GROUND ZERO SEPTEMBER 11TH
NEW YORK, NY
As we walked from Wall Street one day we were headed for the site of Ground Zero. It was not hard to find because there is a huge empty space in the middle of hundreds of towering buildings. The huge space looks totally out of place in Manhattan. We took a turn and ended up walking by a small window that advertised a September 11 Museum. We entered the door and were taken back to that terrible day that no one should ever forget. The Sept 11th Museum will bring tears to your eyes. It is a living tribute to those who battled and died during those early morning hours on September 11th. There are movies, photographs and actual debris from the site. Small things like a Dad's house keys and parking ticket for the day are all that are left. As you walk from room to room your heart fills with anger, sadness and pain. It is tough.
There is a wall with photographs of the thousands of people that were loss. Moms, dads, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, grandparents, friends and family. Most so very young and in the prime of their lives. Taken from all of us for no reason. There are stories and audio tapes of the brave firemen who ran into the building while others were running out. Over 300 died that day trying to save strangers. They are the bravest people on earth and true HEROS.
We decided to take a walking tour of Ground Zero with two survivors. One was a fireman who was in the building right before it collapsed. The other tour guide was the husband of a woman who was on the 94th floor. She was killed immediately when the first plane hit. His story of that day was very sad. His wife did not work in the building, but her company had a meeting there on Sept 11th. The meeting was set to begin at 9:00 a.m. The plane hit around 9:15 am.
The fireman tour guide had a Captain take his shift on Sept 11th. Even though he was off duty, he went into action after the first plane hit. He took four other off duty men from his department and they rushed to the Twin Towers. After entering and climbing up 20 stories, he and the other firemen decided that it was not a fire mission anymore, rather a mission to get people out of the building. They helped people down the stairs and then began to clear the area around the entrance to the towers. As one of the buildings started to collapse, they all ran for their lives. The fireman fell down across the street. His leg broken and twisted beneath his body. He asked God if he would die here on the streets of New York. 2o years of service and he did not want to go without a fight. He remembered bringing himself up as debris kept falling on his head and body. He thought that a large piece of the building would kill him. He could not see or feel anything and then darkness. The next thing he remembers is being awaken at his firehouse. Several policeman had carried him to safety and returned him to his station. After attending 75 funerals in the months that followed, the fireman got up one day to go to funeral number 76. He put on his dress uniform, looked in the mirror and said "that is it, no more". He retired that week. The Captain that took his shift on September 11th was never found.
JJ FRENCH BAKERY AND BISTRO
