Date: 9/12/01 10:46
Thanks for thinking of us here. I worry about all academy graduates since many in NY
work in the financial district. We are all OK, I hope and think, since I have not been able
to contact my sister who lives on 93rd street. The phones are not working. I have no reason
to believe she was downtown at 9am. I am including mail with a friend which is poignant.
Unfortunately my next door neighbor lost several of his staff since his office was hit by the
first plane. He is communications director for a global company and works late. His staff is
split in groups that start at 8am (all missing) and the rest who come in at 0930 to 1000 and
work late. They are all OK. He will have to rebuild the company IT and communications
in a disaster site in midtown, but he cannot even go to the city today. Morgan Stanley had
36 floors, the largest tenant. Our company president is having a bad experience, but only that.
She left Monday for Chicago. Her trip included a scare because there was a building fire
Monday at Newark airport that shutdown the airport for a while. Then, when she got to the
airport in the evening it was in the middle of bad thunderstorms. She had to change her flight
four times or something like that. Now this. She is in Chicago with our Marketing Manager
and hoping to rent a car to drive back. I do not think she will be flying anytime soon.
Our company should be better for it for the two women are sure to have bonded like crazy
glue after this and they are the guts of the revenue stream. Its a pretty small place; 38 people;
7 in England. It is peaceful and great weather here and I am just working the pain away.
I am getting a lot done because nothing is really normal today. On the other hand, my work is not
at full pace either. Curiously I work next to a religious Muslim and a Jewish fellow. The Muslim is
from Bombay and is a really nice guy who has lived in India as a peaceful minority. He is a real cut up.
He would fit right in to Academy life as far as joking around goes. He has a new beard, and I suggested
that he shave yesterday. First time he has not had a retort. But, I feel bad, and apologized this morning.
Oh, well; that is all right, but all is sad.
Email--------------------
(The man described below is a Buddhist son
of a Jewish father and Mexican
catholic mother.)
>I hope all is well with you. I am thinking of going to the mountaintop.>
>Anne's school was closed at 1pm and she got home with not much>
> traffic in NJ. I am at work doing a large script and trying not to >
>think too much, but it isn't working. Our web site traffic will >
>probably be way down, but it is surprising that the Internet is >
>handling what should be a big load. I will probably head home early >
>as a lot of people here have left since schools are getting out >
>early or they have a spouse in NY or what not. Our company >
>president flew out yesterday; there was a fire in Newark that closed >
>the airport; then there was a thunderstorm that had her muttering >
>about flying yesterday; now this. She may not take trips for awhile.>
>Take care.>
>Bill Carnegie>
Bill, you were the only one outside of family who called or asked. I am out of words, so I will let
Sonam speak for me. This is a copy of what he sent his friends tonight.
L
Hi.
I just wanted to make
sure that everyone is okay and alive. I've spoken to some of you on the phone, but some not. It's
been a long day, wondering whether or not people were alive or dead. I don't know how many of
you watched this live, or had loved ones in the area, but yes or no, it was still sobering. My father
works four blocks away from the World Trade Center. As he and his boss were coming out of the
subway, they saw what looked like a ticker tape parade of business papers by WTC tower one.
My father's boss was late for a seminar on the 102nd floor of tower 1. They both walked towards
the towers looking at the floating papers. When they were one block away, the second plane passed
overhead, and crashed into the second tower. They ran for their lives. When the buildings collapsed,
they took shelter in their own building 4 blocks away. They could not travel for hours due to the
excessive smoke, but they finally walked up to 14th street to the A. I woke up at 9:00 to go to school.
Five or ten minutes later, the phone rang. My mother answered it in the other room, and I heard quiet
talking. She came into the hall, and said "Don't go to school, someone just flew a plane into the world trade center."
I was still groggy, and didn't understand at first, but we turned on the television. I was in front of that television for
about two hours. I watched in horrified fascination as the towers burned. People were jumping.
And then one tower fell...And the second. I felt impotent. Furious. There are few times in my post
adolescent life when I have cried, but I have cried several times today. What could I do? I had to
do something. I walked down to Columbia Presbyterian to try to give blood. When I arrived, I was
almost gratified to find out that they had so many volunteers that their freezers couldn't hold more at that time.
They took my name, and number, and said they would call me if they needed more blood. I also gave my
name for a list of volunteers. I have no medical training, but I thought I might carry bandages or medicine or
something. I went home. They haven't called. I hope they do.
-- Sonam-
---------------------------------------
The Light Brigade was "Only following orders."
---------------------------------------
Subject: afterwards
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 20:35
Regarding Aaron Thrush's putting my remarks up on the net:
My Sister was fine in midtown. The women drove back from Chicago in a lot of
rain. Our muslim co-worker shaved off his beard. Also, Anne was worried about
our son since he does some work in the Pentagon, but although he had interviewed
people in the damaged area, he was not currently working on that project.
In the aftermath it was good to find that ALL of the children got out of the day
care centers. Now besides the tough clean-up there are everyday little
problems. J.P.Morgan Chase has sporadic problems with parts of its network due
to damage in the Wall Street area. An ATM debited my account and gave me no
money, but they will clear it up; it has happened to the branch manager herself.
-- Bill Carnegie
=========================================================
Subject: Hope That All Is Well
Dear Bill,
> Just a quick note to check to see that all is well with you and your family
> in the aftermath of the terrible tragedy yesterday. I can will understand
> that things may be and are likely too busy for you to reply at length. If
> you do have time let me know how you and your family are and I'll be happy
> to pass it along to the Class of 1960 website.
> God Bless,
> Aaron
|
