Michael Rubin
September 11, 2011
Ten Years After-Thoughts of the days leading up to, during and after September 11, 2001.
It was Saturday, September 8, 2001. My friend Angeli was coming to town and wanted to go to the top of the Twin Towers observatory. She was flying in Wednesday, September 12, 2001. I’d been to the top of the Empire State Building (86th Floor observatory) but only been to Windows on the World Restaurant and offices in the Twin Towers. I’d worked a block away at 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza where the towers were easily viewed from our 55th floor cafeteria-well the middle of them but never decided to go to the top. This was a chance to be a tourist in New York with an actual tourist. No New Yorker goes to the top of the Twin Towers unless it’s with a class field trip.
I jumped onto the website to see about getting tickets for Thursday, September 13th, 2001. Every single time slot was available so I decided we would just go and buy tickets when we got there so we wouldn’t be tied to a schedule.
Monday, September 10, 2001, the New York Mets minor league team, the Brooklyn Cyclones, were playing their first season and were playing the first of a series of 3 games for the Penn League Single-A Championships. I had my ticket in hand. I left work. Got home, changed and started the drive from Melville to Coney Island. For whatever reason I decided I would jump on the Van Wyck off the Northern State/Grand Central but missed the exit. It was a gorgeous evening-sun still up and clear and perfect weather. I had to jump onto the dreaded Brooklyn-Queens Expressway which could have been a huge delay. Instead, for whatever reason, it was clear and moving fast.
As I drove down towards Coney Island I neared the portion that runs under the Brooklyn Heights promenade and was treated to a spectacular view of lower Manhattan. This is a time photographers call the Magic Hour or Golden Hour, when the sun begins to set and the light is magnificent. With no wind, few clouds and still water, the view of lower Manhattan was nothing but spectacular. The Twin Towers shown bright surrounded by the Winter Garden American Express headquarters and other new and old buildings of lower Manhattan. It was a treat that is burned in my brain like a frame of now-gone Kodachrome film. It was a happy accident missing the Van Wyck.
The Brooklyn Cyclones won that first game and I headed back home. I was tired and got off to a late start for work on Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001. Getting ready I heard on the radio-“Don’t go near downtown Manhattan this morning-a small plane hit one of the Twin Towers.” I continued to get ready and then turned on the Television about 15 minutes later to see if there was any more coverage.
Tuning to WABC Channel 7 in New York I could see the footage of the first tower burning. I immediately thought to myself, that was no small plane. I called my dad to let him know. He said this is a terrorist attack. I doubted him. I figured it was a bad accident. I called into the office to let them know I was running late and mentioned what I saw on the television screen. I continued to watch when I saw a plane fly into frame and hit the other tower. My first thought was “Wow someone got footage of the plane that hit the tower,” followed by that “Oh shit” moment when I realized both towers were hit and also the TV signal dropped and became fuzzy as the feeds from the Twin Towers were interrupted. This was all in maybe 2 or 3 seconds. I knew then my father was right. His insights were always clear and amazingly accurate.
