Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

I have a friend (dhs best friend and now cousin by marriage) who happened to be late that day. He worked in WFC.
He got off the subway and saw chaos. He literally thought for a moment they were filming a movie. I'll never ever forget his voice on the answering machine, so shaken up.
He was able to catch the last train home to L.I.
I had my bil and sil, cousins and aunts and uncles who were around that area but none of them worked in the WTC.
If my father in law hadn't retired (almost exaclty a year before) he would not be here today. He always went in at 7AM so he can be out by 3 or 4. He worked on the 102nd floor. Sadly, he lost many co-workers.
My thoughts and prayers are with everyone and their families! I cannot believe it has been five years.

Message edited 9/10/2006 8:28:04 AM.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

these are amazing stories that everyone has to share. I am crying just reading them!

to everyone

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

My dad and grandfather worked on Maiden...They also felt the planes hit, everything shook. They saw everything. The office windows face the towers.

They were in the street when the towers fell, and my dad said he thought he was going to die. Clouds of black smoke were rushing towards them, he said it was like a movie. He wasn't sure if there was fire in those clouds. He grabbed my 80 year old grandfather, and pulled him into a store...luckily, some good samaritan offered to drive my grandfather home (I think they made it up broadway).

I don't even remember how my dad made it home, but I was at his house waiting. He was white from head to toe.

He still won't talk about what he saw

Message edited 9/10/2006 10:12:31 AM.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

My Uncle and I are survivors. He worked for Kemper Insurance onthe 32nd Floor, and I worked on the 38th Floor.

Unfortunately, my cousin Jude and my close friend Rob did not make it as they worked for Cantor.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

I was working in Midtown and was working and my aunt called to tell me that a lane had hit the world trade center.. I thought she was joking.. (she is like that ) . When i signed on to CNN i saw that they were not kidding , I also had a radio and was listening to that. My coworked and I walked to 37 and 5th and stood on the corner and watched the flames pour out of the tower something i will never forget seeing.we then went back into the office and were told that we have to stay inside till they let us go. This was because they did nt know what else to do with us. Finally we got to go and I wlaked to 79th and 2nd to my aunt apartment.

My BIL cousin died in the tower that day. My cousin was supposed to be thre working but she was running late..I knew a lot of people that just was not making it ontime that day...


So anyone who lost someone on 9/11... to you and your family.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

I wasnt , but my companies headquarters were there and we lost some of our co-workers on that day

Those who werent lost, came to our location to work afterwards and It was very sad to see so many people with burns up and down their arms and faces. More then I had expected to see, and it is still sad to see.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

My thoughts are with everyone who lost someone and all of those who survived the horrific events of September 11th.

I don't consider myself a "survivor" perse, but still very lucky. I was heading to my 2nd day of grad school at Pace University that morning. I got on the Staten Island ferry, saw that the first tower was on fire, and watched the second plane fly over the water and toward the 2nd tower. The whole time, I kept saying to myself "that has to be a rescue plane, it has to be a rescue plane," but I was wrong. I watched it crash, and still had so little concept of what was going on, that I called my dad and asked him if I should still head to Pace. I had no idea that Pace was only two blocks away. He told me to come home. I got back on the train and ran into my brother in law, who had been in battery park and had the 2nd plane fly right over his head. Several of my classmates were already downtown and were evacuated and had to walk over the Manhattan bridge. I am so thankful that I was not runnign a half hour earlier. I had no grad school classes for at least 2 weeks, and when we went back, that horrible smell lasted for weeks and weeks, and everything was covered in ash. Those images and that smell will never leave my mind. I had nightmares of planes or missles crashing into buildings with me in them for months.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

I work in midtown - so I wasn't a survivor, but remember everything about the day - like most of us.
I remember walking from Penn to work like I always did. I stopped at a fruit stand and the guy sold me some fruit and tried to explain a plane hit a building. I looked up and saw the smoke throughout the city, but his accent was thick and it was so unimagineable - I didn't get what he was saying.
I got to work and turned on the TV and realized what was happening. I handle media inquiries for a very affluent former politician who was out of the country on that day. I started getting a million press calls and some of my co-workers were considering staying in the city until they knew more. I debated staying to do my job, or leaving.

My mom, a teacher on LI, had seen on the news that the entire city was under attack and called my cell phone screaming for me to leave. DH called too to find out what I planned to do (we had been broken up at this point, needless to say that night we started our relationship up again, as this obviously makes people realize what's important).

People at the office were still contemplating what to do. I just left - I walked from 52nd & Park to Rego Park where my mom met me. I remember walking through Queens and not knowing where to tell her to meet me because the streets were numbered and would continue in each town - I didn't know where I was, and every time she thought we'd be reunited at a corner, and we weren't, she called screaming.

Needless to say, we were reunited and I got home safe. We sat there waiting to hear if my 2 uncles were OK, both NYC firemen who were there. The majority of one of my uncle's firehouse was killed that day - his life was spared - THANK GOD.

