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A fellow list member (active list readers would recognize his email address)
was on the 50th floor of the first WTC building hit, when it was hit. He has
been describing the experience to me via private email, in response to my
questions. Yesterday I made the following suggestion:
<<<<
I assume you have seen all the discussion on the Omega list. You should write
about your experience and post it to the Omega list. There seems to be a lot
of solidarity between list members, and I think the membership would like to
hear the personal experiences of a fellow member.
>>>>
Below is his response:
====
If you want you can post this to the omega list. I don't want to seem to be
looking for sympathy so if you do post it please don't use my name. Each day
I think it can't get worse but each day I find out new people I knew or
siblings of friends who are missing. Even across the street at a tiny
firehouse on the upper east side - a good 6-7 miles away - they lost 10
strong men. I can't even attend the funerals of many of the people I knew
because I didn't even know their last names. I talked to and drank with these
guys for years but I only knew most of them by kevin or drew or bill. Seems
crazy but when you ring your broker they only answer by their first name
"kevin here, what's up". It's no use going through the list of missing
because their are dozens with the same name. I hope to find out some full
names so I can pay my respects to these families but so far I only know the
full names of three.
====
I was talking to my best friend whose brother works at Cantor when my desk
shook. I and my colleagues ran for the fire doors. At around the 39th floor
the cops told us to get off the stairwells as the firemen needed them to get
up. We all ran to another set of stairs and continued our descent.
It was hell. Women with high heels were pushed aside, overweight asthmatics
and people in wheelchairs were left on the stairs. When we got to the
concourse the globe was on fire and the area where they have the concerts was
littered with fires and bodies. I got out only to see people I can only
assume to be my friends jumping from Cantors floors.
Luckily, I left as I couldn't stand to watch any more people jump. I returned
home from a 7 mile walk to the upper eastside to find out everyone I knew at
Cantor was gone. I used to ask my uncle what d-day was like and he wouldn't
talk about it - I still can't tell my wife what I saw. All I know is that my
resolve is clear. Stand with or against us but we must act. Don't let my
fatherless friends children wonder why their fathers died without cause. At
this point I have no work and fewer friends - all I have is my wife and
family so I consider myself lucky.
I still don't understand why I survived when others didn't but I must go on
eventually. Give to your firemen and love your family and remember above all
to support your country.
====
Below is some more detail from earlier private email exchanges:
>> I was on the 50th floor of the first building hit. It was really bad.
>> Desks and people flying out of the building.
>
> I assume you must mean flying from higher floors?
Yes - Cantor and the higher floors.
> How aware were you of what was happening? It has been described on
> television as feeling like an earthquake. Did you take off immediately and
> head down the stairs, or what there confusion at first about what to do?
We were told it was a small commuter plane - cesna or whatever. That's why I
think the police were holding people on the 39th floor. Smoke was real bad
and they were more concerned about smoke inhalation than the building falling.
>> Then cops were telling people
>> not to continue down the stairs as the smoke was too bad - me and my buddy
>> went on. People in wheel chairs and a lot of heavier people just couldn't
>> make it down. The firemen said they would get them.
>
> How long did it take you to get out of the building?
About 45 minutes - very slow process. People in high heels and wheel chairs
getting thrown aside.
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