Memories of September 11

It's bee often remarked how incredibly serene the weather was that day. In the afternoon we were being told on TV not to go down to the site to try to help, that the best way to help was to stay out of the way of the rescuers. So there was literally nothing to do, and wanting a break from the TV replays, I took a book with me and went walking through Central Park.

The people who had arrived in Manhattan that day to go to work downtown had been told to simply start walking uptown, to get out of the chaos of people and rubble downtown. The subways and buses had stopped running so the only way you could get around was to walk. So it was really hearbreaking, walking through Central Park, to spot several men in business suits laying down on benches or in the grass, using their briefcases as pillows. They were the people who had arrived for work in Manhattan early in the morning, but then could not get out of the city and had nowhere to go.

It was disheartening. I was in Edison, NJ at the time. I was planning to come in to help my girlfriend celebrate her birthday but was told that all cross points were shut down. That was the first time that I can remember when NYC was actually shut down and quiet.

You are a great person. I feel for you. I understand what you went through. Thankfully, my girlfriend at the time, was nowhere near there. She actually saw it on TV and called to let me know about it. What a horrible event. Hopefully such an event won't ever happen again.

I cant imagine what it must have been like to live (or be in) NYC on that day that has changed history.

I have my own story - it was the night after we got married, on my honeymoon on a deserted island in the Pacific watching it on television live. Just remember my wife's tears and shock, such a contrast to the night before. And most of the resorts guests were Americans trying frantically to call home.

That was a trying time for most people. It was a day that time nearly stood still for NY. It was also a time when the city nearly collasped. Let's hope the ones responsible for the disaster never have a chance to repeat it again.

I know someone whose father died. Not a close friend but still was sad and shocking...

Let's see - I was eleven, and at school, and at the assembly our Middle School Principal told us something had happened. She was very cagey about it - said something had crashed "near" the WTC - but it was quite clear from her demeanor something was wrong. My mother picked me up from school - after defying her nuts workaholic boss to be able to leave the office - and we went to the now-defunct Cafe Guy Pascal and I remember being absolutely terrified. The next day, said boss insisted we all come into work, and as school was closed, I spent the day wandering aimlessly around my mother's office while her boss yelled at everyone for watching the news instead of being busy at their desks...needless to say she quit some months later.

Yes, DBlack, it was a horrible day and hopefully one we will never see again. I personally did not lose anyone in the tragedy but felt bad for those who did lose someone. Hey, ajadedidealist, having a boss act that way, especially with what happened the previous day, I can see why your mother quit. I would have told him where to stick his business to. How heartless and inhumane can one be.

Weird reaction. I remember people being especially sensitive to each other in the days after, as though we had all shared in something...Though with touches of paranoia and talk of anthrax interspersed.

I suppose some people just feel the need to carry on/pretend as if nothing happened.
That said, however, I do think New York, as a whole, tends to be a close community in times of crisis or pseudo crisis (ie, the blackout). We might be a diverse city - extraordinarily so - representing a wide range of race, class, and what-have-you, but I've found on some level that New Yorkers have more "community spirit" than your average homogeneous, close small town.

I know, Uraniumfish, but then six months later it was back to attitudes as usual. I heard this guy talking about 9/11 on the street recently. He was talking to someone next to him and he even remarked how people in NY were nice to each other, supporting one another. But he said after about six months the feelings subsided and he noticed people were acting selfish, arrogant, and basically to themselves. I really don't know if this is true of all people, considering I know and have friends who are kind, sweet, and friendly.

How do you perceive people in NYC in the last year or two?

@ajadedidealist your mum's boss sounds like a witch! how could he/she not have been affected by what happened in NYC that fateful day, until this day I think about those people who were sent back to their offices in the second tower after the first tower was hit. The logical response would have been to evacuate the entire area but I guess chaos and confusion reigned as the authorities probably thought the first incident was just an accident.

Anybody remember the paranoid talk, though? Seemed like everywhere I went in the months afterward people were weird about their neighbors, and everybody was talking about anthrax all of a sudden. Maybe a symptom of shock. There were ads all over the subways advertising free counseling services.

One really really weird sight in the days immediately afterward was walking in Times Square and every single one of those famous lights were shut OFF. I remember feeling like I was walking in a war zone...

Here's a NY Times editorial about the recent pressure not to hold the rial of accused terrorists in New York.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/opinion/31sun2.html

My husband who was living in the city during 9/11 had quite a different reaction to other folks in the city yes he was as shocked as everybody else but he yet went out to dinner with friends just to show some support to the neighborhood restaurants who naturally lost all their custom in the weeks that followed 9/11.

@uptowngirl The strange thing was, there wasn't much else to do in those few days after except try to be normal though nothing was normal, really. @uptowngirl I would just wish the accused get a fair trial, and would wonder whether that's possible in New York? Not sure what I think about this one.

@uptowngirl It's probably a tough call, since I also want to be careful about the right people being accused of the right crimes. Immediately after the attacks, everyone was so hurt, that I wondered if people who were only suspected would be able to actually get a fair hearing, considering the general atmosphere. But there's no answer to this one and I'm glad I don't have to be the one to decide...

I agree, @uptowngirl - I think the trial should be held in NYC, as it would give us closure. I'm really not keen on the Republican fearmongering/"terrorist attack" meme that they're spreading, when it's clearly a political issue.