So, I was never at risk for losing my life, but I think we all have a vivid and horrifying memory of that day. And sometimes it's good to share it, b/c in this screwed up world with so much fighting and anger over things that don't matter, it's good to remind ourselves that we're all human and have the same fears and sadness during these times.

I'm so sorry for all of you who have lost someone special. I was watching the PrimeTime special the other night about the children of parent's who passed away that day. How awful, just gut-wrenchingly sad. It really puts life into perspective.

Thinking of you all tomorrow

Message edited 9/10/2006 10:48:59 AM.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

MY DH arrived right after the first tower fell - he is NYPD. I was working in the city that day (midtown) and took the subway into Queens. I remember watching the first tower fall from the 7 train and just knowing he was there, started crying on a strangers shoulder. I will never forget that feeling - and not knowing for hours whether or not he was there, or if he was alive.
Luckily, he survived as did most of our close friends.
I did know a firefighter that I grew up with who was lost.
God bless all those effected.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

My husband worked in Tower Two. His small company is very lucky. They went to the Giants game the night before and didn't get in until 4 am and drunk.

I was on strike that day (Catholics school teachers called a strike at 7:30 am) and Chris called me on the cell phone and said "I don't think I am going to work today, a plane has crashed into the WTC" He was stunned. None of his people were hurt b/c they were all drunk and tired. I have never been so thankful for football!

Just recently however, he was diagnosed with 9/11 disease. He was down there for the clean up for the entire year in a temporary office on Maiden Lane. We have much ahead of us.

But on 9/11 we remember Stephen Hoffman of Cantor Fitzgerald and Michael Brenan, FDNY. Our heart breaks for the family they left behind.

Tomorrow will be a tough day!

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

I hadn't met DH yet, but he worked a few buildings away. They were required to stay in the building for several hours in the basement and were then let out... I don't know how to feel about it, but if it weren't for 9/11 we would have never met. He had to move his operations out of NYC after 9/11 because the building was destroyed. He moved to where his partner lived, which is in PA... where I lived.

I remember so clearly the day it happened - I was on my way to school and everyone was walking out of the building, like zombies. I asked what was going on and someone told me to go home and turn on the tv, so I rushed home and turned on the TV. I knew both my parents and my BF were supposed to be in NYC that day so I spent about 10 hours trying to hunt them down on the phone. My mother was on jury duty right across the river and watched the whole thing. My father was supposed to be in the area, but he didn't make it to the city that day. I finally got touch with Susan's husband that day and he told me she was ok, though I know she'll never shake the trauma from that day either

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

My cousin who worked for Cantor did not survive he was supposed to get married that November

My brother had just joined the NYPD academy and was called down that afternoon...The look on his face when he came home that night is something my mother still talks about....like nothing she had ever seen. He was at the morgue (sp??) with a list of people who had died...answering to family members who came looking for their lost

I think about and pray for all the lost and all the living who witnessed 9/11 first hand

I thank God that I was still not working in the city at the time

ETA...I used to work in NYC and take the same train every morning and afternoon...I often think if any of the people I would see everyday died...it makes me so upset

ETA...RIP Always and Forever

Christopher Racaniello

Message edited 9/10/2006 9:38:46 PM.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

I work in Brooklyn and I remember one of my friends coming to my classroom telling me that one of thr towers was hit. So I thought it was an accident. When I heard about tower 2 being hit, I remembered how when I would fly back from college for vacation, we would circle Manhattan. The towers would let me know I was home. At that point I also remembered that even though we circled the city, we were still pretty far above the buildings. I thought "This was no accident." and we could see the smoke from our building in Brooklyn. My brother worked down at the NYSE and had been kept in safety. We waited a long time before we heard from him and it was frightening.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

All thesse stories are making me cry...please look at my myspace page if you can? I think it will put you in aww.
Look for the pic of my son in there.

My Myspace Page

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

My DH worked in the city, but he overslept that morning. His phone rang and his friend asked if he was downtown, Dh said that he was on his way out and his friend told him to turn on the TV. Thank God my DH can be slightly irresponsible at times.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

My thoughts are with all the people involved that day. The lost and the survivors and of course the heros.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

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Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

My DH family's are survivors. They worked on the 84th floor of Tower 2. After the first plane hit, they left the office right away. They actually felt the vibrations of the 2nd plane as it hit.

Its a day I dont like to remember but I will never forget.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

Message edited 9/11/2014 12:41:42 PM.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

I had just started law school two weeks before. I didn't have class until 10:30 so I was still sleeping. I got a phone call from my dad telling me to not worry and that he was ok. I had no idea what he was talking about. After he told me, I woke up my roommate and we turned on the Today show. We watched the second plane hit. It was so awful. We were in complete shock. We went to class. Most people were there. A few classmates left during class to check about family members and friends. I remember one of my classmates (who later became one of our closest friends) leave a few times when his phone rang. Luckily, he later found out his father was ok. After class, many of us gathered in the library and watched CNN. It was heartbreaking. I was glued to the news for weeks.

