September 11, 2001

 God bless our Military and first responders who, in my opinion, pay the price at the behest of deeply ingrained politicians in Washington who do NOT put American citizens first. Thirty (30) to forty-seven (47) years in office gives them the idea that American citizens are their 'chattels'. I pray that we teach our children and future generations to stand for liberty and for the Pledge of Allegiance with their hand on their heart.  I pray that we scrutinize and divest ourselves of life-long, 'out of touch with the American people', career politicians and their weighted staff, who write those pork-filled bills and are accustomed to high salaries and 'gifts' from Lobbyists. In plain English, nothing has changed in 20 years.

How many of our Vietnam veterans and younger Middle East veterans have suffered and/or died because of decisions made by long-term self-serving politicians in Washington?  While I'm only one American citizen, I thank our active and former service members for dedicating their lives to this great Nation.  

When you see people are illegally entering our borders, do you think about why they are coming?  They still see the United States of America as a bastion of Freedom ... as a "shining City on a Hill."

Please join me join today in praying for the families of those we have lost, first-responders, military, and American citizens.  Please take the time to read this complete blog.  Never again, should Americans or any people have to experience such horror.

Below was originally posted on September 11, 2019

While many of us remember the day well, there are people who scoff at that fateful day.  That day was not incidental, a 'SOMETHING' as our enemies would have us believe, and in my opinion, our enemies 'within.'  We must continue being wary and alert.  We must continue telling anyone who will listen, especially our high school age children who weren't even born at that time.

Now that I'm older, I don't have to remove my shoes. I don't get patted down. However, I must empty my carry-on of everything and anything that an evil person or persons might use to harm innocent people.  Yes, I'm a believer in "The Wall".  I'm a believer in being kind to others, but vigilant on keeping out those intent on harming us and those who hate our way of life ... out of our great land.  People who aren't happy here are free to leave.  It's time for our "mealy-mouthed, do nothing" leaders in Congress to put the safety of Americans first, or be voted out.  Remember, they've had 18 years and still quibble.  Your vote matters.

The following is a reprint of my post of Sept.11, 2010.

No American civilian should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil. And, my experience of that day is in no way comparable to the heartache of the families of the victims. The following is just my personal recollection of that day.

As my train pulled into Grand Central Station that morning, I heard some buzz from other commuters. But, it was none of my business so I just got off the train and walked the underground tunnel to the Forty-fifth Street exit. As I walked up Madison Avenue, I saw a throng of people standing around a bank looking at a TV. As I tried to see that they were looking at, somehow I got the message that something happened at the World Trade Center. I remember looking in that direction, seeing smoke, and trying to use my phone, and then, trying my Blackberry. No signal. I proceeded north to my office on 52nd St. When I arrived, I saw that I had a message from my daughter who worked near the World Trade Center. However, I could not reach her since I had no phone service.

I proceeded to work. A short while later, I heard that there was a TV in Personnel. So, I went to that floor to see what was going on. After a few minutes, I squeezed into the room. The scene was incredulous. I decided that for me the best thing was to go back to work. Young people on my floor were just milling around. We were the IT (computer) department. They either had IT friends in those World Trade buildings or, like me, had previously worked there themselves. I tried to work, but at the back of my mind were all the tens of thousands of commuters who literally poured out of the ground from the PATH (a train from New Jersey). What happened to all those people?  I later heard that a very smart female executive of the Port of Authority ordered the trains diverted to the mid-town area of New York City, saving many lives. Many, many times I had walked through the underground shopping Plaza and the passage ways under those buildings as a shortcut to save time. Since my commute was 2 ½ hours each way from upstate New York, I was always running to be on time at work. I thought of how I would take my lunch into one of the glassed-in areas of my building and look at the Towers. How magnificent they were. Of course, I was just looking at the lower floors. I thought the design was intriguing.

In November 2000, a co-worker and good friend gave me a job lead that resulted in my leaving the World Trade Center and moving to 52nd Street.

Later that morning, Sept. 11, 2001, I finally heard from my daughter who was with her co-workers at an apartment in lower Manhattan. When the second plane hit the South Tower, one of  my daughter's co-workers just took his whole department to his home. I advised my daughter to stay right where she was with her co-workers unless they were evacuated. Then, I was contacted by a great friend from Merrill Lynch inviting me to stay the night at her place since the City was in "lock-down."

