FROM THE WAR ZONE: ONE MAN'S TALE I left his name off the email for privacy concerns. Although i do not know him i have every reason to believe this as true. I am sorry for being angry. Every time i see a plane overhead my heart jumps. I am home at NJ and most aircraft are military. Each day i get sicker over this. I resent being lectured by xdilbert. Its not that i am unsympathetic to the innocents who may suffer, its just that the overriding task is to stop terrorism forever. Dont tell me XD that we will become like them. We will NEVER become like them.
I look at my 6 week old grandson and I promise him a world where this cant happen. 5,000 have died so far. More will. It is worth it in order to win. I wish i were younger and healthier and stronger. I wish i could help the rescuers and the folks clearing the rubble. I wish i could go to fight. There is nothing i can do. I stood half block away as 5000 innnocents perished. I ran when the building exploded. I ran when the building imploded.. I will never be the same and neither will any of you. Today there will be multiple arrests. Everyone and anyone who helped those bastards will be detained. Anyone who knew about this will be taken into custody. Its against the law. Its against God. No complaints about civil liberties. If someone housed them knowing what they planned, they too deserve to rot in hell. Gottfried, you probably and I know more about what the Devil looks like than most others. Whether it is Hitler or BenLadin it makes no difference. Put it out before it gets out of hand. Remember Neville Chamberllin and what appeasement resulted in. Hitlers rise was based in the Treaty of Versailles so excuses can me made for him too. I am truly sorry for going on like this. mike
THE PRICE WE PAY:
>> > My name is ---------. I am alive today. I am committing this to
>> "paper"
>> > so I never forget. SO WE NEVER FORGET. I am sure that this is one of
>> > thousands of stories that will emerge over the next several days and
>> > weeks.
>> > I arrived as usual a little before 8am. My office was on the 87th floor
>> of
>> > 1 World Trade Center, AKA: Tower 1, AKA: the North Tower. Most of my
>> > associates were in by 8:30m. We were standing around, joking around,
>> > eating breakfast, checking emails, and getting set for the day when the
>> > first plane hit just a few stories above us. I must stress that we did
>> not
>> > know that it was a plane. The building lurched violently and shook as
if
>> > it were an earthquake. People screamed. I watched out my window as the
>> > building seemed to move 10 to 20 feet in each direction. It rumbled and
>> > shook long enough for me to get my wits about myself and grab a
>> co-worker
>> > and seek shelter under a doorway. Light fixtures and parts of the
>> ceiling
>> > collapsed. The kitchen was destroyed. We were certain that it was a
>> bomb.
>> > We looked out the windows. Reams of paper were flying everywhere, like
a
>> > ticker tape parade. I looked down at the street. I could see people in
>> > Battery Park City looking up. Smoke started billowing in through the
>> holes
>> > in the ceiling. I believe that there were 13 of us.
>> > We did not panic. I can only assume that we thought that the worst was
>> > over. The building was standing and we were shaken but alive. We
checked
>> > the halls. The smoke was thick and white and did not smell like I
>> imagined
>> > smoke should smell. Not like your BBQ or your fireplace or even a
>> bonfire.
>> > The phones were working. My wife had taken our 9 month old for his
check
>> > up. I called my nanny at home and told her to page my wife, tell her
>> that
>> > a bomb went off, I was ok, and on my way out. I grabbed my laptop. Took
>> > off my tee shirt and ripped it into 3 pieces. Soaked it in water. Gave
2
>> > pieces to my friends. Tied my piece around my face to act as an air
>> > filter. And we all started moving to the staircase. One of my dearest
>> > friends said that he was staying until the police or firemen came to
get
>> > him. In the halls there were tiny fires and sparks. The ceiling had
>> > collapsed in the men's bathroom. It was gone along with anyone who may
>> > have been in there. We did not go in to look. We missed the staircase
on
>> > the first run and had to double back. Once in the staircase we picked
up
>> > fire extinguishers just incase. On the 85th floor a brave associate of
>> > mine and I headed back up to our office to drag out my partner who
>> stayed
>> > behind. There was no air, just white smoke. We made the rounds through
>> the
>> > office calling his name. No response. He must have succumbed to the
>> smoke.
>> > We left defeated in our efforts and made our way back to the stairwell.
>> We
>> > proceeded to the 78th floor where we had to change over to a different
>> > stairwell. 78 is the main junction to switch to the upper floors. I
>> > expected to see more people. There were some 50 to 60 more. Not enough.
>> > Wires and fires all over the place. Smoke too. A brave man was fighting
>> a
>> > fire with the emergency hose. I stopped with to friends to make sure
>> that
>> > everyone from our office was accounted for. We ushered them and
confused
>> > people into the stairwell. In retrospect, I recall seeing Harry, my
head
>> > trader, doing the same several yards behind me. I am only 35. I have
>> known
>> > him for over 14 years. I headed into the stairwell with 2 friends.
>> > We were moving down very orderly in Stair Case A. very slowly. No
panic.
