9/11 Remembered - 10th Anniversary

As everybody knows, this Sunday is the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Shortly after 9/11 Alan Jackson asked in song, "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?". Where were you?

I was sitting at my desk on the 4th floor of 6 World Trade Center at about 8:45 on the morning of September 11, 2001. I heard a crash and saw debris falling past my window to the ground. I didn't know it was a plane that hit Tower 1 but I did know this was no accident. I had been at work the day of the first terrorist attack in 1993. I got up from my desk and started heading for the door, following others who also instinctively knew to get out. I didn't stop to get anything out of my desk.

We exited building 6 and headed across a walkway over Vesey St to building 7, looking over our shoulders to make sure no more debris was headed toward us. We waited about 20 minutes before our division director gave us the ok to start heading home. He was trying to get in touch with the bosses at our headquarters in Washington. The glass fronted lobby of building 7 was making a lot of us nervous. An explosion could send all that glass right at us. In addition to the twin towers, buildings 6 and 7 were also destroyed when the towers fell.

Some of our personnel headed towards the World Financial Center across West St. They saw people jumping from the towers and others already lying dead on the ground. Glad I didn't see that.

I headed uptown. My thought initially was to go to Central Park. There are no buildings hence it wouldn't be another target. I got to call my wife from a pay phone around West 4th St. I didn't have a cell phone then. I was on 7th Avenue near the corner of 22nd St when Tower 1 collapsed. I couldn't believe it. That massive building of concrete and steel collapsed? I had seen it almost every weekday for the past 24 years. I started heading back uptown and saw the Empire State Building. I thought it could be another target so I walked over to 8th Avenue to be further away from it. 

I was resting for a few minutes, sitting on a bench outside a building in the west 40's on 8th Avenue when I spotted a co-worker who also lived on Long Island. We continued uptown to 59th street and then headed toward the 59th street bridge. We crossed the bridge into Queens and somewhere got a bus to the Jamaica railroad station. We then walked to 169th St and Hillside Avenue where my wife and her sister picked us up. The soles of my feet were burning but otherwise I was fine. All of my co-workers made it out safely so we had a lot to be thankful for. I wish that all the 9/11 victims had been as lucky.

 

Just about 3 years ago I wrote about some good times at the WTC. I thought I'd re-post it here for the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

 

September 21, 2008

Country Concerts at the WTC

The 7th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks was observed a little over a week ago. With good reason, whenever anyone mentions the WTC, the first thing that comes to mind will be the events of that awful day. We will always remember the victims and the heroic firemen, police and other emergency workers, many of whom became victims themselves.

Prior to 9/11, there were good days at the WTC. I recall those wonderful lunchtime country concerts held outside at the Austin Tobin Plaza of the WTC. From my office window, I could see the side of the stage. Although I missed quite a few concerts because of summertime family vacations or business, I still got to see many great performances.

Country Thursdays was sponsored by former country radio station Y-107 and some corporate sponsors like the NY lottery and Chrysler. (It's a shame that NYC has been without a country music radio station since May of 2002.) In addition to Country Thursday, the WTC also had Classical Mondays, Broadway Tuesdays, Jazz Wednesdays and R&B Fridays. I read somewhere that 2001 was the 15th year of concerts which were generally held from late June to the end of August. I don't remember them being around that long but my memory is not the greatest.

I got to see Suzy Bogguss, the Dixie Chicks, Terri Clark, Ty Herndon, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Phil Vassar, Big House, Trick Pony, Steve Wariner, Darryl Worley and probably others. Some of the acts I missed include Hal Ketchum, Lari White, Bryan White, Jo Dee Messina, Mark Wills, Keith Urban, Gary Allan, Chris Cagle, Toby Keith, Chely Wright, Tracy Byrd and Lila McCann. The following is a typical schedule I found on line at www.panynj.gov/pr/92-98.html that came out on June 27, 1998:

July 9    Hal Ketchum

July 16    Gary Allan and Mark Wills

July 23    Bryan White

July 30    Dixie Chicks and Gil Grand

August 6 Lari White

August 13    Big House and David Kersh

August 20    Steve Wariner and Suzy Bogguss

August 27    Chely Wright and Jo Dee Messina

I'd love to see the complete schedule for the entire fifteen years of the concert program. If you go to the website noted above, you can see what artists were scheduled to perform that year in the other music formats.

In addition to the lunchtime concerts they had Summer Oldies on Thursday evenings and a Salsa Dance Party on Friday evenings. I remember seeing Johnny Maestro of the Crests and later of the Brooklyn Bridge. The Boxtops, Drifters and Gary Lewis & the Playboys were also scheduled. I got to see the Tokens featuring Jay Siegel (loved "The Lion Sleeps Tonight") but I believe that was a noon time show.

Comments

[Kathleen]

I've been so sad today, and I kept telling myself, Kathleen, all of your loved ones survived, your dad was ok...I should be happy and feel very lucky and blessed, (and I do.) I'm sure there is some other girl out there who was away at college worried about her mom or dad who didn't get the good news I got. But 10 years later it still makes me uncontrollably sad to think about that scary day. All those innocent people...going to work or boarding a plane...the kids who are turning 10 this year who never got to know a parent killed on that day. So senseless.

I still remember going down to meet you for lunch at the WTC a year or so before 9/11, and we saw Herman's Hermits...I think that's who it was anyway. They were a funny little band.

[Robert Losche]

Dear Kath,
Im sorry you were sad. It is good that you felt bad for all those poor people who didnt make it and their families and friends. But as you say, everything turned out well for us. I really didnt know any of the victims. There was one 54 year old man who died there who was the younger brother of a woman who was in grade school with me and Larry. We havent seen her since we graduated in 1959. I guess he was a year behind us because he wasnt in class with either of my brothers. Maybe once every a couple of years I would see him on a WTC subway platform or in Penn Station but he never seemed to recognize me so I never talked to him. I found his name on line and saw that he left a wife and 3 children.

Anyway, cheer up. As Mom says, were going to celebrate our 75th wedding anniversary 41 years from now. have a great day.

Love,
Dad