Eye of the Storm: One Journey
Through Desperation and Chaos
By JOHN BUSSEY=20
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NEW YORK -- If there's only one sight I'll remember from the destruction
of the World Trade Center, it is the flight of desperation -- a headlong
leap from the top-most floors by those who chose a different death than
the choking smoke and flame. Some fell swinging their arms and legs,
looking down as the street came up at them. Others fell on their backs,
peering upward toward the flames and sky. They dropped like deadweight,
several seconds, hopeless and unhelpable.
And always the same end. Some crashed into the plastic awning over the
entrance to the North Tower. Others hit a retaining wall. Still others
landed on lampposts and shrubbery. After the 80-floor drop, the impact
left small puffs of pink and red vapor drifting at ground level.
Firefighters arriving on the scene ran for cover...
1st class is at 9:30..
off the 2 train at 9:35
people are running in the street
something's wrong
i look up
at my familiar friends
theyre on fire
oh god
smells like smoke
screaming sirens
screaming people
with fear on their faces
"its gonna fall"
someone shouts
oh sh*t
im scared now
vision getting blurry
shaking hands
try to dial dad
the crowd is parting for me it seems
i dont have to look up
no service
im coughing and crying
on the sidewalk
a man asks if im alright
hes standing with some people
looking up
theyre clearly all strangers
become comrades
in a time of mass confusion
i told him about my mom
she works there sometimes
please say shes not up there
trapped
burning up
i didnt speak to her today
have you spoken to her?
the man asked
he put his hand on my shoulder
hes a stranger
but feels like dad
"you can see them jumping"
somebody said.
i looked
up there
a gaping hole
torn metal
fire raging out of windows
its hell on earth
there were people
jumping out
slowly tumbling
humans
people
with families
and thoughts
ideas
goals
and theyre going to die now
theyre dead now
imagine
imagine how bad it must be inside
to make someone jump out
groups of people
holding hands
jumping
falling
i cried for them
witnessing their last moments
a rumble
crashing glass
the street gasped
our stomachs dropped
the tower
the indestructable tower
giving way
in slow motion
collapsed
baby steps into the nearest open store
a pub
im shaking still
tears still
trembling voice
"can i use your phone"
the bartender dials for me
gives me the phone
and a glass of water
dad says mom is safe
uptown
and he spoke to her
exhale
now i know what really matters
09.17.01
Author anonymous
http://www.nycstories.com/911/10/index.htmlMay they rest in the arms of God.
I remember reading this article in WSJ online the next day. It was a very painful and difficult article to read.
There was another article in WSJ a few days later that was about the airlines and how they reacted to the horror that day. It was a good one too.