I will always remember 9/11
like it was yesterday....
i remember waking up to a "cushioned" explosion sound
and remarking to my Singapore colleague that
it's sounded like a dynamite blast
sounded weird as we were on Broadway and 77th
i then heard the second "cushioned" blast...
we were getting ready for work having
just flown in from LA for fashion week
having been at Bryant Park for the fashion show the
day before, the TV was switched to the fashion channel
hoping to see the reviews for the show we attended
instead of the usual CNN channel...
at the hotel lift, i remember the housekeeping
staff mention "plane" and "twin towers"
i panicked as i thought of home
as the Petronas Towers in Malaysia
is also known as the twin towers....
Everything else was so vivid like it happened yesterday...
going in to the office and
trying to work and
feeling stupid afterwards....
watching TV and feeling helpless
and sad and very angry at the same time...
praying that survivors will be found
hoping for rain to wash away
the dust and the smell of burnt iron...
after a couple of days, walked down
Broadway to Fifth Avenue just to get
out of the hotel ...
after my friend and colleague Janet left
when her Singapore flight was allowed out,
i felt lost and lonely...
i slept fully clothed and with my suitcase
by the bed in the event that i could
get a flight home soon....
chatting with the firefighter
in the fire station across the hotel
and feeling his sadness at the loss
of his friends...
nothing i said would have helped console him
so i just listened....
being thankful for the calls from
home from my close friends
and from my prince charming....which
kept me sane...
being thankful that my PCharming
did NOT
give up checking with the airlines for a flight out
and Insisted i had a seat on the flight
if i left for the airport the next morning at 6am
eventhough i protested that Newark Airport
was still closed...
being thankful to the On The Avenue staff
for keeping my room in the event the flight home
was cancelled.....
I love NYC and I have been back since and
I still look for the Twin Towers in the skyline as
I Will Never Ever Forget
the day that changed me....
My thoughts to All who left us that fateful day
and to their loved ones left behind...
and
to all our friends who are still feeling the loss...
much love and comforting hugs,
lilian
PS: TQ For All Your Comments
Will Catch Up On Blogging
in October.....take care