I was on the 68th floor of the Empire State Building where I worked as a Director of HR. At 8:30 or so I went to the front to tell receptionist that I had a 9am interview scheduled. As I turned around to go back to my office I saw through our floor to ceiling windows flames coming out of the tower. I thought it was an internal explosion. At that time of day employees were arriving and we were gathered at the window watching the fire – and then we saw the 2nd plane strike! We self-evacuated about ten minutes before the building announced an evacuation.
Walked down 68 floors – midway removed my high heels and walked barefoot. There was an eerie almost silent scene of chaos and pandemonium in the streets (my imagery is somewhat flawed but I don’t know how else to describe it) – surreal.
Looking south in the middle of 5th Avenue I saw the towers collapse. Headed north and walked to my sister’s apartment on 79th street and Riverside Drive where I stayed the night since there was virtually no transportation to get home to Brooklyn.
It was and always will be unforgettable. This will be the first year since then that I don’t get to watch the memorial services and the reading of the names at the site.
God Bless America.
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