I'm so lucky I didn't lose any family members or close friends. Two of the kids I used to tutor in high school lost their mother. Several people in the town I grew up in also died that day. The firm I worked for after law school had been located at WTC. They lost a few people that day. Most of my co-workers don't really talk about it. I think many of them were on their way to work, but hadn't arrived yet.

My heart goes out to everyone who lost someone that day, to those who survived and to those who became (and will become) ill from working at the site after 9/11.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

I am not a WTC survivor, but I was in the city that day and it was the scariest day of my life.

I had just started school, goin to "the city". We were in Midtown, on 40th n 5th, and the class was in the basement. Well, the girl next to me checked her VM durin the break n told me the world trade centers were attacked. She thought it was a joke. One of the other girls went upstairs to check, (yea the school forgot about us ! ) and came running down to tell us the news. She instead, said that the Empire State Building was on fire (DH went to school right across the street)Teacher didnt believe her, went upstairs, then came back and told us just to leave.NOW. I started to shake and cry.

I didnt know whether to go by DH's school first or my father job, which was only 2 avenues away. So I decided to to dh's school-ppl were running towards me as i was running to his school (SCARY). I reached his bulding, saw that the Empre State Building was NOT on fire, and asked the security guard if that school had been let out. He told me no, and that the empire state bulding was next. (Thanks security guard). I still went upstairs, to the classroom , and no one was there except one kid who told me that DH had left. I was distraught-cuz there was no way I could have missed him walking to me- So i headed back towards my school-and as I was headind back, i heard ppl screaming, cabs stopping. I looked up and saw tower 2 fall. This really explained my situation at the time. I started to cry harder n harder, passed by my school n one of the teachers told me that DH passed-and that he was goin to my fathers job.

So I headed towards there, only 2 avenues away. There was SO many ppl outisde, but not them. I went into the building, the security guard told me-no elevators are working, u will have to use the stairs. (I had 4 inch heels on).
I started to cry again, went outside. FINALLY i saw a crowd w/my father and dh in it. i broke down and was too weak to stand, so i sat down.

After that, we didnt kow what to do relaly, so we went n stayed at my fathers friends apt right by the UN-there was no where to go, no buses, trains, u couldnt walk over the bridge yet either.

I really had no idea the extent of what happeend, untl we saw it all on tv. My father gave me a shot of vodka (lol) -n hes NOT a drinker AT ALL. after a few hours, we started our journey home, walked over the bridge, to queens-and got home at 6:00.

Sorry this was so long, but the memory is still so new for some reason....
I was so worried that I knew someone in the towers, but luckily I did not. DH's sister worked on maiden lane and did not get home till the following night-she had to go stay at somoens house in NJ!

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

My uncle was there for the bombing in 93 and there that day for the tragedy also. He is still a mess from it. He feels like he has already had his 2 'strikes'


Hugs to everyone it's still so fresh and raw.

Re: with all the 9/11 posts it made me wonder.. any wtc survivors on here

I'm reading all of these stories - I guess I just want to share mine.

I remember sitting on a bench across the street from my office the morning of 9/11. I had gotten a promotion, and it was my 2nd day at my new office. Things didn't go so well for me the day before - I remember sitting on that bench thinking - today I'm going to do a better job - I had a 10am appt at 1 Liberty Plaza so I went up to my office early to prepare.

I was in my office by 8:30am - I remember that a guy I worked with came running into the office area, frantic saying that a plane had hit the wtc - and he was going over there to see about his wife and brother-in-law. None of them made it back.

I remember not believeing that it was a terror attack and when my manager asked us to take a partner & bunker down in the lobby of the building - Even with the debris that hit the windows and even when we made it to street - how pitch black it was outside... And the smell - I will never forget that smell. I still didn't get it.

I remember that I had a Nextel phone at the time, and it was the only working phone in the area - I let everyone use it to call home.

I remember that as we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge there was a girl wearing these great highheeled sandals - and she was covered in blood. She was disoriented and kept saying how she survived the 93 attack too.
She leaned on me the entire walk to Fulton Street in Brooklyn. I will never forget her.

I remember walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and hearing the fighter jets above - not knowing that's what they were and thinking, why are they letting planes go by? And are we going to make it across this bridge?

I remember that we all walked to Fulton Street in Brooklyn - me with the girl (I wish I knew her name) - the manager from my company, and another co-worker. The manager knew someone in Brooklyn with a car rental agency - we rented a Toyota Camry and he took all of us home.

I remember when I got home that my brother-in-law was missing (FDNY) and that my sister was calmly hysertical.
He called home at 10pm that night - He is now retired from the FDNY at 33 because of serious lung isues as a result of the recovery efforts.

I remember getting the call that our friend and fellow flight attendant had perished - She worked for Cantor Fitgergald. I remember thinking how ironic it was that she wouldn't work out of Saudi Arabia with all of us because she was afraid of terror attacks, and how it was a terror attack at home that took her from us.

I remember having to go back to work the following Monday or Tuesday - and not being able to get downtown because of supicious activity - and got out at 14th street, and seeing all of the pictures of the missing, and just crying in the street.

I still cry when I think of September 11th.

Message edited 9/10/2006 1:41:11 PM.