Do you remember that day? It was a spectacular day - perfect weather. Most of my memories of that day are as clear as the skies were blue. I will NEVER forget.
I taught an early morning spin class at New York Athletic Club on 57th St, then headed downtown on the subway to New York Health & Racquet Club, where I worked full time as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor. I was making a phone call in the office, when one of my co-workers came in and said "Holy shit, a plane just hit the World Trade Center". I, and three of my co-workers headed out to see what was going on.
The club was just a few blocks south of the WTC, so we didn't have to go to far to see what was happening. I remember looking up at the building and thinking I was watching some sort of james Bond movie or something. And just like everyone else thinking "What an idiot! How the heck could someone make a mistake like that?". There wasn't anyone on the street - this street anyway - that thought this was an act of terror. What nobody realized is that because we were standing on the south side of the building, we were actually looking at the side with less damage, where the plane "came out" of the building - if you remember correctly, the first plane hit the building from the north.
As we're standing there watching in disbelief, suddenly I hear the loudest buzzing sound I've ever heard, and feel a vibration all through my body. I swear, it felt like the bottom of that plane was just above my head. Then it was gone, just like that. Gone. Now I don't know if it were just me, or what, but I didn't hear any loud noise, no crash, bang, no boom. All I heard was a loud pop - like a balloon popping. Then screaming. Now I know this was intentional. I ran as fast as I could back to the club, the whole time thinking we're all going to die. That this was it.
Nobody knows what to do - do we stay in the building? Do we get the heck out of here? If we leave, where do we go, and how do we get there? This is downtown Manhattan, the end of a thirteen and a half mile long island, and the options are somewhat limited, especially under the circumstances. A million thoughts are going through my head - I really don't want to be down here right now, but getting on the subway probably isn't a good idea.. If they're are more planes out there, other targets in NYC could be the Empire State Building, Times Square, Penn Station, or the United Nations. Who the heck knows. I call my boyfriend at the time, who also works downtown, and we decide we're going to meet in front of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and figure out what to do. I've got a gym bag with me that we fill with waters and candy bars from a newsstand, because who knows how long we're going to be out here. It's pure chaos.
Black smoke is pouring from shattered windows on floor after floor, I'm seeing bodies falling from the sky, people are running all over the place with really nowhere to go, while others are frantically trying to use their cell phones to no avail. It's very chaotic, and I'm starting to freak out a little bit. We just stand there and watch the buildings burn, because we don't know what else to do.
Fifty six minutes and ten seconds later, we saw the top of the South Tower tilting horribly, then watched in utter amazement as it fell to the ground. We ran as fast as we could away from the smoke, but it was moving so fast that we were quickly consumed by it and had a hard time breathing. That gym bag I had with me came in quite handy at this point because of the extra gym clothes in it. I wrapped a pair of my pants around my face so that I wasn't breathing in God only knows what. We settled in Battery Park for a bit, and then at 10:28 AM watched the North Tower collapse.
After what seemed to be an eternity, we decide it's time to leave the downtown area - we're walking through soot and dust, and over unrecognizable debris - I just can't believe this is going on right now. We were directed to get on the FDR and walk north. We were covered in soot, as many people on that walk were, and the walk was chillingly silent. Most were walking slowly and with their heads down. How do you wrap your head around what just happened?
We stayed on the FDR until about 14th street, because I had to (of course) go to the bathroom. As we made our way back into the city streets, it was a whole different world. Of course people knew what had happened, but I don't think many realized how bad it was until they saw us covered in the gray dust the way we were. Now, I lived in New York City for about 10 years, and I've never used the bathroom at Duane Reade until that day. I'm pretty sure if I ever did ask before that day I would have been told no. But NYC was already a changed city. We continued walking, and as were were, people asked us questions, handed us bottles of water, and asked if we needed anything. Everything just felt so surreal.
We finally made it home to 96th & 3rd, put on the TV, made some calls, and took showers. I cannot describe how disgusting the bottom of the tub was after those showers. It was scary. At this point we really had no idea what to do, and after staring out the window of the twenty third floor apartment watching floods of people walk north, we head down to a restaurant to drink. Apparently this was a popular plan, because not only was that place packed, but so was every other place in sight. All the TV's were on, and when the President came on to speak, everyone became silent. We all listened intently, and when he declared war the place went nuts chanting USA, USA!!
The days that followed were scary - we really didn't know what to do, how to help. People were coming in from all over the country to help, and they didn't want us "regular folk" going downtown. We pretty much watched television and cried.
About a week later, NYH&RC opened back up for business, and we tried to get back on some sort of normal schedule. It was definitely a challenge...what was normal going to be now? The gym became a triage center for guys working at the site. It was a five story gym with squash and racquetball courts, so I'd come in at any given time and see fifteen/twenty guys asleep on the floors. They were taking showers and brushing their teeth in the locker rooms; the lobby of the gym was stocked with donated clothes and food, and the workers were around all the time. It was amazing and heartbreaking all at the same time.
In the weeks and months that followed, NYC was as I'd never seen it. People were actually making eye contact on the streets, smiling at each other on the subway, and holding doors open for others. Every time a police or fire truck would go by on the street, loud cheers would erupt. There were American Flags flying everywhere you looked. I went to the first Yankee game after 9/11, and words can't even describe how emotional everyone in that stadium was. It was all pretty freakin' amazing.
I've probably told this story one hundred times, and I've always thought mine doesn't even compare to so many other stories out there. The devastation this caused to so many thousands of people is beyond comprehension and I truly hope we never forget.
Thanks for listening...