Being in Computer Security, I decided, since I had no phone, to try sending emails to get messages to my children. I thank the good Lord for the “Information Highway.” Being able to contact my family in an event such as this is why I feel so strongly that there should be no Government interference with the Internet. I emailed friends in San Diego requesting that they contact my family. My children thought I still worked in the World Trade Center. Exactly where I worked was not one of their concerns. I didn’t know my son’s work e-mail address, but decided to create the addresses in different ways. Surely, one of the emails would get through. Not knowing was going to happen next, I wrote to my son that his sister and I were OK. I gave him the address and phone number for the apartment where she was staying. Then, I gave him the phone number of the friend with whom I would be staying. Without being melodramatic, I thought this might be the last communication we could possibly have. It brings me to tears when I think of it.

Around noon, I went to the bank to get money since I couldn’t get home that night. The sea of people walking, shoulder to shoulder, north out of the City on both sidewalks of Park Avenue was at least five people deep. It was an amazing, yet fearful sight.

Around 1pm, my daughter, accompanied by a co-worker, walked the 30 blocks to be with me. Her hair was covered in ash. I got her in our “locked-down” building. When we reached my office, the phone rang. It was my son in Los Angeles. My daughter, wide-eyed and in shock, told him what happened....her words just spilling out. I tried to calm her down. Her only response to me was, “You weren’t there.”

Then, my daughter told me we just had to get out of the City. She kept pressing. As far as I knew, we couldn't go anywhere. I decided to leave and walk to Grand Central to see if any trains were moving. I never in my lifetime had been prepared for what I saw.

As we walked the now eerily empty Park Avenue south to the train station, we were met with men with megaphones ordering us where to go. We walked a sidewalk cordoned off with safety tape into what seemed like the only open entrance. Other than the sea of people in the great expanse of the center of the building, I don’t remember much except that my mind kept reeling, thinking that something else could happen at any moment. Before long, we were on a train leaving the City.

That evening, watching TV, I saw the real events I knew nothing about because I tried to work that day. I realized that I, being the kind of employee I was, would have returned to my desk in one of those buildings when the “All Clear” announcement was given.

My daughter and I were now safe, but what about those people who died. What about their families? Even today, my heart goes out to them

I realize that this is a sharp contrast to my usually light-hearted and hopefully informative blog. I will always remember my daughter walking 30 blocks to my uptown office, covered in ash from those collapsed buildings….wide-eyed and in shock, having seen death and destruction not many American civilians have ever seen. And, as I said in the beginning of this writing, no American citizen should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil and no one should ever forget.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. 

  The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (Amazon.com) 

Perhaps by Catherine Hall (Amazon.com)

Never Forget Sept 11, 2001

I have reprinted the following account several times.  Thirteen years have passed and time marches on, presenting presently  other grave concerns.  However, we must never forget September 11, 2001.  We must remain alert and vigilant.

Steel Girders at Ground Zero (World Trade Center)

No American civilian should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil. And, my experience of that day is in no way comparable to the heartache of the families of the victims. The following is just my personal recollection of that day.

As my train pulled into Grand Central Station that morning, I heard some buzz from other commuters. But, it was none of my business so I just got off the train and walked the underground tunnel to the Forty-fifth Street exit. As I walked up Madison Avenue, I saw a throng of people standing around a bank looking at a TV. As I tried to see that they were looking at, somehow I got the message that something happened at the World Trade Center. I remember looking in that direction, seeing smoke, and trying to use my phone, and then, trying my Blackberry. No signal. I proceeded north to my office on 52nd St. When I arrived, I saw that I had a message from my daughter who worked near the World Trade Center. However, I could not reach her since I had no phone service.

