So where were you - When you heard about wtc bombings?

[Arthur Dent]

I was in the subway when the first plane hit. I was in the lobby of my building waiting for an elevator when I heard the second plane hit. The subway stop is right outside my building so I didn't notice anything walking in.

I work three blocks north of Canal Street on 6th Avenue. When I got up to my office, I could see into the holes in the north tower and all the flame and smoke from both. I was listening to 1010Wins on my headphones and trying to get info off the web when I heard the woman announcer scream "Oh my God, the tower is collapsing!" I watched both towers collapse from my window. The debris cloud covered everything up tp 3/4 of the distance between me and the WTC. For a while I thought it might make it all the way to us.

And I can remember the faces of a few co-workers who took the bus passedd the WTC that morning. One guy was completely white and his hands wouldn't stop shaking.

I also remember how the phones were all out. For some reason, I couldn't make calls out on my cell phone, but I could receive them. Around 10:00, my brother finally got through to me and I was able to tell my family I was alright.

Around 2:00, we finally decided to see if any trains were running. When we left the building we stood in the middle of 6th Avenue stairing down at the empty hole in the sky with the thick black smoke rising up. Someone took a picture. When we got up to Houston on our way to the station at West 4th Street, we saw dozens of dump trucks being lined up on Houston. They were already getting ready to move debris for the recue effort.

I couldn't go back to work until the next week because the city was shut down south of 14th Street. And even after that, every corner on Canal Street was guarded by the National Guard, State Troopers, and NYPD. You couldn't get passed them unless you lived down there or had permission to go down there.


I was in London when the Ch. 4 and HBO specials aired. I have them on tape. I still haven't been able to sit down and watch them. Soon.