September 11, 2001, is a day no one will ever forget. It was 4.30 am in Hawaii, and my father called me from Germany, telling me the United States was at war – this author remembers.
eTurboNews was only publishing daily since April 1, 2001, and thanks to our correspondent in New York, Dr. Elinor Garely, thanks to our many readers in the Big Apple, we had on-the-ground coverage with hourly updates. Dr. Garely is still writing for eTurboNews.
Jens Thraenhart, the current head of Barbados Tourism, shared his story with eTurboNews and his Facebook friends.
Twenty-one years ago, on September 11, 2001, I was living in New York City on the Upper East Side (82nd & Park Ave.), working as Director of Internet Strategy for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
That morning I was on my way to work for a meeting with a technology company with its offices in the first tower of the World Trade Center. While walking to the subway down Lexington Avenue, I saw the smoke from the World Trade Center, but I did not know what had just happened.
As I had just arrived at the subway station, I received an email on my BlackBerry from the company I was about to meet asking if we could postpone the meeting to the afternoon, as they were just asked to vacate the tower.
I agreed and headed to the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts regional sales offices on Park Avenue (across from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel), where I worked when I was not in Toronto.
Little did I know at that point how the day would unfold. I was lucky to receive the email just before entering the subway station, as my friend was stuck in the subway for six hours, not knowing what was happening with no cellphone connection.
I was happy to hear later that all the company employees made it out safely. When I left the office later in the afternoon to walk home, it was one of the most obscure days, which I will never forget, filled with the sounds of sirens from police and ambulances. People were in bars and restaurants, watching the towers collapse on CNN, some with drinks in their hands, some trying to call people on their cell phones, and others crying because they heard about the loss of a friend.
I still didn’t realize what had happened then, and the situation sunk in only days later. A few days later, I was on my monthly flight to Fairmont Hotels and Resorts Headquarters in Toronto.
Taking off from La Guardia Airport, I could see the site from above, still smoke coming from the rubles. A couple of weeks later, due to a friend living in Chinatown, we got a special pass to enter the closed-off zone of lower Manhattan, as the area south of 14th Street was closed off.
It was a scene I will never forget, resembling a war zone, everything covered in grey dust. But it was also an amazing time when people came together like never before to help heal and get through these times.
New York and its people are resilient, and it was never stronger than during the days after 9/11.
I was fortunate to spend some time with friends, especially Cornell University classmate Jason M. Friedman, who was also in New York City while managing a small boutique hotel.
Life is fragile, and things can change very unexpectedly, which is true in these times of COVID-19. But even though things changed and were never the same, we persevered. Airport security, taking off shoes, and no liquids over 100ml became the norm.
I will never forget my time in New York City and what it taught me. #wewillneverforget #911Remembered
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