I proceeded to work. A short while later, I heard that there was a TV in Personnel. So, I went to that floor to see what was going on. After a few minutes, I squeezed into the room. The scene was incredulous. I decided that for me the best thing was to go back to work. Young people on my floor were just milling around. We were the IT (computer) department. They either had IT friends in those World Trade buildings or, like me, had previously worked there themselves. I tried to work, but at the back of my mind were all the tens of thousands of commuters who literally poured out of the ground from the PATH (a train from New Jersey). What happened to all those people? Many, many times I had walked through the underground shopping Plaza and the passage ways under those buildings as a shortcut to save time. Since my commute was 2 ½ hours each way from upstate New York, I was always running to be on time at work. In November 2000, a co-worker and good friend gave me a job lead that resulted in my leaving the World Trade Center and moving to 52nd Street. As an aside, I later heard that a very smart female executive of the Port of Authority ordered the trains diverted to the mid-town area of New York City, saving many lives. I thought of how I would take my lunch into one of the glassed-in areas of my building and look at the Towers. How magnificent they were. Of course, I was just looking at the lower floors. I thought the design was intriguing.

Later that morning, I finally heard from my daughter who was with her co-workers at an apartment in lower Manhattan. One of the workers just took his whole department to his home. I advised my daughter to stay right where she was with her co-workers unless they were evacuated. Then, I was contacted by a great friend from Merrill Lynch inviting me to stay the night at her place since the City was in "lock-down."

Being in Computer Security, I decided, since I had no phone, to try sending emails to get messages to my children. I thank the good Lord for the “Information Highway.” Being able to contact my family in an event such as this is why I feel so strongly that there should be no Government interference with the Internet. I emailed friends in San Diego requesting that they contact my family. My children thought I still worked in the World Trade Center. Exactly where I worked was not one of their concerns. I didn’t know my son’s work e-mail address, but decided to create the addresses in different ways. Surely, one of the emails would get through. Not knowing was going to happen next, I wrote to my son that his sister and I were OK. I gave him the address and phone number for the apartment where she was staying. Then, I gave him the phone number of the friend with whom I would be staying. Without being melodramatic, I thought this might be the last communication we could possibly have. It brings me to tears when I think of it.

Around noon, I went to the bank to get money since I couldn’t get home that night. The sea of people walking, shoulder to shoulder, north out of the City on both sidewalks of Park Avenue was at least five people deep. It was an amazing, yet fearful sight.

Around 1pm, my daughter, accompanied by a co-worker, walked the 30 blocks to be with me. Her hair was covered in ash. I got her in our “locked-down” building. When we reached my office, the phone rang. It was my son in Los Angeles. My daughter, wide-eyed and in shock, told him what happened….her words just spilling out. I tried to calm her down. Her only response to me was, “You weren’t there.”

Then, my daughter told me we just had to get out of the City. She kept pressing. As far as I knew, we couldn't go anywhere. I decided to leave and walk to Grand Central to see if any trains were moving. I never in my lifetime had been prepared for what I saw.

As we walked the now eerily empty Park Avenue south to the train station, we were met with men with megaphones ordering us where to go. We walked a sidewalk cordoned off with safety tape into what seemed like the only open entrance. Other than the sea of people in the great expanse of the center of the building, I don’t remember much except that my mind kept reeling, thinking that something else could happen at any moment. Before long, we were on a train leaving the City.

That evening, watching TV, I saw the real events I knew nothing about because I tried to work that day. I realized that I, being the kind of employee I was, would have returned to my desk in one of those buildings when the “All Clear” announcement was given.

My daughter and I were now safe, but what about those people who died. What about their families? Even today, my heart goes out to them

I realize that this is a sharp contrast to my usually light-hearted and hopefully informative blog. I will always remember my daughter walking 30 blocks to my uptown office, covered in ash from those collapsed buildings….wide-eyed and in shock, having seen death and destruction not many American civilians have ever seen. And, as I said in the beginning of this writing, no American citizen should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil and no one should ever forget.

Photo of New World Trade Building in 2012 now completed

 

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Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

My Recollections of September 11, 2001

I have reprinted the following account several times.  Twelve years have passed and time marches on, presenting other concerns.  However, we must never forget September 11, 2001.

No American civilian should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil. And, my experience of that day is in no way comparable to the heartache of the families of the victims. The following is just my personal recollection of that day.

