Suze Cameron wrote:
>
> Jeff you still out there? I know you are mostly a lurker but would like
> to hear how you are doing.
I spoke on the phone with Jeff yesterday. He doesn't have a computer at
home and quit his job a while ago, so doesn't have access to a computer.
I don't think he'd mind if I let you all know he's ok. He was at home on
23rd Street on the west side when it happened and like everyone here was
in shock about it all and trying to make some sense of it, if that's
even possible ever.
He talked about Alison's great difficulty on Tuesday morning. She had
planned to leave for Utah on Monday, driving a truck and accompanied by
a friend, and waited to leave on Tuesday instead. So on Tuesday morning,
all of her belongings were packed in the truck, the planes hit the
towers and all the bridges and tunnels to the city were closed almost
immediately so she couldn't leave, didn't want to unpack, really wanted
to get out of here, didn't want to leave the truck with all her stuff in
it on the street overnight if she had to stay until Wednesday, all of
that on top of knowing of and feeling the horror that was happening downtown.
Jeff said she called the police station in upper Manhattan and they told
her she could perhaps get out by going all the way up the west side,
thru Harlem and Washington Heights, and go over one of the bridges up
there. When I talked to Jeff he didn't know if she'd been successful and
figured she'd be back if she hadn't found a bridge to cross over. In one
of the messages to the list, Julius mentioned that Alison had called
from Ohio, so apparently she is safely on her way home. Thanks Julius
for passing that info on. Alison herself will probably let you all know
what happened as soon as she's able to.
One of the happy thoughts that crossed my mind as I was walking home on
Tuesday was thinking that she had left the day before and would then be
safely on the road near upstate New York, where it would be green and
fresh and not at all covered with ash. It made me sad on Tuesday to hear
that that had not been her experience. I'm glad to know that she's on
her way home now.
Debra Shea
