This is an e-mail from Sandy Seville written on the morning of Sept 11th last year. Sandy is a close friend of ours who lives in New York City. It is a very powerful first hand account of the first few hours of the attacks.
I'm not sure this will get through since my cell phone and land lines aren't working. This morning I was scheduled to go on a flower market tour with the horticulture society and so I left my apartment about 8:30 am to take the subway to the Empire State Building subway stop--it's about 24 blocks from the World Trade Center. As usual I took the subway going the wrong way and by the time I arrived at the correct stop it was just shortly after 9:15. The subway announcer said something about the stops around the World Trade Center being closed. As I exited the subway stop several people were obviously very excited and dripping with sweat. They had apparently just gotten out of the Empire State Building after the second plane to strike the World Trade Center had circled that building appearing, according to these witnesses, to be out of control.
As I looked up Sixth Avenue the World Trade Towers were both clearly visible and burning furiously. Large black clouds were towering above the one hit at the top and the other building was burning from the middle. People were in shock and wandering around. Cars had stopped along the sides of the streets and had turned their radios up so pedestrians could hear. Everyone asked others what had happened -- some were swearing and angry--others were crying and running toward the buildings. It seemed like everyone had cell phones and were trying to find out what had happened. I called my Mother and asked her what was happening and she told me about the crashes.
I don't know why, but I started walking toward the Towers, down the middle of Sixth Avenue.Ambulances were racing everywhere and people were gathered at every corner to watch the Towers. I called Bill Bittner when I heard from a passersby that the Pentagon had been attacked. He was watching the news and as we talked I could actually see bodies hanging from the windows and saw several bodies either fall or jump. As I watched one of the Towers started collapsing. It was horrifying! It just collapsed in huge clouds of smoke and flames. People starting screaming and crying. Although we were 20 blocks away, we could smell the smoke.
I walked on; people were crying and walking as if they were in a trance. Some people were muttering, some just looked so sad and worried and seemed to want to make eye contact--something unusual in this City. After the first Tower fell, cell phone service was ended since the major antennae were in that building. People just started walking down the middle of the street and crossing the street at red lights. By the time I got to 4th and Sixth, I saw the second Tower fall. This time people seemed numb and large numbers of people started pouring out of the Wall Street area and walking or running toward us.
I turned to walk back to my apartment and saw emergency vehicles being driven by men with bloody faces, people walking with ash and dust all over their suits and shoes, and some ambulances drove by covered with large pieces of the building on the hoods at the base of the windshield and on their bumpers. They had obviously been covered by debris when the Towers collapsed. More and more people filled the street and began just walking toward the North end of Manhattan. All transportation had ceased other than private cars and taxis. The traffic was light and interestingly no one was blowing their horns when pedestrians crossed against the light.One man driving a fish delivery truck did blow his horn and the man next to me went to his window and said very calmly, "Thousands of people just died, I don't think it matters whether you deliver that fish." Then he turned to me and said,"My girlfriend died in that crash--she worked in the top part of the East Tower." I told him how very sorry I was and he just lowered his head and kept walking.
I had to walk fifty-four blocks to get back to my apartment and the whole way people just seemed to be calmly walking away from the Wall Street end of Manhattan. I feel the need to communicate with others. I will keep in touch if it is possible. Thank God I live in an apartment in the City since I'm not sure what people who are stranded here are going to do.Since I'm sending this to New Yorkers, as well as elsewhere, if you know of someone who needs a place to sleep tonight, please tell them to come to my building--134 W. 58th between Sixth and Seventh.
