September 13, 2001|
The saga continues…
Day 3 here in NYC, still reeling from Tuesday. Unreal. It’s still like a movie for us. It’s hard for me to go on my roof, look at the downtown skyline and see the gaping hole left by the WTCs. It’s also hard to fathom that 1 Liberty Plaza, a building that has a many floors occupied by Goldman Sachs employees, is teetering over. The city is so different, like a ghost town. Stores closed up. Few regular cars on the streets of Manhattan. Millitary and police vehicles rolling down the street. The people. No one is smiling. Somber looks. To get to my doctor’s appointment I had to walk by the playground across the street from Sloan-Kettering. Laughter from the tikes and tots echoed through the air along with the only other sound of the ambulance siren.
More to the story
Monday night my work teammates and I were scheduled to have dinner. Just us 6 or so. When I got to Village restuarant I was shocked beyond words to see almost my whole group of co-workers there. That Monday night there was a celebration dinner in honor of me, with all of my past co-workers there (around 40 or so in all)! It was unbelievable. I recieved gifts (and steak!) and cards and even a letter of support from the very CEO of Goldman Sachs, Hank Paulson, who sent his regrets that he couldn’t be there because of an important meeting. It was unreal. Afterwards most of us went to Village Karaoke to sing the night away. It was absolutely wild. That’s why I slept in. That’s why my roommate Trac slept in on Tuesday and tried to get to work late, only to be stopped at a subway station in Brooklyn, far from ground zero. It seems so long ago and unfortunately will get lost in my memory bank, as I was will forever remember what happened the next morning, going to my roof and been capsulated by smoke and debris.
I am not sure what I wrote in my last few posts about my experience, but when I retreive them I will fill in gaps to my story.
In the meanwhile…
I had a doctor’s appointment today. My biopsy will be next Tuesday. My biopsy doctor, Dr. Shaha, was in Denver at the time. He took a bus cross country to get back his patients. That deserves much props. Till then I have to occupy myself. Last night we rented movies at our apartment just to relieve ourselves of the steady stream of news. We don’t have cable or a phone line directly into our apartment, so entertainment is sparing. I tried to go shopping to buy some clothes, since almost everything I own is in Ohio (my dad moved me out three weeks ago). Everything was closed by 5pm. Justifiably so. Tonight maybe more movies or a book to fill in the time and get away from the tragedy. For those trying to reach me via cell phone, good luck. The network is incredibly busy. I will be happy to talk, but it may take awhile. Best way to reach me is email, even though I can only check it once or twice a day.
My East Coast trip is cancelled for now. I am not sure what happens after Tuesday. I will post when I know. For now I have to play it by ear. It’s hard to believe I am writing this, but I can’t wait to do chemotherapy, and I can’t wait to get home.
In all of this it is hard to imagine what God might be doing of saying. It makes my drama seem like a B-rated movie. It’s hard to imagine He’s in control and knows what He’s doing – but seeing how humans are reacting to this, seeing the charity, the love, the brotherhood, the respect, there is no doubt God is working through the midst of this, through us. If my web site hasn’t put a perspective on life to you, I can only hope the “Attack on America” has.
Respectfully yours
art