...stay home, don't go work today or out if you can help it."
from that time on i was glued to the tv & surfing the net to read about it all day and night, i witnessed the second plane hit...about an hour later the phones were so overcapicity none were working (a quick busy signal), BUT THE INTERNET WORKED LOVELY!! all my friends and family were trying to reach me throughout the day to see if in fact i was safe, and i my friends and family in turn. one girlfriend was so worried, out of desperation (b/c she couldn't reach me by tele) came to my house to check on me. i remember my cell working better than my home phone at first, but that too quickly went to shit...emailing people, trying to text message others, it was
CRAZY.
i didn't go to work that day, nor the next...i believe it was 4 days in total that we had off as a company? i was like a zombie.
it was surreal, i will never forget.
three months later my friends and i went to the city for a night out. we stayed w/ another friend after going out. he lived in the high fifties. first it was odd being greeted at the midtown tunnel by a heavily armed, fully uniformed militia person...i thought i was in Mexico again! the stench was so thick you could feel! it smacked you in the face, the smell was unlike anything i experienced; smelled sort of like an electrical fire that loomed over the entire island. the next morning we went to WTC.
the sounds, the smells, the views, the feelings-
it was nothing like on tv, it was larger than life. the scene was...gut wrenching, heavy duty...the 2 foot high wall of ash that covered everything (like countertops inside stores where the windows blew out from the buildings falling), the fascade of WTC jutting out of the ground, the make shift barriers and fences, the amount of heavy security, everthing was abandonned and empty except for the many who pilgrimaged as we did, etc. i recall it being eerily still and quiet (the whole city! three months later!!). b/c if you've ever been to NYC, you know what i'm talkin' about.
we went so that we'd never forget. often times, when one witnesses something on tv it's not real life to them and people quicly forget. i tell you, going there left a lasting impression on me, one that will be w/ me till i die. it was so touching, i gladly share it w/ you so that you too may never forget.