Ashley Chow dot Com

This is a bit late, but that’s okay.

6 years ago, the Twin Towers in New York City were attacked by terrorists and fell, tearing thousands of people’s lives apart. Those moments in that one day have scarred many, many Americans probably for life. It has not been forgotten and it will never be forgotten.

I am not a New Yorker, nor am I American, but I do admire New York for its history and rich culture. And of course, for it being the business capital of the world. I don’t personally know anyone that died on that tragic day, but I do have a relative who was in Manhattan that day for a job interview and she told me her story of that day when I visited New York last year.

I was in Manhattan for an interview, and it was in Midtown. I was [obviously] wearing business clothes and high heels while carrying my portfolio. When I got to the building, someone informed me that I couldn’t have the interview because something had happened to a building. I was confused, and that’s when I saw on TV that one of the Twin Towers had been hit. I walked outside onto Broadway, and I could see smoke billowing from Downtown.

At first, I thought it was a movie. It looked surreal. All of a sudden, the second plane hit. When the buildings collapsed, some people fainted.

I walked to a Burger King, which was the only thing open. Everything else had closed down, and the buses and subways weren’t working. Only 1 subway was working, which was going to Brooklyn. I was especially nervous because my sister-in-law worked in Chinatown and she was pregnant as well.

At Burger King, there were people there crying, all shaken up. I was buying burgers and drinks for everyone, instantly making friends because of what just happened. Then, two women walked into Burger King. I could tell they were from Wall Street because they were covered in dust. Both of them were shaking. I walked over to them and asked them why they were all shaken up. At first, they wouldn’t tell me, but afterwards, they told me everything.

They worked across the street from the towers. Their windows faced the part where the plane hit, and apparently, they saw a man jump out of the building. He was in a nice business suit and everything. There was probably no way out, and he just couldn’t take the heat, so he jumped.

I couldn’t get back to Jersey (where she lives), so I decided to take the subway that was working to my mom’s place in Brooklyn. One of the women that I was talking to lives near me, so she couldn’t get back home either. I offered to take her to my mom’s place, but she refused. She told me that she would stay in a park and maybe sleep on a bench since there were other people to keep her company. So I headed off.

I was already in pain from my heels, so I took them off and kept walking, but that only made it worse. The ground pricked at my feet and they started getting bumps and bleeding. I went down to take the subway, but every single one that stopped was full of people, from the front to the back. Many trains passed, but I still couldn’t get on. Then, I just broke down, crying.

When the next train came, a Caucasian man saw me crying, and he got off the train and pushed me into the train that he came from. Just before the doors closed, he said, “Have a good trip” and waited for the next train to come. I was amazed at how thoughtful and kind that gentleman was, and I could do nothing but give a wave and journey on to Brooklyn.

It took me about 4 hours to get to my mom’s place, while it usually only takes 1. But once I stepped foot into my mom’s apartment, I was so relieved and happy. I ended up staying there for a week after that. Everywhere had pictures of missing family members and friends.

My sister-in-law actually got off 2 stops early for some reason and missed the attack. During that time, I couldn’t get a hold of anyone until I got to Brooklyn because the phone lines had all been cut off. I’ll never forget that day…

So that’s my relative’s story. I visited the WTC site when I went there last summer. I couldn’t believe how big it is. I was amazed by all the tributes to firefighters and everyone that had passed that day.

I’d like to go back there one day, because I really do love New York and I think it’s a great place. My heart goes out to all those that have been pained, emotionally and physically, by that day, September 11, 2001.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 14th, 2007 at 9:33 pm and is filed under New York, Ramblings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.