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I took this photo – this is a compilation, actually … the area was too wide to capture in just one frame – in February 2002. See the tallest, narrow building in the distance, still shrouded in smoke and dust in the picture? Well, just beyond that is where the Twin Towers stood. The high fence was/is – not sure at this time – temporary to keep both foot and vehicular traffic away, and the open gates that day were allowing dump trucks to come and go as needed.
It was cold … icy, frigid cold. My mother had called and asked if Cheryl and I wanted to come back home – from Ohio to New York, no less – because she wanted to go to see Ground Zero – aka “The Hole”.
We drove back, and I remember when we hit the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, I looked to our left, and the twist I felt in the pit of my gut … to look over, and see the missing Towers. It was like New York City had the two front teeth knocked out of her smile. I could see Lady Liberty out in the harbor, and scanning in toward shore … they – the Towers – were gone. It is quite a distance from World Trade Plaza to the bridge we were crossing – well … sitting in traffic as we were crossing – but you could smell the burning that occurred for days and weeks following 9/11.
That part of the trip got worse the day we headed from Long Island into the city. As we were driving along Riverside Drive, and being directed by an overworked Traffic Police force, the closer we got, the more of the smell would hit. It came in waves … burning everything, then a choking musty dust smell, the smell of burnt metal and electrical. We finally found a parking area, then walked along Broadway to get to where the end of the line where others were standing and waiting for the chance to make it to the ramp where the overlook was set up to view the crime scene … the kill zone.
All along the walk there were memorials; flags, mementos, and photos of missing loved ones that had been affixed to the chain link fencing that seemed to be everywhere along the sidewalks of Broadway. The combination of heartfelt poems of the heartsick, and the biting cold brought tears to the eyes of everyone walking along that route. From where we were, you could look across past the fencing, and see the area of destruction, and the newly erected viewing platform … the goal of many who were there that day.
It was while standing across from the area in the photo that the cold breeze shifted, and my nose once again got the full blast of the “new” smells of the city that I love, the city me and my buddies would cruise into on a weekend – hit me. The smells of burning everything … steel, electric, wood, and then the unmistakable smell of decaying flesh … five months later. That’s when being there – even that far away from the actual site itself – hit me … hard! Doing what I do as a Taxidermist, I immediately recognized the smell of death. This is an experience I never want to repeat.
We never did make it the many blocks it took to get to the actual viewing area. Like I said, it was cold, really cold, and my mother was having a very hard time standing in that weather. As a Polio survivor, she has her physical limits and that day she was trying to reach past them. After about three hours of standing in the windy cold, we decided to call it a day. We met many nice people, all united by the commonality of what had happened five months prior. Those that helped prop my mother up, those that Cheryl and I helped try and get out of the wind. Those who brought out hot coffee for everyone. It was a time to unite, and we did.
I hope that tomorrows dedication of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, will give the souls of those who lost their lives just doing their daily routine, those of the heroes that rushed in while others were rushing out, that they are at rest and at peace. I salute all the ordinary and extraordinary individuals of the World Trade Plaza, their families, and my family of New Yorkers who still live, work, thrive and survive in “The City That Never Sleeps”, on their day of remembrance. You are all in our thoughts.
John.
as one of the younger people that was around for this tragedy, i cant help but wonder what things will be like 60 or 70 years from now, like if this will turn out to be like Pearl-Harbor where people dont feel any strong emotions about it anymore, its just another date in history that we have to memorize in school… everyone in america that day was effected by the attacks, and as the generations progress the newer generations, for the most part, will only have similar feelings to it proportionally to how directly it effected their families, this of course is just me thinking, but hopefully people will always remember 9/11 and its importance to how it has shaped the U.S. in the new millenium
Great post John. We’ve gone to the site a couple times, but first time was not until about four years ago. Even then, you stand there and look in that “hole” and can’t help but choke up.
On the tenth anniversary everybody is wanting stories, where were you, what did you think etc.
We were working in the shop and as normal were pretty oblivious to what’s going on outside the walls. A guy we know that’s kind of a practical joker stopped in and asked if we heard, then started telling about it, of course being a joker we’re thinking he’s just messing with us. When he finally convinced up that something this horrific did happen we turned on the radio and found a station that was covering the events. Obviously I called home, Carol was in her own little world too and knew nothing so she went in and turned the TV on. Called my parents down in Houston and found out they just watched the second jet hit minutes before I called.