>> > At least not overt panic. My legs could not stop shaking. My heart was
>> > pounding. Some nervous jokes and laughter. I made a crack about ruining
>> a
>> > brand new pair of Merrells. Even still, they were right, my feet felt
>> > great. We all laughed. We checked our cell phones. Surprisingly, there
>> was
>> > a very good signal, but the Sprint network was jammed. I heard that the
>> > Blackberry 2 way email devices worked perfectly. On the phones, 1 out
of
>> > 20 dial attempts got through. I knew I could not reach my wife so I
>> called
>> > my parents. I told them what happened and that we were all okay and on
>> the
>> > way down. Soon, my sister in law reached me. I told her we were fine
and
>> > moving down. I believe that was about the 65th floor. We were bored and
>> > nervous. I called my friend Angel in San Francisco. I knew he would be
>> > watching. He was amazed I was on the phone. He told me to get out that
>> > there was another plane on its way. I did not know what he was talking
>> > about. By now the second plane had struck Tower 2. We were so deep into
>> > the middle of our building that we did not hear or feel anything. We
had
>> > no idea what was really going on. We kept making way for wounded to go
>> > down ahead of us. Not many of them, just a few. No one seemed seriously
>> > wounded. Just some cuts and scrapes. Everyone cooperated. Everyone was
a
>> > hero yesterday. No questions asked. I had co-workers in another office
>> on
>> > the 77th floor. I tried dozens of times to get them on their cell
phones
>> > or office lines. It was futile. Later I found that they were alive. One
>> of
>> > the many miracles on a day of tragedy.
>> > On the 53rd floor we came across a very heavyset man sitting on the
>> > stairs. I asked if he needed help or was he just resting. He needed
>> help.
>> > I knew I would have trouble carrying him because I have a very bad
back.
>> > But my friend and I offered anyway. We told him he could lean on us. He
>> > hesitated, I don't know why. I said do you want to come or do you want
>> us
>> > to send help for you. He chose for help. I told him he was on the 53rd
>> > floor in Stairwell A and that's what I would tell the rescue workers.
He
>> > said okay and we left.
>> > On the 44th floor my phone rang again. It was my parents. They were
>> > hysterical. I said relax, I'm fine. My father said get out, there is
>> third
>> > plane coming. I still did not understand. I was kind of angry. What did
>> my
>> > parents think? Like I needed some other reason to get going? I couldn't
>> > move the thousand people in front of me any faster. I know they love
me,
>> > but no one inside understood what the situation really was. My parents
>> > did. Starting around this floor the firemen, policemen, WTC K-9 units
>> > without the dogs, anyone with a badge, started coming up as we were
>> > heading down. I stopped a lot of them and told them about the man on 53
>> > and my friend on 87. I later felt terrible about this. They headed up
to
>> > find those people and met death instead.
>> > On the 33rd floor I spoke with a man who somehow new most of the
>> details.
>> > He said 2 small planes hit the building. Now we all started talking
>> about
>> > which terrorist group it was. Was it an internal organization or an
>> > external one? The overwhelming but uninformed opinion was Islamic
>> > Fanatics. Regardless, we now knew that it was not a bomb and there were
>> > potentially more planes coming. We understood.
>> > On the 3r floor the lights went out and we heard & felt this rumbling
>> > coming towards us from above. I thought the staircase was collapsing
>> upon
>> > itself. It was 10am now and that was Tower 2 collapsing next door. We
>> did
>> > not know that. Someone had a flashlight. We passed it forward and left
>> the
>> > stairwell and headed down a dark and cramped corridor to an exit. We
>> could
>> > not see at all. I recommended that everyone place a hand on the
shoulder
>> > of the person in front of them and call out if they hit an obstacle so
>> > others would know to avoid it. They did. It worked perfectly. We
reached
>> > another stairwell and saw a female officer emerge soaking wet and
>> covered
>> > in soot. She said we could not go that way it was blocked. Go up to 4
>> and
>> > use the other exit. Just as we started up she said it was ok to go down
>> > instead. There was water everywhere. I called out for hands on
shoulders
>> > again and she said that was a great idea. She stayed behind instructing
>> > people to do that. I do not know what happened to her.
>> > We emerged into an enormous room. It was light but filled with smoke. I
>> > commented to a friend that it must be under construction. Then we
>> realized
>> > where we were. It was the second floor. The one that overlooks the
>> lobby.
>> > We were ushered out into the courtyard, the one where the fountain used
>> to
>> > be. My first thought was of a TV movie I saw once about nuclear winter
>> and
>> > fallout. I could not understand where all of the debris came from.
There
>> > was at least five inches of this gray pasty dusty drywall soot on the
>> > ground as well as a thickness of it in the air. Twisted steel and
wires.
>> I
>> > heard there were bodies and body parts as well, but I did not look. It
>> was
>> > bad enough. We hid under the remaining overhangs and moved out to the
>> > street. We were told to keep walking towards Houston Street. The odd
>> thing
>> > is that there were very few rescue workers around. Less than five. They
>> > all must have been trapped under the debris when Tower 2 fell. We did
>> not
>> > know that and could not understand where all of that debris came from.