As my train pulled into Grand Central Station that morning, I heard some buzz from other commuters. But, it was none of my business so I just got off the train and walked the underground tunnel to the Forty-fifth Street exit. As I walked up Madison Avenue, I saw a throng of people standing around a bank looking at a TV. As I tried to see that they were looking at, somehow I got the message that something happened at the World Trade Center. I remember looking in that direction, seeing smoke, and trying to use my phone, and then, trying my Blackberry. No signal. I proceeded north to my office on 52nd St. When I arrived, I saw that I had a message from my daughter who worked near the World Trade Center. However, I could not reach her since I had no phone service.

I proceeded to work. A short while later, I heard that there was a TV in Personnel. So, I went to that floor to see what was going on. After a few minutes, I squeezed into the room. The scene was incredulous. I decided that for me the best thing was to go back to work. Young people on my floor were just milling around. We were the IT (computer) department. They either had IT friends in those World Trade buildings or, like me, had previously worked there themselves. I tried to work, but at the back of my mind were all the tens of thousands of commuters who literally poured out of the ground from the PATH (a train from New Jersey). What happened to all those people? Many, many times I had walked through the underground shopping Plaza and the passage ways under those buildings as a shortcut to save time. Since my commute was 2 ½ hours each way from upstate New York, I was always running to be on time at work. In November 2000, a co-worker and good friend gave me a job lead that resulted in my leaving the World Trade Center and moving to 52nd Street. As an aside, I later heard that a very smart female executive of the Port of Authority ordered the trains diverted to the mid-town area of New York City, saving many lives. I thought of how I would take my lunch into one of the glassed-in areas of my building and look at the Towers. How magnificent they were. Of course, I was just looking at the lower floors. I thought the design was intriguing.

Later that morning, I finally heard from my daughter who was with her co-workers at an apartment in lower Manhattan. One of the workers just took his whole department to his home. I advised my daughter to stay right where she was with her co-workers unless they were evacuated. Then, I was contacted by a great friend from Merrill Lynch inviting me to stay the night at her place since the City was in "lock-down."

Being in Computer Security, I decided, since I had no phone, to try sending emails to get messages to my children. I thank the good Lord for the “Information Highway.” Being able to contact my family in an event such as this is why I feel so strongly that there should be no Government interference with the Internet. I emailed friends in San Diego requesting that they contact my family. My children thought I still worked in the World Trade Center. Exactly where I worked was not one of their concerns. I didn’t know my son’s work e-mail address, but decided to create the addresses in different ways. Surely, one of the emails would get through. Not knowing was going to happen next, I wrote to my son that his sister and I were OK. I gave him the address and phone number for the apartment where she was staying. Then, I gave him the phone number of the friend with whom I would be staying. Without being melodramatic, I thought this might be the last communication we could possibly have. It brings me to tears when I think of it.

Around noon, I went to the bank to get money since I couldn’t get home that night. The sea of people walking, shoulder to shoulder, north out of the City on both sidewalks of Park Avenue was at least five people deep. It was an amazing, yet fearful sight.

Around 1pm, my daughter, accompanied by a co-worker, walked the 30 blocks to be with me. Her hair was covered in ash. I got her in our “locked-down” building. When we reached my office, the phone rang. It was my son in Los Angeles. My daughter, wide-eyed and in shock, told him what happened….her words just spilling out. I tried to calm her down. Her only response to me was, “You weren’t there.”

Then, my daughter told me we just had to get out of the City. She kept pressing. As far as I knew, we couldn't go anywhere. I decided to leave and walk to Grand Central to see if any trains were moving. I never in my lifetime had been prepared for what I saw.

As we walked the now eerily empty Park Avenue south to the train station, we were met with men with megaphones ordering us where to go. We walked a sidewalk cordoned off with safety tape into what seemed like the only open entrance. Other than the sea of people in the great expanse of the center of the building, I don’t remember much except that my mind kept reeling, thinking that something else could happen at any moment. Before long, we were on a train leaving the City.

That evening, watching TV, I saw the real events I knew nothing about because I tried to work that day. I realized that I, being the kind of employee I was, would have returned to my desk in one of those buildings when the “All Clear” announcement was given.

My daughter and I were now safe, but what about those people who died. What about their families? Even today, my heart goes out to them

I realize that this is a sharp contrast to my usually light-hearted and hopefully informative blog. I will always remember my daughter walking 30 blocks to my uptown office, covered in ash from those collapsed buildings….wide-eyed and in shock, having seen death and destruction not many American civilians have ever seen. And, as I said in the beginning of this writing, no American citizen should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil and no one should ever forget.

