> > THE PRICE WE PAY:
> >
> > > My name is Adam Mayblum. 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 okay, 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 in case. 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 two 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 two 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 knew 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 3rd floor the lights went out and we heard and 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 okay 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. Relieved 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 lean on them. He said he couldn't do it. My partner hollered at him
to
> > sit on his butt and scooch 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 man’s 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 was 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 and where we want to go on
> > vacation. The very moment the first plane was hijacked, democracy won.
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> |
