tf20010911 (September 11, 2001)

This day was a day to remember. It started off with my normal routine, except that I went to vote and almost broke the voting machine and got an early morning phone call from my former roommate Bert. I arrived at the subway platform for the A train at 168th Street around 8:50, about 10 minutes later than usual. The subway ride was smooth and not too crowded until I arrived at 34th Street. Then for some strange reason a lot of people got on, more than usual. I overheard someone say something about the E train not working. I just shrugged that off as one of the occasional malfunctions.The train arrived at West 4th Street and there was some confusion over what trains to take. Eventually I heard the announcement that the A train was not going any further. By then I also heard some word about a plance crashing into the World Trade Center. I got on the F train that took me to Broadway and Lafayette and switched to the 6 train which stops right in front of my building. As I was walking to the exit, I saw a line of people at the pay phone. When I walked above ground, I saw lots of people looking at the smoke coming from the direction of the World Trade Center.

I talked to Sue, the woman that sells me coffee from her cart in front of 60 Centre Street. She said she heard the two explosions, was scared, and that I should go home. The court officers were not letting jurors in the building, but they let employees go in. I took the elevator to the sixth floor. From there I could see the twin towers and the fires inside. Some other court attorneys gathered to look at the mess. I then went to my boss's office to report in and pick up the New York Law Journal. He was on the phone and didn't say anything about sending us home. I went to my office. My office mates said we were supposed to work. Olga described how she saw the first plane crash into the Towers and about the windows shaking, probably from the second one. The windows started shaking again. Scared, we decided to leave. I called my boss and he said the court officers were clearing out the building. We walked north, following the instructions of police, trying to decide where to go. Olga lives in Queens and Garcia lives in NJ. Olga left us at Bleecker Street. I left Garcia at Penn Station. My mind wondered what would happen next, but as I kept going and nothing bad was happening, I started feeling calmer. I walked some more and withdrew some cash at Citibank a couple of blocks west of Times Square, an area I did not want to be in. It was noon and I decided to eat in Hell's Kitchen, before walking the rest of the way home. They had the news on at first, but eventually turned on their festive latin music.

I couldn't make any phone calls with my cell phone, but a couple of people got through to me. After I ate, I walked west to the West Side Highway to continue walking home. I was worried about people who worked very close to the World Trade Center, but was hopeful that they had enough warning to get away safely. FBI agents were in front of the Intrepid with guns. Air Force flew overhead to protect the city. I thought I would be able to pick up some food at Fairway, but they closed. I then got on a bus. The bus drive said we didn't have to pay. I noticed on the way home that some stores were closed, while people shopped at the few that were open. I made it home by 3pm. I went to my neighborhood supermarket where the shelves were emptying. As I left the store, I could see the smoke downtown all the way from 161st Street. It was a beautiful sunny day to take a walk, but not the walk I expected to make.