Another Day In Nyc - Written On 9/11/02

I woke in the morning
My final day as a true denizen of the greatest
city in the world.
A beautiful sunny day
The kind that new Yorkers cherish with the impending fall and winter.
Packing up the last boxes
Getting ready to forge ahead to the unknown, the new
A place so far and different from what I have known
The loud thundering sound above shook the apartment
Stop to think much of it?
No, this is New York City after all
I continue to pack and continue the day
I set out to the car
Only to find masses at the corner of Bleeker and Sullivan
Looking up, at what?
I go to the corner and see for myself
One of the twin towers was ablaze
Incredible, unreal, what happened I wonder
I go to the closest pay phone and call Kathryn
It’s not yet 9am so I leave a message – “girl, call me back, let me know what’s happening
I stand and watch for what seems like an eternity
The typical New York attitude sets in, gotta get back to work
I head back to the apartment to pack another load
I then realize that my camera is not packed
Quickly, I load the car and go to get film
I am not the only one so I wait patiently to pay and then another rumble
Gasps from outside, “OH MY GOD”, another plane, another explosion
Are we at war, under siege?
This is no accident
What is happening?
I watch and shoot and shoot and watch
Everyone is trying to get through on cell phones, pay phones – no service, no signal
I give up and keep shooting, moving further south
It’s terrifying yet fascinating
I ease past Houston St, heading south then west, then further south
Traffic has stopped. Cars, cabs, people motionless looking upward
Trying to listen to car radios
Dumbfounded DJs and reporters are at a loss for words – then
We hear that the Pentagon has now been hit
Fear shudders through everyone around me
Armageddon in 2001
My thoughts turn to mom, must get to her, she’s not that far
I continue south, roll #3 in the camera
In a sudden flash, BOOM – the towers are no longer twin
I stop in my tracks, let out a gasp, a cry
The Italian tourist asks me if I am ok- am I what I say, no I am not ok
Flashback to 1993 – I couldn’t imagine it then, am in disbelief now
Between my tears, I continue to shoot while heading towards mom’s office
Had I not stood and stared at the lone tower I would have gotten to her before she left.
She is fine but now trekking the 4 plus miles uptown to get to the bridge to Queens.
Hundreds of thousands heading away from terror, afraid to look back, afraid of watching the inevitable.
Meanwhile back downtown helplessness sets in. Soot-covered people scared and crying, trembling, walking, running
BOOM
Tower 2 comes crashing down.
Lower Manhattan will never be the same
Time has just stood still. I embrace the first person I see as if I have known her my whole life
And we just lost someone that we love very much.
Is it really only 10am? The last 90 minutes could have been a week, the saddest week in the history of my life.
Sirens wail from every direction. Police telling everyone, ‘go north, don’t stop walking, and don’t look back.
Just keep walking
Another day in New York City.