*Please read this post first.

As I was getting out of the shower this morning there was an announcement on the radio that a plane went into the WTC. I got dressed and turned on the TV. When the second plane hit, it was clear this was a terrorist attack. I ran up to the roof with my camera. I was obviously running on pure adrenaline since I’m scared to climb the roof ladder normally.

I got some shots and decided I needed to get closer. I wanted to be on the streets with other New Yorkers. I went to Red Hook. I was trying to find parking near the Snapple factory on the pier when a guard told me to move along. In the middle of my U-turn he screamed that the tower was coming down. I left the car running in the middle of the street and ran to the pier. As I watched and took pictures all I could think of was that my lens was too long to get the full skyline. I cursed myself for not being prepared.

There was a cop car sitting on the pier. I couldn’t believe how the two cops just sat there and watched the tower come down with no emotion.

……There was debris coming from 5th Avenue so I went towards it. The street looked like a war zone. People were wearing masks and covering their faces with their shirts. I had masks in the house but ran out without putting one on. I regretted that later.

Went to the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights….Along the way, the second tower came down. The World Trade Center was gone. I couldn’t stop to think about it.

The Promenade was crowded but not like I expected……Some people were taking pictures. Others crying. People were listening to radios. One group of guys were looking at a brochure of the Twin Towers observation deck and pointing across the river to where they once stood.

……Met up with Mia (my neighbor). We stopped for lunch and looked at some of Nostradamus’ predictions. I remembered something about a fire in the sky in the New City and 2 great rocks at war.

……That evening we went upstairs to commiserate with our tenants. S said she was relieved that her daughter was too young to understand what was going on. We watched the President who scared us even more.

The Diaries
September 12, 2001
September 13, 2001
September 14, 2001
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