I was at work. Saw a group in a conference room and a TV was on, so I invited myself in. The second plane hadn't hit yet. Much engineering conjecture as to what was actually happening, no one but me mentioned that it must be hell in that building, trying to get out. Then the second tower was hit. After the cries died down, I announced, "We're at war with someone."
More conjecture about whether the buildings would stand. The electrical engineers were confident that they would, I, a Mechanical Engineer, told them that they were coming down. Unfortunately, I was right.
I kept remembering the scenes from 1993 where people staggered out of the WTC for hours after the bombing. I kept thinking about the goddamned stair wells, and what that must have been like. We threw estimates around about how many people had been in the building at the time, (concensus was 50,000: the population of Waterville, Maine, my hometown). Thank hell we were wrong.
I knew that we'd be attacked by someone someday. With the weapons that are potentially available to these bastards, we've gotten off lightly so far.
That is not to trivialize the deaths that we've suffered, and if any victim family members ever read this, please accept a virtual hug and my sincerest sympathies.
Aries 1B
PS: The friday after That Tuesday, I drove over to a local Burger King for lunch. As I left the line and traversed a parking lot, I heard a screech of tires; a car was speeding away from a nearby bank. I thought, "Oh great, some dick has been dumped by his girl friend." Right on the bumper of the car was an Indianapolis policeman, his gun drawn. The car sped past my hapless, thin-walled VW Jetta. The officer leveled his gun as the car started to pass me (i.e., I was between the officer and the bad guys). The officer let loose with his Glock and missed both the bad guys and me (I had ducked down behind the aluminum-foil like door of my car, wondering where the first round would hit me). The shooting stopped and I drove back to work... elated that I had survived my first gunfight.
<strong>... Another friend had left a couple of messages on the answering machine - if I was awake I needed to turn on the TV. "There's some awful, crazy stuff that's happening." He didn't know it then but maybe he already suspected it: his cousin was in one of the towers. He was a bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald... </strong><hr></blockquote>
They just had a story last night on CBS' 48 Hours about my friend's cousin. He was a twin. The story was also about the surviving brother and how he is now trying to step up and be a surrogate father to his 5-year-old niece. She is so beautiful.
well, i had taken the day off sick... the day off i should have taken monday, but they needed a spare pair of hands in the studio, so i went in with the promise that i could get tuesday off.
woke up... don't remember when. let the dog out in the back yard as i fired up the computer to check email. that's when i heard the upstairs neighbor on the phone saying something about "and airplane hitting the buidling."
okay, let's kick on headline news and see what's going on -- it's sure to have made a byline. just got a few broadcasters talking. hmmm... switch a few channels. more braodcasters. damn. a lot of news going on... what the hell has happened?
get to nbc, and that's when i saw it... both towers billowing with smoke, and then "world trade center" underneath. holy sh!t. then the news came in that the pentagon had been hit.
oh ny f'n lord. i yelled for my wife to come to the t.v. -- mostly so i could get someone else to verify what the hell i was seeing. then the reports of the other plane having diverted course (the one that went down in pennsylvania).
then the first tower fell. i'm sure lots of minutes and commentary filled those minutes, but the stun-factor was in full effect, and the morning seemed to go by in a span of 10 minutes.
not knowing when this all started, i called work, to tell someone to turn on a t.v., but they were way ahead of me. i was a wreck. i couldn't think. couldn't really talk. being an american in canada, i felt both a little safer, yet horribly removed from all my loved ones...
then the second tower fell.
i told my wife then "i had really hoped i could live this life without EVER having to be witness to something like this."
Comments
More conjecture about whether the buildings would stand. The electrical engineers were confident that they would, I, a Mechanical Engineer, told them that they were coming down. Unfortunately, I was right.
I kept remembering the scenes from 1993 where people staggered out of the WTC for hours after the bombing. I kept thinking about the goddamned stair wells, and what that must have been like. We threw estimates around about how many people had been in the building at the time, (concensus was 50,000: the population of Waterville, Maine, my hometown). Thank hell we were wrong.
I knew that we'd be attacked by someone someday. With the weapons that are potentially available to these bastards, we've gotten off lightly so far.
That is not to trivialize the deaths that we've suffered, and if any victim family members ever read this, please accept a virtual hug and my sincerest sympathies.
Aries 1B
PS: The friday after That Tuesday, I drove over to a local Burger King for lunch. As I left the line and traversed a parking lot, I heard a screech of tires; a car was speeding away from a nearby bank. I thought, "Oh great, some dick has been dumped by his girl friend." Right on the bumper of the car was an Indianapolis policeman, his gun drawn. The car sped past my hapless, thin-walled VW Jetta. The officer leveled his gun as the car started to pass me (i.e., I was between the officer and the bad guys). The officer let loose with his Glock and missed both the bad guys and me (I had ducked down behind the aluminum-foil like door of my car, wondering where the first round would hit me). The shooting stopped and I drove back to work... elated that I had survived my first gunfight.
That's when I started getting past That Tuesday.
[ 11-28-2001: Message edited by: Aries 1B ]</p>
<strong>... Another friend had left a couple of messages on the answering machine - if I was awake I needed to turn on the TV. "There's some awful, crazy stuff that's happening." He didn't know it then but maybe he already suspected it: his cousin was in one of the towers. He was a bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald... </strong><hr></blockquote>
They just had a story last night on CBS' 48 Hours about my friend's cousin. He was a twin. The story was also about the surviving brother and how he is now trying to step up and be a surrogate father to his 5-year-old niece. She is so beautiful.
woke up... don't remember when. let the dog out in the back yard as i fired up the computer to check email. that's when i heard the upstairs neighbor on the phone saying something about "and airplane hitting the buidling."
okay, let's kick on headline news and see what's going on -- it's sure to have made a byline. just got a few broadcasters talking. hmmm... switch a few channels. more braodcasters. damn. a lot of news going on... what the hell has happened?
get to nbc, and that's when i saw it... both towers billowing with smoke, and then "world trade center" underneath. holy sh!t. then the news came in that the pentagon had been hit.
oh ny f'n lord. i yelled for my wife to come to the t.v. -- mostly so i could get someone else to verify what the hell i was seeing. then the reports of the other plane having diverted course (the one that went down in pennsylvania).
then the first tower fell. i'm sure lots of minutes and commentary filled those minutes, but the stun-factor was in full effect, and the morning seemed to go by in a span of 10 minutes.
not knowing when this all started, i called work, to tell someone to turn on a t.v., but they were way ahead of me. i was a wreck. i couldn't think. couldn't really talk. being an american in canada, i felt both a little safer, yet horribly removed from all my loved ones...
then the second tower fell.
i told my wife then "i had really hoped i could live this life without EVER having to be witness to something like this."