9/11 was actually my first full day in IT - at the same company at which I worked as a paramedic.
Since I was still certified as a paramedic, and still a manager at the company, I was tasked with setting up a staging area at a municipal airport in Wall Township, NJ. The plan was that as people were removed from the wreckage patients who were no severely injured would be transported to airports similar to the one in Wall so that hospitals close to Ground Zero would not get overwhelmed. At the staging area, we coordinated over 150 people form about 50 different agencies - ensuring we had a procedure when patients arrived - we were all convinced that we would soon be very busy. We did not have TV or Internet access at the airport so we relied on updates via phone calls we would receive occasionally. Even though we were about 40 miles from Ground Zero, we could see the smoke. After about 9:00 PM, we received no patients. We were advised that our services would no longer be needed. About 12 hours after the Towers collapsed it hit me that very few, if any, people would emerge from the rubble alive. I cried the entire way home. The next day, 9/12, I was part of a very large contingent of paramedics, nurses and EMTs from my company who went to Liberty State Park - across the Hudson River from Ground Zero - in Jersey City, NJ. For a good portion of the day, this was my view - http://bit.ly/Zjx4Hg (and yes, I am in that picture). Later in the afternoon on 9/12 volunteers were requested to assist at Ground Zero - myself and quite a few others raised out hands and we headed over to Manhattan to do what we could. We were stationed in an area north of the main rubble pile and waited.....and waited..and waited. And still, we saw no patients. About midnight, we were relieved by other crews from other agencies. I cried the entire way home. Over the next few days and weeks, my company sent dozens of crews to assist. I was on a few of those crews, sitting around waiting...and waiting. I cried the entire way home after each of those 'shifts'. I used to say that as long as I was physically able to do the job, I would. Even after leaving the field full time, I still worked as a paramedic once a week. But, I came to realize something, what I did was not fair to my family. While I was up trying to help others, my wife (pregnant with our second child) and my son were home alone - and terrified that the attacks were not over. I realized that I could not put my family through something like that again because I was (and still am) the type of person who would have been running up to help while every one else was running down. While I still worked for the EMS company, even though I was in IT, I was required to remain certified and be available from time to time to pick up shifts when needed - it was part of my deal to move from 'Operations' to IT. I left that company in Oct. of 2003 and moved to the DC area. That December, after 14 years, I let my paramedic certification lapse. On Fri, Sep 12, 2014 at 10:29 AM, GMoney <gm0n3...@gmail.com> wrote: > > That day was so surreal. > > I remember checking the NY Times front page around 7 or so (my time) in the > morning and i see a little blip: "BREAKING NEWS: Plane crashes into World > Trade center". > > I remember thinking "some idiot novice pilot crashed his cessna into a > skyscraper". I remember showing it to my coworker and we had a little > chuckle over it....man, how can you be so dumb as to hit a building THAT > big. > > Needless to say, a few minutes later we weren't laughing anymore..... > > My boss came around and sent everyone home not long after the second tower > was hit. It was an absolutely beautiful day here in KC.....but the sky > looked so ominous anyway. I'll never forget the sight of the contrails in > the sky.....2 or 3 big looping circles in the sky as all aircraft were > immediately ordered to land. Those smoke ribbons in the sky were so > beautiful...and yet so amazingly frightening. > > I was living with my brother at the time and he came home from work too. We > grabbed some beers and started throwing horseshoes in the back yard. Sun > was shining, beer was cold, company was good......yet we barely > talked.....had a few nervous laughs.....avoided the subject on both of our > minds. Later that night I finally cried. The images were just too much. > > Even now thinking back on it, 13 years later......man.....my emotions are > still so raw. > > On Thu, Sep 11, 2014 at 4:04 PM, Erika L. Rich <elr...@ruwebby.com> wrote: > > > > > Memories of 9/11 for me are always and will always be tied to this list. > I > > was more scared that day than I ever really admitted to, and having the > > members of the list at that time talking to one another, and calling out > > for each other, and making sure those we knew in NY were safe, was > > comforting. Comforting during a time when I thought planes were going to > > drop out of the sky and on our heads. I don't think I left the apartment > > for days. I was IM'ing with someone and reading the list that morning and > > had the news on when the messages started coming in. > > > > > https://www.mail-archive.com/cf-community%40houseoffusion.com/msg10014.html > > > > > https://www.mail-archive.com/cf-community%40houseoffusion.com/msg09981.html > > > > I lived so close I could smell the towers burning. I don't know why we > had > > to be attacked. I don't understand nor do I care to understand, the > > political issues behind any of it. If there were any. I don't go out of > my > > way to memorialize the day. I just quietly think back to how I felt, and > > what I saw, and where I sat. > > > > This list has been through a lot. And I barely participate. I have almost > > left myself for my own reasons. But hitting the kill switch has proved to > > be harder to do than I thought. And I've been right there. Sitting on the > > website. Unsubscribe selected. And unable to hit submit. > > > > But it's a REALLY sad day when Mama Maureen is so exasperated and fed up > > that she has to bow out of here. > > > > I wish people would consider how the words they so carelessly type on > their > > keyboards are taken to heart by some. Forever archived on the internet. > > Forever showing people just how cruel someone can be. You never ever know > > what the last straw is for someone. What the last "comeback" or "dig" is > > that sends that person off the ledge. > > > > Just be cognizant of what you type. What purpose does it serve to be so > > downright cruel to one another that you have to call people names because > > they don't agree with you? Or they don't have the same political party? > Or > > religious beliefs? Or even like cats or dogs? Or children? > > > > > > Trolls will troll ... why feed them? > > > > I'm just sad today. That this once really great list has come to this. > > > > E with a sad K > > and no muffins. > > > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:372572 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
