nudeyorker
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9-11
- Thread starter B_am12388
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I am ever so proud of my state and of the city in whose orbit I live. If they wanted to cause mass hysteria, they failed miserably. They picked the wrong city. I have never seen such a response to a massive disaster as I did on 9/11. Beyond the firefighters and police who risked and, in many cases, gave their lives, the response from the average New Yorker was simply phenomenal. Panic was short-lived, and those near the towers gave what they could to help the rescue effort. Even when all approaches to the city were cut-off, New Yorkers went to work planning for a death toll that should have reached 10,000 or more given the capacity of the buildings.
The motto of the New York, the Empire State, is Excelsior! and to that end, New York will rebuild taller and bigger as a FUCK YOU! to the evil people who planned and celebrated their twisted madness. New Yorkers may be brash, loud, and even obnoxious, but they're also tough and genuine, comprised of people from all over the world, some immigrants, some born here, some from every state in the country. You don't live in New York and survive as a wimp. Attacking New York is attacking the world and, indeed, the list of casualties from other nations is a grim testament to that as is the list of diplomatic condolences sent from every country in the world but one.
I was near an air force base in Newburgh, New York on 9/11 and saw many of my coworkers frantically trying to reach their loved ones in the city. My boss fainted when she saw the north tower collapse and knew that her husband was in the building at the time (he miraculously made it out). I saw another coworker become hysterical knowing her husband had died. I saw the first skycap planes take off from Stewart and heard their sonic boom as they gained speed to make a big turn toward the city knowing that military planes are not permitted to fly above the speed of sound in civilian areas except in time of war. I saw two military helicopters take off with a giant American flag carried between them to offer hope to people. I spent the day talking to people in the city itself and hoping beyond hope that the Verizon building, the nerve center of external communications for the entire city, would not be destroyed. It wasn't.
The horrors of what really happened to the people in the planes and the buildings wouldn't be revealed for many hours and days. It wasn't until I saw footage of the jumpers that I finally had a long cry over it all.
Work, as I then worked for Time-Warner Cable, was just far too busy. We had overloaded servers as phone service was overloaded and people were turning to the internet for their communication needs. Our high capacity fiber trunk, as all fiber trunks in the city did at that time, passed right under the Verizon building. Had that trunk conduit been cut then there was no back-up, beyond some ridiculously low capacity OC-1 and T-3 lines running under the GW and Henry Hudson bridges, and every voice and data provider in the city used that conduit. There are now multiple redundancies. I like to think that my work helped to ensure that Long Island and NYC stayed connected to the rest of the world during 9/11 and the days that followed, but when I compare my work to those of the people there at Ground Zero, I'm just left in silent awe.
From those old enough, I've heard that 9/11 is a day that you will never forget like when John Kennedy was assassinated. You will remember the time and place and events of that day very clearly. Everyone I know who lives in the city has a story to tell about that day; mostly related in somber tones. New Yorkers don't go much to Ground Zero. The people on the PATH, which used to give shocking, frightening, views of the enormity of the site from inside The Bathtub, don't look-up from their newspapers, iPods, and paperbacks. If we don't speak of 9/11 or acknowledge it openly it's because the wounds are too deep to reopen without the safety of friends and family. Remember we do in quiet ways. Some have parties to celebrate the lives of the lost, some lay wreaths, many go to churches, temples, and mosques, others quietly cry alone. What was public grief has become private and if someone you pass looks a little forlorn as they look to where the towers should be, then you give them space to offer what public privacy you can in a city of millions.
How we remember and honor those who died has changed. There is no question of forgetting.
The motto of the New York, the Empire State, is Excelsior! and to that end, New York will rebuild taller and bigger as a FUCK YOU! to the evil people who planned and celebrated their twisted madness. New Yorkers may be brash, loud, and even obnoxious, but they're also tough and genuine, comprised of people from all over the world, some immigrants, some born here, some from every state in the country. You don't live in New York and survive as a wimp. Attacking New York is attacking the world and, indeed, the list of casualties from other nations is a grim testament to that as is the list of diplomatic condolences sent from every country in the world but one.
I was near an air force base in Newburgh, New York on 9/11 and saw many of my coworkers frantically trying to reach their loved ones in the city. My boss fainted when she saw the north tower collapse and knew that her husband was in the building at the time (he miraculously made it out). I saw another coworker become hysterical knowing her husband had died. I saw the first skycap planes take off from Stewart and heard their sonic boom as they gained speed to make a big turn toward the city knowing that military planes are not permitted to fly above the speed of sound in civilian areas except in time of war. I saw two military helicopters take off with a giant American flag carried between them to offer hope to people. I spent the day talking to people in the city itself and hoping beyond hope that the Verizon building, the nerve center of external communications for the entire city, would not be destroyed. It wasn't.
The horrors of what really happened to the people in the planes and the buildings wouldn't be revealed for many hours and days. It wasn't until I saw footage of the jumpers that I finally had a long cry over it all.
Work, as I then worked for Time-Warner Cable, was just far too busy. We had overloaded servers as phone service was overloaded and people were turning to the internet for their communication needs. Our high capacity fiber trunk, as all fiber trunks in the city did at that time, passed right under the Verizon building. Had that trunk conduit been cut then there was no back-up, beyond some ridiculously low capacity OC-1 and T-3 lines running under the GW and Henry Hudson bridges, and every voice and data provider in the city used that conduit. There are now multiple redundancies. I like to think that my work helped to ensure that Long Island and NYC stayed connected to the rest of the world during 9/11 and the days that followed, but when I compare my work to those of the people there at Ground Zero, I'm just left in silent awe.
From those old enough, I've heard that 9/11 is a day that you will never forget like when John Kennedy was assassinated. You will remember the time and place and events of that day very clearly. Everyone I know who lives in the city has a story to tell about that day; mostly related in somber tones. New Yorkers don't go much to Ground Zero. The people on the PATH, which used to give shocking, frightening, views of the enormity of the site from inside The Bathtub, don't look-up from their newspapers, iPods, and paperbacks. If we don't speak of 9/11 or acknowledge it openly it's because the wounds are too deep to reopen without the safety of friends and family. Remember we do in quiet ways. Some have parties to celebrate the lives of the lost, some lay wreaths, many go to churches, temples, and mosques, others quietly cry alone. What was public grief has become private and if someone you pass looks a little forlorn as they look to where the towers should be, then you give them space to offer what public privacy you can in a city of millions.
How we remember and honor those who died has changed. There is no question of forgetting.
Without question. I wish everyone understood French so as to understand the depth of that phrase. Bravo JA!
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Awh. :frown1: That's great that you guys meet up to pay tribute to his life. I'm sorry that your friend died.
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