.
I was walking into the office when our technician told me a plane had hit one of the towers - he said "t
"
and I did not think too much about it. 20 minutes or so later I was in a
meeting and the same tech came in saying it was an airliner. We all
left the meeting and turned on a small television in our lab. I also
made sure I had a computer close by so I could watch email.......
At
the time we were running a national listserv for a large group of
community college faculty and administrators involved in a Working
Connections grant with
Microsoft and the
American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). I've pulled out a few emails that came to the list. Here's one of the first from Mete at
Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC):
11:50 AM, 9/11/01
It
is chaos here, but everybody at BMCC is OK. We are closed for the day
and the roads/subways to in/out of Manhattan are blocked. I am in
Brooklyn (home) now and the sky is dark from smoke/ash/soot. I have a
feeling it is going to take a long time to recover from this one.
Hope all is well with everyone around the country,
Mete
BMCC
is on Chambers Street, next to ground zero and a college building was
damaged from the attack. Mete was on the subway on his way in when the
attack started and I believe he walked home to Brooklyn.
Here's a reply message from Lynn at the AACC in Washington, DC::
12:05AM, 9/11/01
We
are ok here, but our office is closing so people can try to get home.
The smoke from the Pentagon is visible from our 4th floor conference
room. Most of the federal offices have now closed, a couple of subway
stations near the Pentagon are closed, the streets are crowded with
people driving and walking home from downtown offices, and cars with
sirens go by every 5 minutes or so. Folks who live near Capitol Hill are
sticking around the office until things calm down in that part of town.
Lynn
A
flurry of emails went back and forth during the day from people all
around the coutry. We were all worried, frustrated and upset about the
attacks and our friends in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Here's
a sample of the response from Paula at
Richland College in Dallas:
11:50AM, 9/11/01
Thank
you both for taking the time to provide us with an update of your
safety. Our prayers are with you and all Americans during this tragedy.
As in other states, thousands are donating blood. A major sports arena
in Dallas has been setup as a blood donation facility. Churches are
conducting special services. Please assist us to remain informed as to
organizations/drives that are established that will provide direct
support.
Paula
This came from Chris at the
Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City a few days later:
10:50AM, 9/14/01
FIT
is safe and sound and open for business but few classes are running
normally. It is hard to describe the experience of walking south on
Manhattan's avenues and seeing a column of smoke where the World Trade
Towers should be. When the wind shifts, the smell of the fire comes to
Chelsea with a light dusting of the cement that is ankle deep a few
blocks away.
We are glad to hear that all are well at BMCC and in Washington.
Chris
Here's a followup from Mete that was also sent on September 14:
12:36AM, 9/14/01
The
building that we (CIS) dept was suppose to move this Sept., (but did
not because of delays) is quite damaged. They are using our main
building as command/triage/morgue center. We will be closed until the
end of next week. The cleanup is going very slowly and there is very
limited access to downtown Manhattan.
The subways are not running
and all the outer borough are choked with traffic with people bringing
their cars and parking them as close to Manhattan as possible. The air
quality is bad, there is possibility that some more buildings (including
our own that was next to a collapsed building) may come down
aggravating the situation.
There are a number people that I know,
with families, that perished in the bombings (we were going go to a
10th bday party this weekend, but the mother is missing - what do we do
now ??) from my daughter's school and our neighborhood. But they are
defiant, and most of the businesses try to operate as usual with a
backdrop of surrealism...
Thanks for all of your e-mails and good wishes. We appreciate it and find comfort in them.
Mete
Hundreds of emails went back and forth over the next few weeks on the listserv. I've saved them all.