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| Tink *~*~* |
The following was posted to a few private lists I belong to on the internet, during the period between Tuesday September 11th and Saturday September 15th, 2001
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Tuesday 11 September 2001
I'm home and I'm fine. I have a clogged mailbox with
messages from the world over. I can assure you that God
works in mysterious ways. I had a meeting this morning
at 11am in NY and for some unknown reason, woke up very
late. Alarm is set for 5:30 am and I jolted out of bed
at 7:30 am with it blasting in my ear. Don't know how I
slept through it for two hours. Raced to the train
station and my pager kept going off to tell me I had
voice mail at work, but everytime I tried to use my cell
phone the lines were jammed. Then the news started
coming in over the pager about the bombings. I was
reading it aloud to the other passengers and when we got
to a report about the US State Dept being on fire, and
another about bodies falling from the towers, people
started to cry. The railroad made us get off the train
in Jamaica Queens, and we all turned around and went
back east. I got the last train home. All trains,
subways, planes are suspended. You can't drive into NYC
without some official ID like police or fire or
medical. The hospitals are so clogged, they are
airlifiting victims to Stony Brook Medical Center, about
80 miles away from NYC on Long Island. I got off the
train and went straight to the grocery store for
supplies - no one there yet. There are thousands and
thousands of people stuck in NYC with no way to get
home. And I have a friend from the train who works at
the WTC, I'm hoping that he telecommuted today. Gotta
answer mail, I'm ok, talk to you soon.
12 September 2001
I'm taking today off just in case...
In any event, I was supposed to attend one of those all-day extravaganza meetings today, at XXXXX Plaza, which is within the forbidden zone of downtown Manhattan. So I guess the meeting was cancelled. the XXXXX Bank Emergency Hotline tells me all buildings are closed south of 14th street, so that settles it. I could have tried to get to my office in Brooklyn, which is just across the river from the
terrorist zone, but I feel more comfortable here for today. All work on my urgent projects must be suspended until those buildings are open again. Brooklyn is a DR site for the downtown buildings, and there is probably some stranger at my desk using my computer and the Operations guys are probably scrambling to get backup tapes from New Jersey
warehouse, etc. There are going to be missed deadlines right and left. And I don't really think that they are going to be getting those backup tapes any time soon, considering that the bridges and trains from NJ are closed. Maybe they will come by boat?
Anyhow, I am totally maxed out on watching CNN and the repeated tapes of the crashes and collapse of the World Trade Center. I went to a wedding over the weekend in New Jersey and on the way back on Sunday, traffic was jammed. I decided to bail and try and find an alternate route. I
stuck to the NJ Turnpike and hoped I was going in the right direction. You know what told me I was going in the right direction? When the sight of the NY Skyline came into view, including the Twin Towers. It is inconceivable that they are no longer there.
The local newspapers are covered with pictures and stories. I am pleased to report that New Yorkers are NOT looting or otherwise taking advantage of the situation. I read a report about people trekking on foot up the East Side to the Brooklyn Bridge, and XXXXX Bank employees were
in the streets outside their office buildings, offering water and paper towels to use as face masks. Further up toward the Bridge, workers at the Fulton Fish Market (across from the South Street Seaport) were in the streets offering to hose people off, as they were covered with debris. The air is filled with microscopic pieces of cement and glass, dangerous to breathe in.
The XXXXX Bank Emergency Hotline requests that no one dial in with their computers unless it is an emergency. So here I sit, glued to the tube, unable to do much else, wondering what happened to the people from the train that I know who worked in the Towers...
3:40 PM status:
Well, I won't be going to the office any time soon, I believe. As long as bank business cannot be conducted from the area below 14th street, there will be a stranger commandeering my desk at Brooklyn. There are conference calls every two hours, so I've been dialing in to those, to
get the status. There are many issues, none of which I can talk about.
Mayor Guilianni is talking about opening only the Stock Exchange tomorrow, as they have their own power source. The probelm is moving people in and out of what is essentially a huge crime scene, with free-floating particulate matter making for irritated lungs and eyes. Additionally, a few hours ago, the wind changed, and the Empire State
Building was obscured by the smoke/particle cloud as it makes it's way uptown.
So, it is not exactly a day off, as I had indicated earlier. There are guys on the conference calls who are going on 48 hours without sleep, and nerves are frayed. They are difficult and surly at times, but I keep reminding myself that I am the one who is home, while they are the
ones who are bearing the brunt, so I try to be patient. I just sent out some encouraging pager messages for some of them, telling them that they are being good soldiers. In some small way, I hope it makes them feel appreciated and less obnoxious for the next conference call....
Some images from television that are haunting me - someone stuck an American flag in the middle of the wreckage at the former WTC. Also, an image of soldiers marching in the street, I believe it must be the National Guard. The last time I saw soldiers in the street (and the first time in my life, come to think of it) was the Dessert Storm victory parade up Broadway, in the early '90s. It was supposed to be a joyous occassion, but as the vehicles and men were queuing up along Water Street, I was struck with fear at the sight of tanks and armed men in the streets of New York. That only happens in other countries, not in ours. It is normal in New York for such parades, like when the
Yankees or some other team wins big, but not for soldiers. ARMED SOLDIERS. And then I think that there are other countries in the world where soldiers in the streets is commonplace, and there are people who have grown up with this condition and know nothing different. and then, I end up being grateful that I grew up in America in the era in which I did.
Nothing left to say for now.