The whole thing was just so surreal that there was just a strange feeling in the air that day. Late afternoon/early evening that day, Carols second granddaughter, who was not quite 5 yet, was with her dads parents, they had been down in Dayton and were heading home on I-75, the little girl pointed out a jet to them, way up in the air headed east, only one jet it could have been. We have a life flight about 4 miles from the house, we were so used to hearing it we didn’t even notice, until after 9/11, the empty, quiet skies were almost eerie, and that life flight sound just made you stop every time you heard it.
The president and staff had a thankless job that day, and for a long time to come, the military still has that today, I don’t think it’s possible to thank them and all the first responders and others who ran into the fight instead of away from it properly, the best we can do is truly, Never Forget.
We’ve not been back since that last time. That was more than enough for me. To see my old skyline with that hole … like I said, New York City had her two front teeth knocked out of her smile.
The day it happened was like any other day … as it was for, well … everyone. I was sitting in my chair having my morning coffee – no I don’t get started until three cups and until about 10 AM – and I was watching Today as I used to do, before they got stupid and inane, when they broke in with the live feed of the burning tower. I phoned Cheryl at her office and told her one of the towers had had a plane crash into it … “You’re kidding, right?” “No … it really looks bad.” At first everyone thought it was a tragic accident.
They got a TV tuned on at the office, and we were all watching. While we were still on the phone, I actually saw the second plane smashed into the second tower as millions of others did. Cheryl didn’t see it … she was multitasking … working on her computer and talking to me at the same time, so she didn’t see it happen. I told her I would call her back, that I had to try and contact my family back in New York … actually Long Island … but my brothers stepson was attending one of the three art schools in the area, and I was really concerned for Steven. The lines were overloaded … no calls got through.
Meanwhile outside our home, I was hearing jets – military jets – flying over like crazy. Wright Patterson Air Force Base is nearby, and they were obviously scrambling the jets and flying around for whatever reason they were up there. Looking for airliners to take down … patrolling … whatever they were doing. Our neighbor came outside and she was really upset and in tears. Then there was a humungous BOOM! And another, and a few minutes later a couple more … and Janey, our neighbor, really freaked out. They were sonic booms, but on 9/11/01 no one was sure about anything at that moment.
I came back inside and tried my brother again … the lines were now “down” … completely overloaded or shut off … nothing going out … not after what had just come in!
I called Cheryl again, and I was really upset … this was MY CITY … and the towers were burning!!! I remember saying: “How in the hell are they gonna put out those fires … HOW WILL THEY PUT OUT THOSE FIRES!?” And with that, the first tower fell!!! I shouted into the phone “Holy s,hit, the tower just fell!” For some reason, maybe she was hoping, she thought I was kidding. Then she turned and looked at the TV and I could hear her gasp. We talked panicky talk for what seemed forever, then the second tower came down, and this time she was watching. I was yelling and cursing a blue streak – it’s what I do, what can I say – and I told her I have to try and get hold of someone!
I don’t know how long it took, but I finally got a hold of my brother and asked about Steven. He told me immediately after the first plane hit, all the area schools were evacuated and he was safe … really shaken … but safe! He related to me he was told there were a lot of kids crying and really freaking out … more than understandable!!! Later that night I finally got in touch with my two kid sisters and my mother, and was relieved to learn that no one had gone into the city that day!!!
I’ll tell you all right now … writing this … I’m shaking … AGAIN!!! In fact I just bought a Time magazine special 9/11 issue, and I had a helluva hard time going through it, rereading all about this again. Ten years later … it’s still a hard thing to accept. I can only imagine … maybe not … what those directly involved on that day, IN THE CITY, went through. I watched everything there was to watch on it this past Sunday … and by the end of the day, I was totally spent. It still feels fresh, and it is still raw. New York is still my city, and no matter where I live, it will always be my home base. Cheryl mentioned she would like to go to the 9/11 Memorial, the 9/11 Museum, and to view the new towers in Freedom Center when it is all complete. I don’t know … maybe … we’ll just have to wait and see.
John.
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