Caught in New York
September 11, 2001

I didn't really believe him about the war stuff, but the impact of the plane crash was beginning to penetrate. I told him, that I was going home. Philadelphia was home. There was a black man leaning in talking to the cab driver all this time, and he straightened up and said if I didn't mind riding in a truck, he would take me to Penn Station. I got in that truck. The truck driver was very kind, but kept saying over and over again as we drove down 7th Avenue, "Its war. The U.S. is going to war." Again, I didn't want to believe that. It just seemed a little too drastic for me. I guess I just didn't want to believe it was that bad.

When I reached Penn Station, about 10 blocks from the hotel; the schedule showed most of the trains as delayed. People were crowded around television screens in stores near the waiting area. As I looked up at the screen, the reality of what I had been hearing all morning hit, and I reached for my cell phone to call home. That's when I realized that neither mine, nor many other people's cell phones were working. This was another wake up call, and I began looking for a bank to get some change to use a public phone. After asking around, I found a bank, but it just had machines. So I got some money from the ATM, begged for change from a couple of store clerks, and stood in line to use a phone.

I finally got through to my office and left a message for my daughter to pick me up at 30th Street Station at noon. At that time, which was about 10:30 a.m., I still thought I could get a train and get out of the city. I had checked with an Amtrak policeman to see if the trains were leaving, and he told me as far as he knew they were still running, but he didn't know for how long and to get on anything that was leaving.

By the time I got off the phone, the situation had changed. Everything was on hold. And, as about 50 of us stood around watching the television screens at one of the stores, an announcement was made that the station was being evacuated, and everyone must leave. It was surreal. Everyone was so calm, we just turned and left the building, walking up the steps or taking the escalator.

A young man who had been standing watching television next to me when the announcement was made turned and asked me where should he go. He told me that had just come in from Albany, NY to go to work. He wanted to know how he could get back. I told him he couldn't and asked him if he had anyone he could call or get in contact with. He didn't. He said that he didn't know anyone in the city or where to go. He had been trying to use his cell phone to call a cousin in Queens, but couldn't get through to anyone. He sounded and looked so lost, I told him he could come with me. I knew I would want someone to help my child if she found herself in this type of situation. At least I could get him to a location where he could call his parents and stay until the trains were running again. As a parent, I knew his parents needed to know that he was all right, and would need to hear his voice.

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