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comment

Check out my other photos

Check out The Book of Micah 

Happy Fourth of July

Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, NY

Happy Fourth of July!   On this day, we celebrate the anniversary of birth of our United States of America.  I heard a commentator on TV state that we Americans are privileged to live in this United States of America.  In my opinion, that is true.  While the past 237 years have fluctuated from hard times to good times and back, through wars (political or not), we have sustained.  I believe that this is because we have preserved our Constitution, despite the actions of our elected politicians.  In my opinion, we Americans are not a perfect people.  As a whole, we have to remind ourselves to be thankful for what we have as we celebrate with parades, picnics and fireworks.  However, we Americans are a generous people as evidenced by our rush to help our fellow man in disasters at home or, in fact, anywhere in the world.

I'd like to take the time to thank our Military (active, including my eldest grandson, a new United States Marine, and our Veterans) for the protections they afford us.  We would not be able to freely celebrate this day without their sacrifice. 

World Trade Center, New York, NY

Happy Independence Day!

Hudson River at Hyde Park, NY

Balboa Park, San Diego CA

Times Square, New York, NY

Hudson River at Poughkeepsie, NY

Coastline at La Jolla, CA

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911 Memorial

On February 1, I went to the 911 Memorial at the World Trade Center.  I obtained a Visitor's Pass at http://www.911memorial.org/visitor-passes  in mid-January.  Friends who had visited gave me the impression that it would be hard to get passes, but that wasn't the case.  Thankfully, the weather was rather mild for New York.

After going through screening, we followed a long path to the entry of the Memorial which consists of a large open park-like area with two very large pools with constantly running water forming waterfalls within the pools.  Around each pool, the names of everyone we lost on September 11, 2001 and, of those lost in the attack of February 26, 1993, were etched into the stone wall.  The names weren't in alphabetic order, so there are kiosks available to locate the name of someone you knew.

I read in Wikipedia that the design was named "Reflecting Absence."  I certainly felt that absence.

After leaving, on the way to the subway, a self-appointed ambassador engaged us in conversation.  He asked me how many buildings had been on the World Trade Center site.  I promptly said, "Seven."  Then, he related how a teacher with a group of school-age children didn't know that fact.  That is why I recommend visiting the 911 Memorial when you are in New York City to perhaps get a sense of the enormity of September 11, 2001 and pray for the families and friends of those killed on that day.

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Return to San Diego

 On Saturday evening, I returned to San Diego on JetBlue.  Thankfully, the flight wasn't full and the seat next to mine was empty, so I had a more comfortable ride.  I have not been a fan of JetBlue since I received, in my opinion, an insulting response to an email I sent them several years ago.  This time, I used their airline solely because the fare was the cheapest I could find.  This time though, the staff was exemplary, and in my opinion, more mature.

Yesterday, when I went out outside, I found that I was dressed too warmly.  Checking the Weather Channel made me realize that I wasn't in New York anymore.  The temperature was a sunny 71 degrees.  Wahoo!!!  Please keep in mind that I was grateful for the mild winter I experienced in New York this year.

As usual, my stays in New York are busy and fun-filled.  I enjoyed visiting with my daughters and their families.  The grandchildren are taller than me, that is, except the eleven year old (who's almost there) and of course, the one year old.  Time seems to go faster on the East Coast, with busy families who generously include me in their daily comings and goings, and meeting with long-time friends.  And, it was a great experience displaying my photography at the Poughkeepsie Barnes and Noble store.

I was fortunate to be able to visit the 911 Museum at the new World Trade Center, which I'll write about soon.  Unfortunately, I haven't reconciled the feelings I had as I walked around that "hallowed" ground.

The day before I flew to San Diego, I joined my daughters and the eleven year old granddaughter in walking along Canal Street in lower New York City checking out the vendors, and then, into SOHO (a trendy and expensive downtown shopping area).  

The old buildings were very interesting.  I always enjoy walking around the New York City viewing the mixture of very old and very new buildings. In this area, many old buildings were shrouded with fire escapes (certainly a necessary life saving addition.)    The photograph on the right shows a different and unexpected type of fire escape, which I think is reminiscent of New Orleans.

