Hello All:
What were you doing, and where were you when on the morning of 911?
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Were you having your first morning cup of coffee? Getting the kids off to school; or if you were a kid then, were you already at school? Were you commuting to work, or already there? Or were you one of the lucky ones in NYC who worked at the World Trade Center who happened to have not gone in that day. For those of you on the Jersey City side, were you on the PATH train that was stopped in the tunnel before entering Manhattan; or did you have family members who had just entered into the World Trade Center station when all hell broke loose?
This is the 17th Anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center, and most of us in New York and New Jersey, who share the Hudson River as our border, vividly remember just where we were and what we were doing that horrific morning.
I was living in Jersey City, at the time, serving as Housing Coordinator for the City of Jersey City, under the Honorable Glenn D. Cunningham, the first (only????) Black Mayor of Jersey City. In addition to my position as Housing Coordinator, I was also a realtor and was preparing to attend a meeting in the World Trade Center that would allow electronic funds transfers for purchase of real estate (new technology at the time) in New Jersey. I was also a licensed real estate agent, and had several clients in the armed forces whose spouses would have benefitted from such a protocol.
While preparing to catch the PATH to WTC, I had the Today Show on in the background; multitasking, as usual, was also coordinating with some friends from DC, who were on their way to New York for the same workshop. We were going to hook up at a restaurant called Akbars, for coffee. They had just called to confirm they were nearing New York, and we were on schedule to connect.
Interestingly enough, I received a call from my niece Sherrie in Chicago asking about my daughter, who was in college at Lincoln University at the time. Then she asked a very strange question: "Aunt Glo, is everybody okay?" To which I replied, "Of course. We're fine! Why?" She responded, "I'm glad, I was scared you might have been injured - we saw it on TV." "Saw what on TV?" I asked - not comprehending her statement. Before she could answer, my daughter called, and I let her go, promising to call her back as soon as we hung up (this was 15 minutes before the first plane hit the WTC).
My daughter wanted me to come down to Lincoln for a meeting that day, but I had already made other plans and couldn't be there. I would have to make arrangements for another time. This was her sophomore year at Lincoln, and we were still ironing out financial issues. I agreed to contact the bursar's office and straighten things out later that morning. She wasn't particularly happy with the answer, but she calmed down after I assured her that there was nothing to worry about - of course there was, but she didn't need to worry about it; what she needed to do was focus on her education.
As soon as she hung up, a client I had been trying to reach to list his abandoned building for sale called me and informed me that if I was still interested in selling the property for him, had to meet him there by 8:30 that morning. He was headed to Florida and would not be returning until mid-November. When I tried to reschedule him for later that afternoon, he warned me that I would either meet him at that time, or forget about it. So, of course, I definitely did not want to miss an opportunity to list his property. I had already walked a potential buyer through it who was looking to develop it into a recording studio and loft condos. So I scheduled to meet him at 9:00AM. This delay prompted me to reach out to my DC friends and inform them of the situation - not only would I be late for the seminar, but I would miss meeting them for coffee at Akbars for lunch, instead.
All this happened in less than 20 minutes. I started putting together the paperwork for the listing, getting my camera together to take photos of the property, and finishing my coffee. I was standing in my living room window, enjoying my million dollar view of the New York skyline, where I had an unobstructed view of the Hudson River, the World Trade Center and all the city views. It was my favorite thing to do in the morning - like waking up in Jersey City and saying Hello New York.
| I could see the world trade center from my living room in Jersey City |
I was looking at the twin towers, the tallest buildings in NYC. And saw what I thought was a cloud coming from one of them, then a spark! Initially, I really didn't take it as anything serious - perhaps it was a reflection of the sun of the building shining through clouds passing by. But when the smoke started billowing out of the building, I remember saying something about amateur pilots should not be allowed to fly in the city. I didn't realize that the plane had hit the floor where I was to have attended the Financial Seminar until much later.
I prepared to turn off the TV when the commentator said, "Wow, it looks as if a plane has accidentally bumped into one of the twin towers. They did a close up of the spot where the plane hit, and talked about the possibility of pilot error, and perhaps the sun had blurred the pilot's vision.
I continued to watch the scene unfolding on TV, and listen to Bryant Gumble, who was speaking to an eye witness caller, when suddenly the second plane hit the other twin tower.
