| A 911 Diary: Day One In Memoriam...and Renewal |
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9/11 posted in the morning: the nightmare begins: it is just hitting us that this isn't a local tragedy---our country has been attacked. this is worse than the WTC bombing, the oklahoma bombing, etc. and think of not only the people in the WTC and the pentagon, but on those hijacked planes---knowing you are flying to your death. will we be at war? channel 2 has just said they have lost staffers at the WTC, and then showed footage of the rejoicing arabs celebrating on the west bank--- little children joyfully chortling about thousands of innocent people killed for nothing. guess now we'll see what kind of leader we have. i'm praying for us all. unfortunately, i fear that we are just beginning a tragic chapter that we can only imagine. unfolding tragedies continue--- so far, 100 police and up to 200 firefighters are unaccounted for and feared dead; the chief police surgeon of ny is in critical condition. so many trying to help in the aftermath of the first crash were caught when the second plane attacked. footage of people leaping 80 stories to escape flames. a lone firefighter, having lost his whole contingent, begging a reporter to get word to his wife that he was alive. 9/11 late afternoon: the call: i was called by fema this morning to go down and do counseling with the rescue workers and eventually, the families. i was glad to help when they called; it was frustrating to watch this and not be able to do anything. when i gave blood, as a member of the rare blood registry, they were turning others away who had more common blood types as they can't store more than 3 days worth...they'll need people three days from now to replenish the supply. we still have only cbs. of the major networks on the air. nbc, abc, fox, all still off the air; who knows for how long. some loved ones are still not home, but fine. family and friends who are police officers from here in the suburbs are down in the city now, helping out, and unreachable. i worry what they will see; i can't even talk about what i'm seeing now. rescue workers cannot get into some of the collapsed buildings because they are still unstable, and there are still hot spots; they are frustrated knowing there are people trapped, possibly alive. aside from the daunting fact of 50,000 workers present in the wtc at the time, the loss of the two majestic towers is poignant; it's changed our famous skyline for ever. the third wtc building just collapsed, and may not be the end; a fourth is on the verge of collapse. the mayor has closed the entire lower part of the city for tomorrow, to assess potential instabilities from shock and to prevent interference with rescue and cleanup, and has strongly encouraged people all over the city to stay home. schools closed, bridges and tunnels mostly closed (only our FEMA van and emergency vehicles on the road). dramatic footage of people shortly after the attacks crossing the bridges on foot in droves, soot- covered and dazed, just trying to get home. whole streets full of burned out cars, burnt out rubble, people crying....like pictures i've seen from wartime. and one picture i remember---a car covered in soot and grime, in which someone had written "they can't bring new york down." |
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