                                                                            

We enjoyed our lunch at Fanelli's on Prince Street.  I usually don't order a spaghetti dish for lunch, but the linguini with Pesto ($12.00) was delicious.  This building has housed a small restaurant since 1847 with the Fanelli's taking it over in 1922.  I attempted to photograph the front doors, which were very interesting.
 
After lunch my daughters and granddaughter were interested in seeing the new World Trade Center.  So we walked there.  The picture to the left depicts how tall the building is compared to the older ones in the surrounding neighborhood.  So ended our visit to lower (or downtown) New York City.

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New York City

As I travelled from the Borough of Queens into New York City, the sky was a beautiful blue dotted with small clouds.  It was a picture perfect day.  Even though it was windy and cold, I decided to spend some time in the City instead of continuing on to Dutchess County. 

I walked north from Grand Central Terminal on 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue to 59th Street.  Then, I proceeded east to the 59th Street Bridge, now known as the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.  I had to speak with three traffic police persons to find out how to get to the walkway across the bridge.  However, eventually I did find my way.  The walkway is shared with a bicycle path so I had to be careful as I entered.  I quickly found out why as the first bicyclist passed me.  He was travelling at quite a clip.  However, I enjoyed being on the bridge.  The walkway is marked so that walkers and bicyclists are separated, but I noticed that the bike riders didn't stick to their side.

As I climbed the walkway, I could see the Roosevelt Island Tram passing by. Someday, I'll check that out since the cost of the ride is the same as the New York Subway System.  When the sun hits this bridge, it is a beautiful sight. The bridge takes on a golden hue. I've tried numerous times to get a good picture, but have yet to do so.  Perhaps I will from the tram.

After that, I walked to 59th Street and Fifth Avenue to check out a flurry of bird activity.  From a distance of a few blocks, it seemed like a possibly good photo, but when I got there they weren't flying around.  Then, down Fifth Avenue to 42nd Street.  When I arrived at Grand Central Terminal, since it was such a beautiful day, I decided to take the subway to "Ground Zero", the World Trade Center.  I haven't been there in quite a while, so this was a great opportunity.  I had worked in the building with the green domed-roof on the left until late 1999 and remember walking the plaza underneath the World Trade Center, sometimes spending my lunch hours gazing at the tall towers.   You can read my thoughts about September 11th in a previous blog.  Yesterday, the area was bustling with activity and construction seemed to be coming along nicely.  A reservation is needed to see the 9/11 Museum so I have to plan that for another time.

  I noticed a tour group with a guide explaining the artwork on the side of a building near the site,  I intend to go back and take that walk, as well as visit the Museum. 

That was the end of my roaming the City streets. Although the day was briskly cold and windy, it was a day well spent.

My Recollections of Sept. 11, 2001

I am re-posting my entry from September 11, 2010.  It is my hope that you will be able to feel what I felt that day.   No one should ever forget. 

No American civilian should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil. And, my experience of that day is in no way comparable to the heartache of the families of the victims. The following is just my personal recollection of that day.

As my train pulled into Grand Central Station that morning, I heard some buzz from other commuters. But, it was none of my business so I just got off the train and walked the underground tunnel to the Forty-fifth Street exit. As I walked up Madison Avenue, I saw a throng of people standing around a bank looking at a TV. As I tried to see that they were looking at, somehow I got the message that something happened at the World Trade Center. I remember looking in that direction, seeing smoke, and trying to use my phone, and then, trying my Blackberry. No signal. I proceeded north to my office on 52nd St. When I arrived, I saw that I had a message from my daughter who worked near the World Trade Center. However, I could not reach her since I had no phone service.