My mind could not comprehend this. How could there be two amateur pilots? Was one following the other and hit the other tower by mistake? My mind could not wrap around this being a deliberate attack. Somehow it just didn't pan out. Who would do such a stupid thing? But there was no escaping the reality: This was a deliberate assault on the World Trade Center! I went to my living room window to look and see if the same thing I was seeing on TV was happening in reality - and there it was - black smoke billowing from the towers - I could not move. My whole mind was frozen.
I went back to the TV and continued to stare at the horror that was unfolding. Who did it? Why did they do t? Are they going to blow up New York? Where was the army, airforce and the Marines? Why weren't they stopping these crazy people? I kept looking for them to come and do something heroic like magically stop the flames, rescue the victims and make it all right with the world again. But no such happening - no calvary troop. Just the horror of watching as the tragedy unfolded. The term 911 had not been coined yet. All I knew was the attack on the World Trade Center.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I silently thanked God that my application to work with the Port Authority in the World Trade Center had not gone through. I also thanked God that I was not in the EFT meeting - but also wondered whether or not my DC Friends were OK. I later found out that they were cool.
Bryant Gumble was trying to give details about the initial plane crash, when the second plane made the direct hit on the other tower. Gumble, and all the other reporters, tried to maintain calm, objective tones and not read into what they were seeing before their very eyes. They were skeptical about what they were seeing and tried to not panic their viewers. Eyewitnesses on the ground tried to relate what they saw from their vantage point - New Yorkers will stand and watch anything - it's who we are. Even when there is clear and present danger, it takes more than some smoke and a few flames to cause us to run for cover. Plus the scene was all too surreal.
When the South Tower collapsed, at 10:00, I suddenly ran out of my house into the middle of the street screaming at the top of my lungs, "They're killing my city!!! They're killing my city!!" But it was the middle of the morning in Jersey City, and most of my neighbors were either at work or at school. There was no one to come to me, no one to comfort me, and I was watching my home under siege.
I was hysterical - totally freaked out and totally by myself. After I sat for a while watching the scenario from the end of the cul de sac which faced New York, I went back upstairs and found that the TV broadcast had ceased because all the transponders were on top of the south tower - the only channel we had left was CBS (channel 2) - everything else had gone blank. I sat glued to the set waiting for additional information.
People were jumping out of the buildings!! I was crying and screaming - they were going to die regardless - they were too high up to be helped. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The NYPD and FDNY who were running into the buildings to rescue these people were killed in the process.
The reports of attacks on the Pentagon, the bravery of the passengers who brought the plane down over Pennsylvania were reported - and I sat there, like so many others, with tears rolling down my face.
I started thinking of all the favorite things I loved about the World Trade Center: Akbar's Coffee Shop, Nine West Shoes, Windows on the World, the View - where we used to party, my favorite bookstore was on the ground floor - I used to stop thru there on my way to the African Sun Times, the newspaper I wrote for that was a few blocks away near Chambers Street.
Around 12:00 the news reports started floating the name of Osama Bin Laden, who managed to leave the United States, despite the fact that the entire airline system was shut down. Speculations about the conspiracy to attack the United States utilizing the symbology of the date September 11 - i.e. 911 - which stands for emergency - also begin to be bounced around.
The reporters began recapping everything from the beginning, and I emerged from my home and ran to an elderly friend of mine for comfort. I was so upset and just needed someone older and wiser to kind of allay my fears. I drove over to his shop to let him know how upset I was. Instead of the sympathy I was looking for, he broke on me and said, "Good, I hope they bomb everybody in New York. " Wrong choice of words, I slapped him so hard it left a hand print on his face, and blood from his nose. I was furious and hurt.
I stormed out of his shop, jumped in my car and headed to Grove Street to see what I could do to help - but found that all streets leading to Jersey City City Hall, as well as the bridges and tunnels between Jersey City to New York City had been closed down.
Eventually, I caught up with Mayor Glenn Cunningham and his staff at the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), who were putting together plans for a triage to help rescue the victims and survivors, as well as recover those who had expired. It was a grim undertaking, but Jersey City was directly across the Hudson from New York City, with many of her residents employed in the World Trade Center, as well.
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| Glenn D. Cunningham, First Black Mayor of Jersey City, NJ |
Cunningham commandeered the ferries that traveled between the two cities to begin bringing out the wounded to begin transporting them to the hospitals in Jersey City. He also set it up for doctors, EMT and other medical personnel, including members of the Jersey City Fire Department (JCFD) and Jersey City Police Department (JCPD) to assist in the search and rescue mission. They worked until late in the night until New York called the search off till the next morning at first light.
