Commentary Update for September 14, 2001: James Palmeri's Letter From Ground Zero

Dear Friends of Commentary:

As many of you know, my younger brother James works in a building directly across the street from the World Trade Center. I still have not heard his voice, as phone service to NYC is still difficult, but he did send Kristen and I an e-mail. The information in the note is quite disturbing, so delete this now or save the message for a later time if you are not yet ready for such eye-witness accounts of the tragedy. James' e-mail address is:

From: James P <james007p@yahoo.com>

Hi Tony and Kristen!

Very nice to hear from you and thanks for your
concern. I work directly across the street from the
tower that the 2nd plane hit. We had already been
evacuated when the 1st plane hit, but no one knew what
the noise was. I was actually in the bathroom when
the first strike hit and a man came in the bathroom
and announced that the building was being evacuated.
I didn't even have a chance to go back to my desk and
get my briefcase. I wasn't so concerned about that
because I never expected not to be able to get into my
building again.

As we were filing down the stairs (I'm on the 16th
floor), the 2nd plane hit and this actually caused my
building to shake. NOW I knew something bad was up.
When I made it to the lobby and walked toward the
revolving doors, all I could see outside was a sea of
people in hysteria. When I walked out and looked over
my left shoulder, I saw the 2 towers ablaze. I
could not believe my eyes. As minutes went by, I saw
sights that I will never forget. I saw people
climbing out of the windows from what had to be at
least the 80th floor of the 2nd tower which is closest
to me and jumping. You can see the flames on the
floors where they were jumping from. I should have
been running uptown, away from this mess, as did all
of my coworkers. But something makes you stay, it's
weird, just the disbelief of what's happening around
you seems to cripple you. All of the people were in
hysterics around me trying to reach their loved ones
to tell them they were ok. I was trying to call Mom
but couldn't get through. I knew she must have been
frantic. The cell phone coverage was very sporadic but I finally reached Mom, who
was out of control. She saw the whole thing on TV and
knows exactly where I work.

Suddenly, without any expectation I'm sure, the 1st
tower started to crumble. It was amazing. People,
cops, fireman, EMS workers, all started running in my
direction away from this giant structure crumbling. I
was still letting people use my cell phone who weren't
able to get through to anyone on theirs. A bunch of
people including myself ran to what we thought was a
safe distance at this point, several blocks from the
inferno. But minutes later, I was looking at the fire
(in the only tower left standing) start to intensify.
This was the tower with the huge antenna atop of it.
I was looking at the building when all of a sudden I
saw the antenna start to sink lower. This tower was
collapsing as well. NOW, everyone started running for
dear life because the smoke from this tower was
chasing us like a tornado. A mound of smoke at least
3 stories high was engulfing the whole area. We all
walked at the edge the water on the west side of
Manhattan because officials were screaming about gas
leaks. I walked all the way to midtown (about 30
blocks), to another phone co building where a
colleague works and waited until train service was
restored to get home.

I will never forget what I saw. I am usually very
strong nerved but no one could avoid shedding tears
when you see helpless people still alive jumping to
their deaths. Or seeing a building crumbling with
countless people still inside. What I am not looking
forward to hearing is the names of the victims. I
have a friend who is a firefighter who I have not
heard from since the disaster. I have not been to the
gym yet but I knew a bunch of guys who work for
several brokerage firms in those buildings.

There is such an overwhelming feeling of emptiness now
that these buildings are gone. Every day I'd go into
the mall in the trade center at lunch to buy a drink,
a newspaper, to Duane Reade drug store, to the GAP,
to Sephora, to the magazine stand, to have a bite
with a friend, to the record store, or just sit in the
courtyard on a hot summer day between the 2 towers
taking in some sun. The path that I took every
morning en route to work is gone. The sight on a hazy or
overcast morning of looking up at the 2 towers and not
being able to see the top, almost like they are
reaching the heavens, will never be seen again.

My building has a lot of damage. A gaping hole in
it's side and a lot of structural damage. Last I've
heard, it may have to be destroyed. They've already
asked if we have anything there that is worth someone
risking their lives to get. I couldn't say my keys,
checkbook, pictures or personal files are not
replaceable. I'm still alive and that's enough.

Thanks again for your concern. I must say that it was a great feeling to hear from
friends that I haven't heard from in ages just to see if I was ok.

Let me know what's new with you guys. Bye for
now.....

James