At approximately 8 A.M on Tuesday September 11th, 2001 I walked in classroom KB at Columbia Grammar School. I was terrified. I didn't know anyone in the classroom, and I didn't know any of the teachers. I had only been in this building once before, and I was a very anxious five year old. I would not let my mother leave my side. I could not let her go; she had to stay. These new faces were too scary for me to be with for a whole day without my mom there. She was supposed to drop me off and then go to work, but she was not gonna desert me there sobbing and scared. So my mother told me she would sit out in the hallway and go in to work late that day, or just skip it altogether. As it turned out, my mother skipped going to work that day. My mom worked in the JP Morgan Chase Center, and took the 1 train everyday to Cortland Station. The train from 96th street and Broadway (the closest stop to my school) to Cortland Station could take anywhere from about 30 to 40 minutes. Had my mom left my school ten minutes after dropping me off, she could have arrived at Cortland Station around 8:45 A.M. Luckily, she never left my side. At 8:46 A.M American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the northern facade of the World Trade Center's North Tower. My mother could have been anywhere at that point. She could have been pulling into the train station. She could have been walking on the street outside the World Trade Center; she probably should have been. But there she was sitting on the staircase outside KB; a good 8 miles from the Trade Center.
At 9:08 A.M. on September 11, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the Southern Facade of the World Trade Center's South Tower. My mom was still there with me. A few minutes later, my Kindergarten class was dismissed early. The teacher said to the class that they had to end school early today because something had happened at the World Trade Center. They called all the children's parents to come pick up their kids, but my parent had never left. My mom took me home and tried to explain what was going on. My five year-old brain could not comprehend what was happening. I asked my mom if I could still have my 6th birthday party in 3 weeks at Windows of the World (a restaurant on the 107th floor of the North Tower), and she told me we probably would not be able to have it there anymore.
At 9:08 A.M. on September 11, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the Southern Facade of the World Trade Center's South Tower. My mom was still there with me. A few minutes later, my Kindergarten class was dismissed early. The teacher said to the class that they had to end school early today because something had happened at the World Trade Center. They called all the children's parents to come pick up their kids, but my parent had never left. My mom took me home and tried to explain what was going on. My five year-old brain could not comprehend what was happening. I asked my mom if I could still have my 6th birthday party in 3 weeks at Windows of the World (a restaurant on the 107th floor of the North Tower), and she told me we probably would not be able to have it there anymore.