Re: 9/11 approaching
Every year I get caught up on what that day was like for me..it was only later that the enormity of what happened and the loss of lives set in. I was terrified at the thought of returning to work and to this day, I avoid going into Manhattan. Almost everyone can recall what they were doing and where they were when they first got the news. I was in midtown Manhattan that morning. I started work at 7:00 am. When the first of my co-workers came in, they mentioned that a plane had just hit the first tower and I thought it was accidental like the one that hit the Empire State building years before. I called home to have my husband turn on the TV for news..while on the phone and the TV live, the second plane hit. He wanted me to leave immediately and when I hesitated, he begged me and I did. Walking up to Penn Station, it was a beautiful serene day, people were just coming into work without a clue. Looking downtown, there was no sign of what had happened in the sky. I was surprised at how packed the train was. They were people who worked downtown who turned back home when they saw what was happening when they went in. The train didn't leave on schedule and when it did, it crawled with stop and go through the tunnel. When it emerged at Hunter's Point, it stopped completely. There was a clear view of the Towers and you could see the smoke billowing out. Everyone was trying to get to the windows on our right to see. As we watched, the first tower crumbled and the sound from the passengers was like no other. Screams and crying out. Some were trying to use their cell phones but there was no service. I've described it in the past as what sounded like Dante's Inferno. When the train finally started moving again, someone had a radio and what was being heard was relayed by shouting out..all the other horrors being played out elsewhere.
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