Cunningham led Jersey City in a vigil at the waterfront facing New York. Priests, ministers, rabbis, Imams all offered prayers for the victims, the survivors, New Yorkers, and America - all those around the waterfront from the Jersey City side lit candles in honor of those who lost their lives. We locked arms and sang God Bless America and Oh Beautiful. So many of us in a state of shock as we comforted each other. Cunningham cautioned against trying to blame our Muslim neighbors, who were now being profiled as being part of the attacks, and made sure that the Imam was included in all the activities, in order to not have a divisive atmosphere in Jersey City.
When I finally returned home around midnight, I sat staring out the window of my living room looking at the place where the World Trade Center used to be. The TV was permanently on Channel 2, CBS, and the rumors of weapons of mass destruction were being floated around; but most of my peers had other thoughts about the real cause of the attack.
Around 12:30AM my cell phone rang for the first time. It appeared that my carrier had switched to an auxillary tower, and service was being restored. When I answered it, my soon to be daughter in law, Traci was on the other end, "Is this Ms. Gloria Dulan-Wilson?" I responded, "Yes, who's calling?" I recognized the voice, but wanted to be sure of who I was speaking to. "I'm so glad. You have a very worried son here. Can you please speak to him and let him know you are alright?"
Apparently my son had been trying to reach me for quite some time, but the phone service had been interrupted as a result of the towers explosion. She sounded so happy that I was alright, but my son, who was so afraid that I had died in the explosion that he was crying - and didn't want to make the call again. He and my daughter knew I was scheduled to be in the World Trade Center for a meeting at 8:30 that morning - and feared that I had been among the victims. I tried to reassure him that God, the Living Spirit Almighty wasn't ready for me quite yet. Still, I also had to realize that, had it not been for my client who wanted me to list his property, I would definitely have been there. The interesting thing was that I never got the listing, and never saw or heard from him again. He was one of God's interventions that prevented me from being a casualty.
After my son hung up, my uncle, Adolf Dulan, called me from California to also make sure I was safe. He stated, in as calm a voice possible, "We are sure that Terry (my cousin) has gotten out safely too. We just haven't heard from him yet. But I don't feel as if he has come to harm. If you hear from him, tell him to give me a call." Up until that time, I had no idea that my cousin was working in the World Trade Center. His office used to be at 44th and Avenue of the Americas. I assured my Uncle that he would emerge safely - and we put out a prayer for him. Well, what passed for a prayer, my Uncle was not known to be a praying man. It later turned out that Terry had escaped, he was missing for three days, and had no idea how he got out. He was in a state of shock and found sitting on a sidewalk in Queens.
Mayor Glenn Cunningham later authorized the organization of an event commemorating and honoring those who perished at the Liberty State Park, with Ray Charles and other celebrities leading the audience in "Oh Beautiful (America)."
Three months later, I was part of the committee hosting the first memorial to 911, where we had a monument of some of the recovered steel from the World Trade Center constructed into a symbol of the tragic event. The committee consisted of community residents, activists, and elected officials.
| The First Memorial erected to 911 shortly after the tragic terrorist attack |
Later a second 911 Memorial was erected in Jersey City near Liberty State Park entitled Empty Sky:
It has now been 17 years since the attack on America, known as 911 - and for the first time since then, I've actually listened to the compiled news reports that covered that heinous event. So many memories flood back of that tragic day. The after math was no less bizarre - Giuliani being called "America's Mayor, when all he did was go underground. September 11, 2001, was actually an election day, and we were poised to put him out of office and elect a new mayor. Unfortunately we exchanged a pirranha for a viper - because Bloomberg became mayor later on (SMH). It took nearly all of the 17 years for them to figure out what they wanted to do to replace the Twin Towers -
There are many of us who still believe that the Bushwackers were part of the attack because no one wanted to accept him as president after Bill Clinton. When the country is considered under attack, the President can legally suspend the Constitution, under the Emergency Powers Act. Others wondered how it was that Bin Laden was at the Crawford Ranch, a guest of the Bush family; and how it was that he managed to get a flight out of the country when all the airports were shut down?
However, I digress - this was my memory of September 11, 2001, also known as 911. What are your memories of that terrible, awful, horrific day? As you watch the event today, livestreamed on CBS, https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/
what are some of the thoughts or memories that run through your mind?
Share your thoughts - eclectcallyblacknews@gmail.com , and I will post them.
In the meantime, make sure you take some time out to pay homage to those people who lost their lives needlessly.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria
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