It is now day 2 of this great disaster. Here in NYC things are strange to say the least. Again it is a BEAUTIFUL day here in the Big Apple...in fact weather wise it doesn't get much nicer. Just like yesterday there is not a cloud in the sky except for the cloud of smoke rising from the disaster site. I live in the frozen zone below 14th St. There are State Police and barricades at 14th St. blocking access to all non-essential vehicles. If you leave on foot you need ID to get back in. As a result there are wide open and empty streets with people biking and rollerblading. It is so quiet here today that you can hear birds and children laughing from a park a few blocks away. Usually it is so loud here that those sounds can't be heard. People are having lunch at the few sidewalk restaurants that are open and on the surface it appears as if nothing is wrong. Then you look south and see the cloud and gapin space where the WTC was and reality hits. As I was walking I had a hard time breathing....it almost felt as if the weight of this disaster is sitting on my chest. I felt small and still do. It feels as if there is nothing that I as one small person can do. I know that there ARE things I can do and as soon as I eat something I am going to go and donate blood. I am also going to the nearby grocery store and getting sandwich stuff and bringing it over to St. vincents Hospital. They have an outdoor triage center and the workers there are running out of food. I know that things will get back to normal soon....... Thanks for reading and letting me get some of this emotion out. I'll report again as things begin to change again. Linda
Linda, you have no idea how many times I have thought about you in the last 24 hours. I know many people on the boards were doing the same. Hearing from you last evening was the high point of my day. I wish there was a more direct way I could help the victims. Please accept my personal thanks for what you have done and will be doing in the coming days, and know that you are cared about very deeply.
Linda-- I'm so glad to hear you are okay. I thought continuously of you the last 24 hours since I knew you lived near that area. My heart goes out to you and everyone else in NYC (and DC, and all over the country) Sue Ellen
Linda Those of us in the rest of the country have been glued to our tv's, to us it seems surreal.. From sitting watching Good Morning America, and watching the whole horrible scene unfold, my thoughts have been for all the families, in the buildings, the area, the police, the firefighters, the innocent people in the planes, and for the people of NY, whose lives have forever changed...and I feel so useless.. The local TV station here has started a fund for the police, firefighters, and emergency workers, and I guess that is one way to do my part.. they won't let me give blood...thank you for what you are doing, and remember you have many, many Disboards friends, praying for everyone killed or injured, you, and your city Donna
Hi Linda Just another New Yorker that can agree with what you said. I never thought I would see the day I would wake up to the sound of fighter jets flying over the house and loose so many friends so fast in such a horrible way God bless the USA lets all fly our flags on friday sept. 14th
I live in one of the outer boroughs of NYC. I spent most of the day yesterday sitting at my desk at work watching the WTC burn and smoke. I work in midtown so I wasn't directly affected by what was going on. The closest I got to it was when I was on the bus going to work and came out of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and then went around the southern end of Manhattan and got on the FDR drive. From the FDR we could look right across town and see the buildings burning. Thank God I never got close enough to notice that some of the debris I was watching coming flying out of the buildings was people jumping. It was bad enough watching from where I was. I have a nephew and a niece who both work in the area and thankfully they both got out pretty much without a scratch. My nephew has bumps, bruises, scrapes and feels pretty beat up from running away from the collapse. He said when you heard the roar you just started running and didn't stop no matter what you ran into. Thank God he didn't get hit with anything. He ducked into a building for protection. My niece was evacuated from her building and wound up having to walk all the way to midtown to her company's midtown office. When she got there she called me and we met and got the bus home together. I have another nephew who's a firefighter and has been at the WTC since the first plane hit. He's back at his firehouse now and will be coming home in the morning. I spent many hours praying yesterday since I knew he was on site before the collapses. Thank God he wasn't in one of the buildings. Watching these poor rescue workers on TV is absolutely heartbreaking. I had to stop watching tonight because I've been crying much of the day. Even having watched the buildings burn and smoke and watching all the coverage on TV, it still seems unreal. I don't think anyone or anything will be the same again. I'm just so thankful that I don't know anyone who works in the WTC. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who know anyone who is in any way involved in this tragedy. God bless you all.
I went to the gorcery store in the afternooon yesterday. As we are down in the frozen zone nothing can get in, even more groceries. There was no produce, meat, milk, eggs or bread. it was shocking to walk into a store like that in NYC. Nothing stops this city......except this. I also went to the Post Office to mail some pins to people. They actually scanned the packages and asked me to tell them what was inside. I did, and they asked for ID as well. Luckily I had it with me as I needed it to get past the checkpoooint to get home. This is all SO unreal........... Linda
Hi Linda it is go good to hear from you. I was thinking about you and saying prayers for everyone. GOD BLESS AMERICA
Linda, I have been thinking about you, and praying that you were safe. My thoughts and prayers are with you, and with all the people of NYC and DC, as well as with those everywhere who have lost family and friends in this tragedy. I am devastated and feel so helpless just watching this on TV. I can't imagine what you guys in the midst of the destruction are feeling. My prayers are with you all. {{{HUGS}}}
Linda, Glad to "see" you again. I can only imagine what it must be like that close to ground zero. I can related to what you are seeing (or shall I say not seeing) on your grocery's shelves. I have been volunteering my time at a blood center in North Jersey since 11am Tuesday. I went to donate blood and/or platlets (i was deferred due to a medication) but I still never left the center on Tuesday until the last donor for the night did. I then came home grabbed a couple hours sleep and a shower and spent the day there again yesterday. Before getting to the center yesterday I went on a run to a shoprite for juices and bottled water (amongst other things) and the shelves were bare of items not needing refrigiration. My heart goes out to all families who have missing or have lost loved ones. My prayers are with all the searchers, police, fire, EMS, doctors, nurses, and volunteers (and any other group I left out). I will be at the Javits center in the next day or so volunteering for whatever I am needed for. I almost feel a guilt of sorts, as though I wish there was more I could do. I have already volunteered my time, donated money, will be donating about half of my tee-shirts (for those of you who know me, you know this is a large number). This afternoon has been a recuparation day for me. My mind and body are exhuasted. I am about 20 miles from the site, and I cannot believe the outpouring of support I have witnessed. People standing in line 4 and 5 hours in the sun to give blood. Thankfully local business and residents donated enough food and beverages to fed everyone in line, staff, volunteers. I also have gained a tremendous amount of respect for a well known actor, who stood in this line like everyone else. Here is a man who can, and Im sure will, dig deep into his pocket, but yet still donates blood. For some who have read some other posts about blood centers not taking any more donors becuase they have not found many survivors--PLEASE DO NOT believe that. It is strictly a logistics issue that they are asking you to come back. Blood only has a shelf life of about 42 days, and there simple isnt an adequate supply of the approprite freezer room needed to store the blood. Especially in the first two days while the blood is processed and before it an be used. Simple put-- they are trying to make sure there is adequate supply in the coming weeks as well. Anyway I have said more then I intended, but it felt good to actually unload a bit.