I proceeded to work. A short while later, I heard that there was a TV in Personnel. So, I went to that floor to see what was going on. After a few minutes, I squeezed into the room. The scene was incredulous. I decided that for me the best thing was to go back to work. Young people on my floor were just milling around. We were the IT (computer) department. They either had IT friends in those World Trade buildings or, like me, had previously worked there themselves. I tried to work, but at the back of my mind were all the tens of thousands of commuters who literally poured out of the ground from the PATH (a train from New Jersey). What happened to all those people? Many, many times I had walked through the underground shopping Plaza and the passage ways under those buildings as a shortcut to save time. Since my commute was 2 ½ hours each way from upstate New York, I was always running to be on time at work. In November 2000, a co-worker and good friend gave me a job lead that resulted in my leaving the World Trade Center and moving to 52nd Street. As an aside, I later heard that a very smart female executive of the Port of Authority ordered the trains diverted to the mid-town area of New York City, saving many lives. I thought of how I would take my lunch into one of the glassed-in areas of my building and look at the Towers. How magnificent they were. Of course, I was just looking at the lower floors. I thought the design was intriguing.

Later that morning, I finally heard from my daughter who was with her co-workers at an apartment in lower Manhattan. One of the workers just took his whole department to his home. I advised my daughter to stay right where she was with her co-workers unless they were evacuated. Then, I was contacted by a great friend from Merrill Lynch inviting me to stay the night at her place since the City was in "lock-down."

Being in Computer Security, I decided, since I had no phone, to try sending emails to get messages to my children. I thank the good Lord for the “Information Highway.” Being able to contact my family in an event such as this is why I feel so strongly that there should be no Government interference with the Internet. I emailed friends in San Diego requesting that they contact my family. My children thought I still worked in the World Trade Center. Exactly where I worked was not one of their concerns. I didn’t know my son’s work e-mail address, but decided to create the addresses in different ways. Surely, one of the emails would get through. Not knowing was going to happen next, I wrote to my son that his sister and I were OK. I gave him the address and phone number for the apartment where she was staying. Then, I gave him the phone number of the friend with whom I would be staying. Without being melodramatic, I thought this might be the last communication we could possibly have. It brings me to tears when I think of it.

Around noon, I went to the bank to get money since I couldn’t get home that night. The sea of people walking, shoulder to shoulder, north out of the City on both sidewalks of Park Avenue was at least five people deep. It was an amazing, yet fearful sight.

Around 1pm, my daughter, accompanied by a co-worker, walked the 30 blocks to be with me. Her hair was covered in ash. I got her in our “locked-down” building. When we reached my office, the phone rang. It was my son in Los Angeles. My daughter, wide-eyed and in shock, told him what happened….her words just spilling out. I tried to calm her down. Her only response to me was, “You weren’t there.”

Then, my daughter told me we just had to get out of the City. She kept pressing. As far as I knew, we couldn't go anywhere. I decided to leave and walk to Grand Central to see if any trains were moving. I never in my lifetime had been prepared for what I saw.

As we walked the now eerily empty Park Avenue south to the train station, we were met with men with megaphones ordering us where to go. We walked a sidewalk cordoned off with safety tape into what seemed like the only open entrance. Other than the sea of people in the great expanse of the center of the building, I don’t remember much except that my mind kept reeling, thinking that something else could happen at any moment. Before long, we were on a train leaving the City.

That evening, watching TV, I saw the real events I knew nothing about because I tried to work that day. I realized that I, being the kind of employee I was, would have returned to my desk in one of those buildings when the “All Clear” announcement was given.

My daughter and I were now safe, but what about those people who died. What about their families? Even today, my heart goes out to them

I realize that this is a sharp contrast to my usually light-hearted and hopefully informative blog. I will always remember my daughter walking 30 blocks to my uptown office, covered in ash from those collapsed buildings….wide-eyed and in shock, having seen death and destruction not many American civilians have ever seen. And, as I said in the beginning of this writing, no American citizen should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil and no one should ever forget.

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Reprint of My Recollections of Sept. 11, 2001

The following is a reprint of my post of Sept.11, 2010.

No American civilian should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil. And, my experience of that day is in no way comparable to the heartache of the families of the victims. The following is just my personal recollection of that day.

As my train pulled into Grand Central Station that morning, I heard some buzz from other commuters. But, it was none of my business so I just got off the train and walked the underground tunnel to the Forty-fifth Street exit. As I walked up Madison Avenue, I saw a throng of people standing around a bank looking at a TV. As I tried to see that they were looking at, somehow I got the message that something happened at the World Trade Center. I remember looking in that direction, seeing smoke, and trying to use my phone, and then, trying my Blackberry. No signal. I proceeded north to my office on 52nd St. When I arrived, I saw that I had a message from my daughter who worked near the World Trade Center. However, I could not reach her since I had no phone service.