>> It
>> > was just my friend Kern and I now. We were hugging but sad. We felt
>> > certain that most of our friends ahead of us died and we knew no one
>> > behind us.
>> > We came upon a post office several blocks away. We stopped and looked
>> up.
>> > Our building, exactly where our office is (was), was engulfed in flame
>> and
>> > smoke. A postal worker said that Tower 2 had fallen down. I looked
again
>> > and sure enough it was gone. My heart was racing. We kept trying to
call
>> > our families. I could not get in touch with my wife. Finally I got
>> through
>> > to my parents. Relived is not the word to explain their feelings. They
>> got
>> > through to my wife, thank G-d and let her know I was alive. We sat
down.
>> A
>> > girl on a bike offered us some water. Just as she took the cap off her
>> > bottle we heard a rumble. We looked up and our building, Tower 1
>> > collapsed. I did not note the time but I am told it was 10:30am. We had
>> > been out less than 15 minutes.
>> > We were mourning our lost friends, particularly the one who stayed in
>> the
>> > office as we were now sure that he had perished. We started walking
>> > towards Union Square. I was going to Beth Israel Medical Center to be
>> > looked at. We stopped to hear the President speaking on the radio. My
>> > phone rang. It was my wife. I think I fell to my knees crying when I
>> heard
>> > her voice. Then she told me the most incredible thing. My partner who
>> had
>> > stayed behind called her. He was alive and well. I guess we just lost
>> him
>> > in the commotion. We started jumping and hugging and shouting. I told
my
>> > wife that my brother had arranged for a hotel in midtown. He can be
very
>> > resourceful in that way. I told her I would call her from there. My
>> > brother and I managed to get a gypsy cab to take us home to Westchester
>> > instead. I cried on my son and held my wife until I fell asleep.
>> > As it turns out my partner, the one who I thought had stayed behind was
>> > behind us with Harry Ramos, our head trader. This is now second hand
>> > information. They came upon Victor, the heavyset man on the 53rd floor.
>> > They helped him. He could barely move. My partner bravely/stupidly
>> tested
>> > the elevator on the 52nd floor. He rode it down to the sky lobby on 44.
>> > The doors opened, it was fine. He rode it back up and got Harry and
>> > Victor. I don't yet know if anyone else joined them. Once on 44 they
>> made
>> > their way back into the stairwell. Someplace around the 39th to 36th
>> > floors they felt the same rumble I felt on the 3rd floor. It was 10am
>> and
>> > Tower 2 was coming down. They had about 30 minutes to get out. Victor
>> said
>> > he could no longer move. They offered to have him lead on them. He said
>> he
>> > couldn't do it. My partner hollered at him to sit on his butt and
>> schooch
>> > down the steps. He said he was not capable of doing it. Harry told my
>> > partner to go ahead of them. Harry had once had a heart attack and was
>> > worried about this mans heart. It was his nature to be this way. He
>> was/is
>> > one of the kindest people I know. He would not leave a man behind. My
>> > partner went ahead and made it out. He said he was out maybe 10 minutes
>> > before the building came down. This means that Harry had maybe 25
>> minutes
>> > to move Victor 36 floors.
>> > I guess they moved 1 floor every 1.5 minutes. Just a guess. This means
>> > Harry wad around the 20th floor when the building collapsed. As of now
>> 12
>> > of 13 people are accounted for. As of 6pm yesterday his wife had not
>> heard
>> > from him. I fear that Harry is lost. However, a short while ago I heard
>> > that he may be alive. Apparently there is a web site with survivor
names
>> > on it and his name appears there. Unfortunately, Ramos is not an
>> uncommon
>> > name in New York. Pray for him and all those like him.
>> > With regards to the firemen heading upstairs, I realize that they were
>> > going up anyway. But, it hurts to know that I may have made them move
>> > quicker to find my friend. Rationally, I know this is not true and that
>> I
>> > am not the responsible one. The responsible ones are in hiding
somewhere
>> > on this planet and damn them for making me feel like this. But they
>> should
>> > know that they failed in terrorizing us. We were calm. Those men and
>> women
>> > that went up were heroes in the face of it all. They must have known
>> what
>> > was going on and they did their jobs. Ordinary people were heroes too.
>> > Today the images that people around the world equate with power and
>> > democracy are gone but "America" is not an image it is a concept. That
>> > concept is only strengthened by our pulling together as a team. If you
>> > want to kill us, leave us alone because we will do it by ourselves. If
>> you
>> > want to make us stronger, attack and we unite. This is the ultimate
>> > failure of terrorism against The United States and the ultimate price
we
>> > pay to be free, to decide where we want to work, what we want to eat,
>> and
>> > when & where we want to go on vacation. The very moment the first plane
>> > was hijacked, democracy won. |
