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This is from another list I belong
to. Warning for carnage description
*sigh* what has this worldcome
to.
Kimber
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First off, a sincere thanks
to the multitude of you who have been so kind as to send notes inquiring about
my safety, and the safety of others of us here in NYC. I am fine, andI am
grateful that everyone I know in NYC is safe. To say that it is a surreal
environment is an understatement.
I work in the financial
district in Manhattan, not far from the Stock Exchange. We saw the second
plane go into the WTC. At that time, I was in one of our other buildings,
and we had an unobstructed view of the towers. We watched in horror as we
saw the flames go up the building, multitude small explosions take place and the
smoke billow out. When the second plane went into the WTC, we were
staggered by the resulting explosion.
We watched as debris rained
down throughout lower Manhattan. It was strangely like a ticker tape
parade. When I walked from one building back to another - where my staff
is - I was dusted with debris. I saw papers from offices that had been
destroyed, and my mind couldn't grasp what had happened to the people that were
there.
People on the street were
running from the area. Some were cut and bleeding. Others were
weeping. People were lined up at pay phones trying to communicate with loved
ones. Our cell phones worked on sporadically. We couldn't get to the
major news web sites, but, thankfully, many people began emailing us
reports. That helped more than you can know. In our office, it was
controlled chaos. We feared, of course, for further attacks, especially at
the stock exchange. We are a block from the federal reserve - the world's
largest deposit of gold - and a block from the exchange. We checked to see
if anyone had family in the WTCs, and, thankfully, none of us had any
there. We found radios and TVs and soon were getting information. My
boss was flying out of Newark on Continental this morning, and we were panicked
until we knew she and our colleague were safe.
Outside, the debris and
soot settled around us and within minutes we were enveloped in a thick black
smoke. It was as if it was the darkest of night. The smoke camein
through our ventilation system, and my throat is still irritated from breathing
it. We were urged to not leave the building due to the smoke hazards
outside.
Finally, we wereallowed to
leave. For those of us who live in Manhattan, we were told to just walk
north. Stepping outside, the air was still thick with smoke and
soot. We were given damp rags to put over our mouths to breathe through
until we reached clearer air. The streets were covered with soot and ash,
littered paper. One cab driver had abandoned his cab in the middle ofthe
street. Other cars were clearly impacted by larger debris.
I glanced to my left as I
walked north and where I usually saw the trade centers, there was nothing but a
smoke column. Only that morning on my commute in had I admired the WTCs
and felt a well of affection for this amazing city.
I walked north past Canal
Street and got onto one of the subways. We were packed inside, but itwas
running again, and we were happy. One of the men standing beside me was
covered in soot and clearly in shock. He described stepping over headless
bodies getting out of the financial area. He said the streets were
littered with corpses. He said that many of the people were
not evacuated from the centers, saying that they had been trapped
inside. I don't know how accurate his information is, but he was
devastated by what he had seen.
Another couple on the train
reported similar sights. The woman was crying incessantly on the train and
her husband just held her. He said a cop had estimated 20k dead.
Again, I have no idea about the accuracy of such statements.
One man had beenless than
a hundred feet from WTC when it started to collapse. He was a youngerman
and was drenched with sweat. He said when it started to fall, he started
to run and didn't stop until he was well away.
One of my coworkers had
been exiting the WTC when the second plane hit. She described the
raining debris and the panic that ensued. However, New Yorkers are
amazing. Instead of trampling each other, the people around her began
leading each other out of the building and away from the site.
Everyone I ran into had the
same type of experience. New York can be a rough and tumble place to live,
but, by God, we pull together when tragedy strikes. There are people
standing outside handing out wet rags to people so they can walk away and
breathe better. There are others giving out free water, subway tokens,
food. The police are out in full force and I was wished well by a
multitude of policemen as I made my way north.
We were told that it is
likely that the downtown area will be closed for the next several days so they
can begin to understand what all has taken place.
Thanks to the many people
who wrote, offered support, called, gave news, prayed and cared.
I keep hoping I will wake
up and find out that this has been a horrible nightmare.
F
Missy ROCKS! Pasadena 2001! Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. |