5:47 PM status
Local news reporting that the building at 1 Liberty Plaza, across the street east from where the towers once stood, is buckling from the foundation. 50 to 60 stories! Rescue workers came running north from the scene, yelling, get out get out. Also, the remaining part of the south tower has collapsed completely (they said it was the first 7 stories), sending up another plume of particulate cloud, and re-covering what had been excavated. There may also be a gas leak in the area now. Additionally, 7 World Financial Center continues to burn, sending up black smoke, and the hotel (the marriot, I believe) is collapsed but not on fire. There continue to be concerns about the structural damage that might have occurred to other surrounding buildings. This is the biggest mess the city has ever seen, with insidious threats from not knowing what the extent of the structural damage is until buildings start to buckle. Oh, now the fire dept is going back in, but the news
agencies and other rescue workers are not allowed back in. The scene on ABC News shows occassional shots of Liberty Park covered in soot. It looks like snow.
Thursday 13 September 2001
As mentioned earlier, there is not an American flag to be had on Long Island. I looked. I have a pole, which has one of those decorative flags on it, attached to my tree outside the front door of my house. But no Stars and Stripes are to be found around here, beyond the little
waver I found in my sister in law's basement craft box.
I am doing a fair amount of telephone work from home, tracking people down on both sides of the merger house, coordinating and facillitating communication. Communication is complicated, but there are plenty of us at home who can do that leg work while those in Manhattan are working
like dogs. It would not be prudent to comment further, just to say that things are looking good.
I am concerned for the psyches of those who have had to remain sharp and focused on working. They have not had the opportunity to feel their own fear and anxiety, and there will be emotional fallout for them in the future.
Today was marked by two images.
One, I heard a huge rumbling sound while on a conference call, and looked overhead out my livingroom window to see a jet formation flying by. I know that there are troop ships off Long Island's shores, and this is comforting. But the trembling of the house caused by the jets, and the sight of them, was AWE.
Two, I just saw the footage of the guards outside Buckingham Palace, playing the Star Spangled Banner at the request of Her Majesty. And the crowd gathered outside the gates burst into tears, and cheers, and wild applause, waving little American flags (hey, send some over here!). I
am not ashamed to admit that I wept, along with Peter Jennings on ABC News.
Friday 14 September 2001
Well, at least the 13th was yesterday...
I hate to say it, but operating at work under emergency circumstances has become routine. Things are stable, our customers are not squawking, technical glitches are met with creative and immediate solutions. There are people going home today for the first time since the attack on
Tuesday. There are those who will be staying over the weekend to provide technical support for financial departments who want to make up for lost time. There is anxiety and anticipation over what will happen when the Stock Exchange opens, hopefully on Monday. The financial
institution for which I labor employs 100,000 people worldwide. To fail is inconceivable. To see the gaping space where the towers used to be is also inconceivable. Yet the hole is there, and the towers are no more than a pile of rubble and a cloud of smoke, now somewhat washed away.
Colleague from the 19th floor of a building on Park Avenue, near Grand Central Station, reported hearing the boom of the fighter jets that escorted President Bush into town. Another colleague responded to her that she was jealous, as she has not heard or seen the fighters yet. And I'm thinking to myself, "Geez, we're AMERICANS, we're not supposed to see or hear fighter planes in our skies or soldiers in our streets!"
There is something about all of us that has been changed forever.
I hear the same theme wherever I go, regarding the emotional impact on the Average American. Whether they were there or not, whether they knew someone involved or not, they can't sleep and they are given to weeping.
Images of the day:
Former President Clinton, at the service held at the National Cathedral in Washington DC on this National Day of Prayer, covering his eyes with his hand, head bowed.
The twisted mountain of debris, still smoking with fires continuing to burn deep within the wreckage, in spite of the rains that fell.
A smudged and bedraggled firefighter from Ohio, who came to help the rescue effort, confessing on camera that he took a tiny American flag off a desk at the Verizon building. The camera follows him, trudging wearily down the street, and he says he hopes she (the owner of the desk) understands...
Saturday 15 September 2001
I find the internet, or at least my usual haunts, to be quiet. Not much list mail coming in, and not much talk on the figure skating newsgroup I frequent. It is not the same as when Princess Di or JFK Jr. were killed. This recent tragedy is so many severity levels beyond those events, which at the time touched so many and seemed so impactful. My sense is that people are sticking to home, to family, to the television news coverage.
Me, I'm totally maxed out on the news and on work issues. I'm doing the mundane today. I'm sorting through a week's worth of unread mail, paying bills, gathering laundry for a trip to the laundromat, putting out the garbage and recycling, and I may even get around to vacuuming (oh, that most dreaded and feared activity in my house). Tonight, I'm
hoping to get some studying done, as school work has gone completely by the wayside.
I've seen enough of what the President has to say. On the one hand, I know we can't let this pass. On the other hand, I don't want a war. The tv is off. I think I'll put some Enya on the stereo and just go about my personal business this weekend.
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Journal entries from last September end here. Last night, September 9th 2002, I heard the fighter jets again. I live about 15 minutes from an airport, and it is normal to hear the sound of commercial jets overhead. But they don't rattle my windows like fighter jets do. I guess we are being patrolled again. Tomorrow is the 11th, and I'm going to telecommute. We've been told to allow our staff to chose whether they come in or stay home, to be sensitive, to try and make it a light work day. I intend to do just that. And I'm probably going to be tuned to the cartoon channel.
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| TrpltJanie |
Tink--thank you. I read your post several times and all I can say is "thank you" for sharing it with us. |
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