September 11

Two months before 9/11, my husband, Jack, and I bought a beautiful little apartment in the shadow of the World Trade Center, just 1,000 feet away. The apartment was spectacular, with views of the New York Harbor, the bridges, and the Statue of Liberty. The day we moved in, Jack and I climbed to the roof of our building. Jack looked up at the World Trade Center towering 40 stories above our building. Looking up at the magnificent edifice, he said, "God, if these buildings collapse, I pray they don't fall on us!" We both laughed quietly, knowing this was something not to laugh at.

September 11, 2001, was a beautiful, cloudless day in New York City. We had returned to our home on Long Island, so we weren't in Manhattan when the attack occurred. Jack and I stood devastated and terrified as we watched the morning news and the towers burning and collapsing. We saw our small house in Battery Park City, destroyed and completely obscured by black smoke.

When Manhattan reopened after a few weeks, we returned to our small apartment. The air in the city was almost indescribable. There was not only the overwhelming smell of death, but also smoke, plastic, paper, and God knows what else. People walked with their heads bowed, everyone wearing either a mask or a scarf covering their faces. People walked and cried. Since traffic reopened, we had to overcome many obstacles. The streets were full of volunteers from the Red Cross from out of town. Rescue workers put down food and washed our hands with water. People walked like zombies, unable to hug each other or comprehend what had happened to our city. Buses ran free, taking people wherever they wanted. Volunteers came to hand out fruit and water. Most people sat quietly at home or sobbed quietly.

When we finally got to our building, we walked in and were greeted by the caretaker. He was usually composed, but not this time. He grabbed me and Jack and started crying. "My God, I thought you were both dead. Five people who lived here died in the crash. I'm so happy to see you..." We all hugged.

When we found our apartment, we walked in, shivering. The power had been out for two whole days, and we had just the usual supplies in the fridge. We were very happy and delighted to find building workers who had cleaned everything up.

Jack and I climbed onto the roof and stood there, grief-stricken. Our wonderful World Trade Center was gone. Instead, there was a large, black, burnt-out hole filled with tons of rubble. Many people worked tirelessly to clear the rubble, still hoping to find someone alive. Rescue dogs were brought in and bravely assisted in the cleanup. No one was found.

That night in our apartment, we had great difficulty falling asleep. I slept briefly before waking up. I was tempted to go into the living room. More asleep than awake, I realized the room was full of smoke, but not physical smoke. She realized the room was full of ghosts... mostly firefighters!