Everyone has their own memories of where they were eight years ago on September 11th. For me, I was in a meeting at my office on Park Avenue and 29th, about 2 miles uptown from the World Trade Center. When the 1st tower was hit, many of us thought it was a little single engine plane that nicked the tower so we continued on with our day. Shortly after that we decided to turn the TV on and we all watched in horror as the 2nd tower was hit. I spoke to my husband shortly thereafter and as a pilot he had heard the 2nd plane go over the city and knew that the plane was in trouble. Since many of our staff travel via subway and on the line that goes under the World Trade Center, we started doing a head count. Twenty minutes later our last staff member, Joy, arrived in shock and covered in soot. Thankfully, all of our staff were accounted for. Sadly, a few weeks later we would learn by seeing a picture up on a street sign that we lost one of our former employees, Amy, who I later found out from her mother was attending a seminar on the 102nd floor.
I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I remember seeing thousands of people walking up Park Avenue covered in debris…some had no shoes on, pieces of pulverized building in their hair…..and people helping others make their way out of the city. I remember having to make tough decisions on how we care for our staff’s safety. We were close to the Empire State Building and many thought there might be other possible attacks as a result of the Pentagon and PA crashes. How do we get our staff home when they will have to walk miles to get to CT, Brooklyn, Queens, upper Manhattan and New Jersey? How do we communicate with each other that we got safely home when all lines of communication are out? I thankfully had the sense to call my father here in STL when the 2nd tower was hit to let him and mother know that I was safe and not downtown at a meeting. Ten minutes later all landlines and cell communication would be out.
I remember walking home and hearing the stories, the crying and even some laughter to lighten the ominous feeling that was present. I remember the smell that evening and wishing we hadn’t left our windows open because it was the realization of what it actually was.
I also remember, unfortunately, that we had a minimal emergency plan. Whoever would have thought you’d need to have an emergency plan for a terrorist attack on New York City, or anywhere in our country for that matter? I learned a valuable lesson that you can’t afford not to.
Today, I work for an organization that not only supports the men and women who give their lives to protect our country, but who provides valuable information on disaster preparedness, like the Red Cross Ready Rating Program and Be Red Cross Ready and prevention programs such as CPR, swimming safety and First Aid training.
The experiences of our past help to shape our future and I know that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Cindy
Cindy Erickson is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter.