wildmaven
TPF Noob!
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2007
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- 985
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- Location
- Picking up dog poops
- Website
- wildmaven.org
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
One of the reasons I loved my New York job so much was that we could see the towers from the window of our imaging room. In the winter, when it would get dark early, we could see the lights of the tower and it was beautiful. Then some monsters flew planes into that beauty and we watched them fall. Patients still had to be injected and scanned and we had to go on, though internally we were a mess. Would our building be next? How many of our friends had died? Would we be able to get home? I had never felt such fear, such loneliness, such compassion. At the end of the day, gridlock took hold of the parkways and we listened to more reports while sitting in traffic for hours. I had to find a new radio station, as mine had lost its transmitter on top of the tower. When I finally got home, I tried to call my parents, but the lines were too overloaded. I am thankful for the internet, since it was how I finally got in contact with them. My sister, God only knows how, managed to get through on the phone. We had lost touch for years, and this tragedy made us realize how important family really is. I received tons of emails from people I only knew online...people who knew I lived in NY and they wanted to know if I was OK. The world suddenly got smaller, knowing so many people cared. Over the next year, coverage was non-stop. People complained about some of the images, especially one of a man falling to his death. That image is burned into my mind. The thought of having to decide whether to burn to death or leap to your death is mind boggling.
Other things I remember from the attack:
Rescue dogs burning their feet because the ground was so hot for weeks.
Civilians directing traffic while the power was out.
A diner which stayed open, giving free food to the rescue workers.
Civilians who took in the pets of those who died.
The sudden closeness of all NYers, as if the city was one big family.
The way the mayor took control and handled everything with firmness and speed.
There are those who say "get over it" and they're entitled to their opinion. However, this is something that I will never "get over." The pain may become duller, but it will always be there. I hope and pray that those who say that, never have to experience first-hand something this horrible themselves. I pray for the families who lost a loved one, for the rescue workers who, even today, suffer medically from the toxic materials they faced, and for anyone who was touched by this disaster.
Other things I remember from the attack:
Rescue dogs burning their feet because the ground was so hot for weeks.
Civilians directing traffic while the power was out.
A diner which stayed open, giving free food to the rescue workers.
Civilians who took in the pets of those who died.
The sudden closeness of all NYers, as if the city was one big family.
The way the mayor took control and handled everything with firmness and speed.
There are those who say "get over it" and they're entitled to their opinion. However, this is something that I will never "get over." The pain may become duller, but it will always be there. I hope and pray that those who say that, never have to experience first-hand something this horrible themselves. I pray for the families who lost a loved one, for the rescue workers who, even today, suffer medically from the toxic materials they faced, and for anyone who was touched by this disaster.