I proceeded to work. A short while later, I heard that there was a TV in Personnel. So, I went to that floor to see what was going on. After a few minutes, I squeezed into the room. The scene was incredulous. I decided that for me the best thing was to go back to work. Young people on my floor were just milling around. We were the IT (computer) department. They either had IT friends in those World Trade buildings or, like me, had previously worked there themselves. I tried to work, but at the back of my mind were all the tens of thousands of commuters who literally poured out of the ground from the PATH (a train from New Jersey). What happened to all those people?  I later heard that a very smart female executive of the Port of Authority ordered the trains diverted to the mid-town area of New York City, saving many lives. Many, many times I had walked through the underground shopping Plaza and the passage ways under those buildings as a shortcut to save time. Since my commute was 2 ½ hours each way from upstate New York, I was always running to be on time at work. I thought of how I would take my lunch into one of the glassed-in areas of my building and look at the Towers. How magnificent they were. Of course, I was just looking at the lower floors. I thought the design was intriguing.

In November 2000, a co-worker and good friend gave me a job lead that resulted in my leaving the World Trade Center and moving to 52nd Street.

Later that morning, Sept. 11, 2001, I finally heard from my daughter who was with her co-workers at an apartment in lower Manhattan. When the second plane hit the South Tower, one of  my daughter's co-workers just took his whole department to his home. I advised my daughter to stay right where she was with her co-workers unless they were evacuated. Then, I was contacted by a great friend from Merrill Lynch inviting me to stay the night at her place since the City was in "lock-down."

Being in Computer Security, I decided, since I had no phone, to try sending emails to get messages to my children. I thank the good Lord for the “Information Highway.” Being able to contact my family in an event such as this is why I feel so strongly that there should be no Government interference with the Internet. I emailed friends in San Diego requesting that they contact my family. My children thought I still worked in the World Trade Center. Exactly where I worked was not one of their concerns. I didn’t know my son’s work e-mail address, but decided to create the addresses in different ways. Surely, one of the emails would get through. Not knowing was going to happen next, I wrote to my son that his sister and I were OK. I gave him the address and phone number for the apartment where she was staying. Then, I gave him the phone number of the friend with whom I would be staying. Without being melodramatic, I thought this might be the last communication we could possibly have. It brings me to tears when I think of it.

Around noon, I went to the bank to get money since I couldn’t get home that night. The sea of people walking, shoulder to shoulder, north out of the City on both sidewalks of Park Avenue was at least five people deep. It was an amazing, yet fearful sight.

Around 1pm, my daughter, accompanied by a co-worker, walked the 30 blocks to be with me. Her hair was covered in ash. I got her in our “locked-down” building. When we reached my office, the phone rang. It was my son in Los Angeles. My daughter, wide-eyed and in shock, told him what happened....her words just spilling out. I tried to calm her down. Her only response to me was, “You weren’t there.”

Then, my daughter told me we just had to get out of the City. She kept pressing. As far as I knew, we couldn't go anywhere. I decided to leave and walk to Grand Central to see if any trains were moving. I never in my lifetime had been prepared for what I saw.

As we walked the now eerily empty Park Avenue south to the train station, we were met with men with megaphones ordering us where to go. We walked a sidewalk cordoned off with safety tape into what seemed like the only open entrance. Other than the sea of people in the great expanse of the center of the building, I don’t remember much except that my mind kept reeling, thinking that something else could happen at any moment. Before long, we were on a train leaving the City.

That evening, watching TV, I saw the real events I knew nothing about because I tried to work that day. I realized that I, being the kind of employee I was, would have returned to my desk in one of those buildings when the “All Clear” announcement was given.

My daughter and I were now safe, but what about those people who died. What about their families? Even today, my heart goes out to them

I realize that this is a sharp contrast to my usually light-hearted and hopefully informative blog. I will always remember my daughter walking 30 blocks to my uptown office, covered in ash from those collapsed buildings….wide-eyed and in shock, having seen death and destruction not many American civilians have ever seen. And, as I said in the beginning of this writing, no American citizen should ever have to experience the events of 9/11 on American soil and no one should ever forget.