Next came the ugly part of human nature. Those on the ferry scrambled in fear for life jackets. When they thought there were none left, they started pulling them away from people who had already gotten them. The captain stopped them by saying there were enough jackets for all. The ferry reached Staten Island where only fire, police and rescue personnel by the hundreds were allowed to board for the trip back to lower Manhattan. Even though MJ wanted to go back to Manhattan to the Avenue of the Americas office building, all those landing on Staten Island were told that no one would be able to take the ferry back. In mid-afternoon, MJ was able to contact her mother to let her know she was alive and trying to figure out a way home.
A New York City police officer told MJ to take a local bus to the Staten Island Mall, where the Red Cross would have a station for communication and information on what to do. When she reached the mall, it was closed, with no presence of the Red Cross. The bus driver took her back toward the ferry and dropped her off at a hotel since she had had nothing to eat, drink and no restroom facilities since the time the first plane hit. Although there was a waiting list of 100 people to obtain a room at the hotel, people were allowed to stay in the lobby. MJ said that it was an answer to prayer that she found a chair to sit in and eventually a wonderful woman, a stranger named Rosemary, offered to share her room which had two double beds. Because of the horrible experience and a fire station across the street from the hotel sounding alarms all night, MJ didn’t get any sleep.
By Thursday, Sept. 13, the Goethals Bridge from Long Island to New Jersey was opened and MJ made her way to Rahway, New Jersey. MJ had a credit card and $104 in cash. She called a cab company and asked how far she could get into Pennsylvania with the $104. A cab took her to Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania, near Allentown, where her family met her at the exit ramp and took her home.
Through her horrific experiences, MJ said it was “an assault on her senses she will never forget.” She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome, and was not able to remember many details of the day for about a year. Her doctors said this was simply to preserve her health. Fortunately, she was wise enough to seek the professional help of doctors and her pastor but still it took her many years to recover. She had a scheduled vacation the next week, but she did not lose any time from work, even though nightmares were frequent and she couldn’t go in areas where there were crowds. Her doctors and therapist instructed her not to read any newspapers or watch/listen to any television/radio news reports for over a year. They referred to it as a total news blackout. Her therapist told her if she would “put one foot in front of the other and carry on with her routine, it would be the best medicine for her.” MJ was also reassured that she had “a perfectly normal reaction to a perfectly abnormal experience.”
The final thoughts MJ expressed to me were: She had to make the decision to make the best or worst of her situation; she was the one who would be responsible for being victorious or not over the terrorists; and when referring to God she said, “He is mine and I am His.” Needless to say, MJ was the victor!
Notes:#1. If Webster’s dictionary gave synonyms for MJ, among them would be: personable, outgoing, delightful, enlightening, wise, determined, full of life and a winner.
#2. The insurance broker occupied offices on floors 93 through 100 of World Trade Center #1. The plane hit the building on floor 95. Two hundred ninety-three employees of her company were lost that day, including those who were supposed to be at the meeting MJ was to attend on the 99th floor. The only two employees who survived that were supposed to be at the meeting (they were not yet in the Tower) were MJ and Kelly. MJ’s moto now is: “When you have run for your life, you can do anything.” She currently works for another company and is preparing a presentation on teaching resiliency!
#3. There are certain occurrences that each of us can remember exactly what we were doing when a catastrophic event happened. I was at my desk in a high-rise in Philadelphia when my wife called. Our middle son, who is very insightful, called her when TT#1 was hit and told her to call me and tell me to come home because he knew it was no accident. I immediately went to a television on our floor to watch the news and shortly after our office was closed.
#4. It is incredible that 14 years have passed since the terrorist attacks. Although it impacted each of us in the United States, it particularly impacted thousands upon thousands of people in New York City, at the Pentagon and in Schwenksville, who were either killed or injured, and their relatives and friends. Please pray for them, especially during this anniversary time of the attacks.
Jeff Hall, of Honey Brook, contributes columns to Berks-Mont Newspapers.
