Memories of Sept. 11 never go away...
By DEBORAH A. MILES
waywassendingfoodandclothingin
Just mentioning the date, Sept. 11, still stirs the hearts
thereliefeffort.Youjustthinkaboutit
anditallfloodsback.”
and minds of people with memories of what they were
GinaBaake,aparoleofficerat
WyomingCorrectionalFacilityin
doing and how they felt in 2001 when the World Trade
westernNewYork,saidshewas19
andinschool.
Center became a burial ground for 2,823 people.
“Ihadanearlyclassthatday.When
Igotout,everyonerealizedwhathad
Lower Manhattan was known as the “City of Ashes.”
happened.Thenthefullimpactofit
Anyone who was there still talks about how the ash fell
came.Ithinkitchangedeveryone’slife
incertainways.Itmadepeoplemore
like snow. They remember how the steel was later stacked
awareoftheirsurroundingsandit
formedaglobalcommunityintheafter
at the edge of the Hudson River, a never-ending stream of
effects.”
WillieTabb,acorrectionscounselor
twisted, banged and dented metal.
inPEFRegion7,saidit
wasthedaybeforehis
Sidewalks became memorials with flowers, candles and
birthdayandhewas
photographs of those missing. And 18 hours after the
visitinghisfatherand
watchingthe“Today”
terrorist attack, truckloads of debris were taken to the
showonTV.
“Itwasshocking,”
Fresh Kills Landfill where it was sifted for clues and
Tabbsaid.“Whenthe
firstplanehit,Ithought
human remains. This was done for 10 months, and as many
itwasafreakaccident.
Whenthesecondplane
as 9,000 tons of debris were examined each day...
hit,Ijustknew
TABB
everythingwould
becomedifferent.OneoftheresultsI
P
EFRegion5memberLucille nowshethinksanattackcould noticedwashowthegovernmentwas
Brocatowasthere.Thehotelwhere happenanywhere. sendingoutalotofwrongmessages
shewasstayingwasjust “Ithinkthecityisbacktonormal.I andwasplayingoneveryone’sfearand
fourblocksawayfrom don’tthinkanythingaffectsthenative ignorance.I’mgenerallyahappy
theWorldTradeCenter. NewYorker,”Brocatosaid. person,butSept.11hasmademea
Shewasinthehotel Fourhoursawayfromthesite, littlemorecynicalandjaded.”
elevatorwhenthefirst ChristineFaddenwas JoyFletcher,anurse
planehit. workingintheopen atDownstateMedical
“Whenthedoors heartintensivecareunit Center,hadjustcome
opened,itwas atSyracuseHospital. homefromthenight
pandemonium.Isaw “Sept.11is shiftandwascalled
peoplewithbloodon somethingyounever backtowork.Shealso
theirheads.Therewere spokeabouttheashin
renovationsgoingonin theairandhowa
thehotel,andIthought
BROCATO
forget,”Faddensaid.
“It’sliketimestoodstill.
AlltheTVswereon,but classmateofhersonlost
therewasanaccidentin wecouldn’tfocus hermotherinthe
thelobby.Isawacarwiththetrunk becausewehad attack.
completelymissing.Ithoughtitmust criticallyillpatients. “Thatmademerealize
havebeenfullofexplosives.ThenI Oneofthenurseswasin
FADDEN
justhowimportantthe
FLETCHER
heardsomeonetalkingonacellphone totalhorrorasherfather timeisbeforeyousend
sayaplanehadhittheWorldTrade andbrotherwereinManhattanjust yourchildofftoschool.Thatwasthe
Center. blocksaway.Shefelltothefloorand lasttimethatlittlegirleversawher
“Theashwasfallingdownjustlike putherheadinherhands.Wewere mother.Icouldn’tbelievewhatwas
snow.Hugethingswerefallingfrom worriedabouther.Fortunately,her happeningthatday.Itdidn’tseem
thesky.Youwereinthemiddleof fatherandbrotherwerenotkilled. real.”
chaosandyoudidn’tknowwhatto “It’sstillbeyondbeliefallthese “EverytimeIlookattheskyand
think.Allyoucouldhearweresirens,” yearslater.Iwantedtogothereand therearenoclouds,Iamremindedof
Brocatosaid. help.Theyneededvolunteerssobad. Sept.11.Itbeganasacloudlessday.It
Eightyearshavepassedandthis Eventhoughwelivefourhoursfrom endedinash.”
disabilityanalystsaidinitiallyshewas thecity,itwaslikeithappenednext
afraidtogobacktoManhattan.But door.Youwantedtobeconnected.My
www.pef.org TheCommunicatorSeptember2009—Page17
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