This past weekend I saw Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close the movie about the boy who lost his father 9/11. On 9/11/01 I was probably on the #2 train at Wall Street when the first plane hit. I had no idea what was happening except the train suddenly went express and I went to my job at Rockefeller Center at BBDO and heard that two planes had hit the World Trade Center. I assumed it was an accident like the two planes that collided over NYC in 1960. But when I got to the office floor I realized this was more than an accident.

The day was surreal because I couldn’t make any outgoing calls. All circuits were busy and my emails were going like crazy from people out of the city who were concerned that I was OK. My cousin called telling me that our cousin George was OK because he was on vacation and I knew our other cousin Lisa who also worked downtown was also on vacation. THANK YOU GOD!!!!! Rumors were going around and I worked in a high profile area Rockefeller Center so of course I was concerned. We were free to leave, but the city was shut down. No subways were running nor buses. My friend who worked at World Wide Plaza another high profile building came over. We finally left after lunch and walked to Times Square as the subways were finally running. I could see the white dust from downdown all the way up to Times Square. We caught the E train that originated from the World Trade Center and the people sitting were covered in the white dust from when the buildings collapsed. I don’t understand why but we all were laughing like crazy. It was like the Chuckles the Clown syndrome. I think we were all so upset about how surreal this whole day was that we were all laughing like crazy.

I went back to my apartment in Jackson Heights and then went to Breezy Point where I have a summer house. On the bus we could see the skyline of Manhattan in the distant. I couldn’t see it as I was on the other side of the bus, but the people standing and on the right could and looked as though they wanted to confirm yes the Towers are gone. No one could believe it. In Breezy I saw that the whole sky was black from the smoke of the collapsing towers. I could smell burning metal and turned my air conditioners on.

Every anniversary my friends and I share the stories of where we were on 9/11/01. The next day my company was closed and I remember going to Mass and seeing someone sobbing and I all I could think of who did she lose. For the next couple of months living in Breezy Point I remember every weekend there was a funeral and the bag pipers playing Amazing Grace. A lot of policemen and firement and employees of Cantor Fitzgerald live in Breezy Point. A day I never want to go through again.