@hhusted I hadn't really thought about the terrorist retaliation angle at all but perhaps we in NYC are not so secure as we think ourselves to be . I just read this in the newspaper today that a body of a stowaway was found in the landing gear of a Delta airlines flight which landed at Tokyo's Narita airport . The flight originated at JFK where security is supposed to be airtight. Then how did a man escape detection and stowaway? the implications of this are quite scary ..the next time around someone can probably access a plane parked on the tarmac and post some kind of explosive device. Who is to know? even after the TSA and other security measures in place it's shocking that this should happen .

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-09/dead-stowaway-on-delta-air-flight-spotlights-security-update1-.html

That's right. Now you can see why it is imperative to do the right thing and keep the trials out of NYC so we won't be in harmed or be in a threat for someone to cause us harm.

@uptowngirl I read that article about the stowaway and became interested in finding out just who could actually survive a flight in a wheel well, and the more I read the more it seemed as if stowaway-in-the-landing-gear incidents seem to happen once every few years, including one in 2007 on a British Airways jet - the body was found in LA.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1541417/Body-may-have-been-week-on-plane.html

Anyway, not to go too far from the original topic, but if anyone else is interested, this is what the Telegraph had to say about the few survivors of these desperate ordeals:

"Few stowaways who climb into planes' wheel wells survive. Despite the fact the area is enclosed, it is not pressurised or heated.

Temperatures could have plunged to minus 50C during the 10-hour flight, officials said.

There are some exceptions, however. In August 2000, Fidel Maruhi, from Tahiti, miraculously survived a 4,000-mile journey in a wheel well after enduring normally fatal temperatures as low as minus 45C.

When he was pulled from the aircraft in Los Angeles, he was treated for hypothermia and dehydration but was otherwise unharmed.

And in 2002, a Cuban stowaway, Victor Alverez Molina, endured minus 40C in a wheel well en route to Canada.

Discovered in Montreal, he was detained by the authorities but later freed. He was allowed to remain in the country and found work in a car showroom and learned French."

And of course it's unsettling to think what could happen if someone with an explosive device managed to get into a wheel well...

Hey, guys, I never said that if the trials were held here, the terrorists would attack, I only said it was a possibility and that we should be concerned about it. I am not inciting an argument here, I merely stating info I read somewhere by a terrorist expert.

I just read a report on NY1 that, according to a recent poll taken by New Yorkers, 68% say they oppose any terror trials in the city. Because of the danger that it poses for the city, the Department of Justice is looking to find a place to hold the trials. I wonder where that will end up being?

So why not post the article. I'd be interested in reading it.

Sure. Here it is:

http://www.ny1.com/5-manhattan-news-content/top_stories/113959/poll-finds-new-yorkers-against-having-terror-trials-in-city

@Basic great idea.. perhaps you should send a note to Bloomberg after all it will be revenue generating for the city ..

I agree with you, @uraniumfish. When I first heard that the trial would be in NYC, I was happy to see NYC eting out justice for 9/11 - it seemed fitting. I am sorry that the GOP whipped up fear and made NYers too afraid to seek justice

@Everyone Just came across this interesting article about the revival of downtown NYC

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/08/28/1649053/tangible-signs-of-life-to-arrive.html

I still can't believe it's been nearly ten years and still no sign of proper rebuilding at Ground Zero. I think that's ridiculous and shameful - how can people just not get it together?

@ajadedidealist Har har har, one is tempted to ask the same thing about the MTA. So typical of NYC political skirmishes that nothing at all ever gets done...

There is rebuilding going on at ground zero. They just don't show you what is happening.

@hhusted everyone knows there is rebuilding going on down there we are just surprised as how long its taking

@uptowngirl: There are money issues mainly.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/graphics/911_5year_groundzero/flash.htm

http://www.rebuildgroundzero.org/rgzv2/

@uptowngirl, indeed! Apparently it's slow going but still! Come on! Shouldn't this be a priority for so many reasons?

@Everyone Here's a slide show on the progress of the construction at Ground Zero
http://www.newsweek.com/photo/2010/09/04/ground-zero.html

A landfill seems horrid and impersonal, somehow. A burial site would be appropriate, I think. Yes, it costs taxpayer money, but I think this is one of those times where it's necessary/worth it to do so.

@Everyone The famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has a deeper connection to NYC this year as the tree comes from the upstate NY home of New York City firefighter Peter Acton who served as a first responder in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.. what a great story
http://www.dnainfo.com/20101112/midtown/rockefeller-center-christmas-tree-arrives-midtown

The September 11th museum has just released an online time line of the attacks...

http://timeline.national911memorial.org/

Even after a decade it feels like yesterday..I still remember that day so vividly don't think I will ever forget..

It's insane to pay for the expense of burying debris. They should do a respectful ceremony and then get on with getting rid of the debris in the most efficient way possible. People have their memories of their loved ones and ithat should be enough.

I tend to think I wouldn't want my mother or husband dumped into a landfill in Staten Island. So, I can see where they're coming from. They're not trash.

@JenMac No one said so, of course they're not trash. But there are also the living to care for and I would rather use the money it would take to do that to treat people who are hungry or homeless or in distress.