This is an event that I will never forget and will always remember every detail about what I experienced on that horrific day. I felt the need to post something out of respect for those who perished on 9/11. I was in NYC 9 years ago when 9/11 happened. I was still in College struggling to go to school and work and support myself and my family.
I remember going to work that morning and with in the hour not knowing if I would live to see another day. I remember seeing the second plane fly over me, so low that it looked like it was going to land in the street right in front of me. I ducked into a building for cover and waited for the crash. I waited a while listening for the crash, I heard nothing but a rumbling so I came back out to the sidewalk to see what happened, only to see a cloud of smoke and debris coming towards me.
For some reason I always vividly remember that all the cars just seemed to vanish from the streets. The streets that are usually filled with honking cars and bikers and everything else were replaced by thousands of people running like a crazed mob away from the fast approaching killer cloud of smoke. The crowd was causing the rumbling. Buildings were crumbling. It seriously reminded me of a movie. I couldn't believe what was happening right in front of me.
I remember suddenly thinking "RUN! I need to get to my family, I need to get to my mother, my grandmother, everyone to make sure they were OK." But the military would not let anyone off the island of Manhattan. It truly is like what you see in the movies. If anything ever happens in NYC and they close off the Island you're done for. I thought me and my family were done for. Luckily my mother and grandmother were the only other ones still on the Island with me. Every one else was off and in Queens.
My college was right near the Towers so I walked from one end of Manhattan to the other to get to my mother and grandmother. I figured if I was going to die, it might as well be with family. No phones really worked, besides my VERIZON cell phone. Verizon was the only carrier to have phones working that day. So just FYI, when all craziness breaks loose you're Verizon phone will work. I gave my phone to police officers, fire fighters, anyone who needed a phone and it killed the battery and I never got a chance to call my own family to say goodbye or anything.
Luckily I'm still here. I was lucky to have lived that terrible day with out losing a family member or someone very close to me. Though I was unlucky to have witnessed things no one should ever witness. Things I haven't spoken about to anyone. Gruesome Horrible things! I will spare you details...
I try not to think about 9/11 often because it was so traumatic for me. Regardless, I DO think it's something that should never be forgotten and I should pay my respects to those who lost someone on that day.
My thoughts are with those families today and I pay my respects and give thanks to be able to say I was there, I lived it, and I will never forget.
Thank you for allowing me to share this with you. I'm sorry if this was hard to read and it was too dark a post for my blog, but I still felt the need to share my honest experience and pay my respects.
