This story is taken from a book Ask Your Guides written by Sonia Choquette written by Sonia Choquette
“Kate, running late as usual, she dashed in for her daily “fix” and collided head-on with a gorgeous young man who was walking through the door, thus spilling coffee all over him. Apologetic, Kate was horrified as she tried to wipe it up. The man was an incredibly good sport, and three times he said, “Don’t worry…. I made you to this so that you’d slow down and enjoy life.” That mishap made her late to work as well, and she was consequently saved from the horror that had unfolded in the meantime. Kate returned to Starbucks the next day and asked the guy who helped them clean up if the amn she’d run into was a regular customer. When he said that he’d never seen the man before and agree that he was exceptionally pleasant given the circumstances, she was immediately co
Sunday, December 17, 2006
My Gas Station Guardian Angel
This story is taken from a book Ask Your Guides written by Sonia Choquette (by the way, IMHO this book is GREAT!:)
Talk about Guardian Angels!
"Gloria, who worked at the precise part of the Pentagon that was hit, said that she stopped to fill her car with gas that morning and the attendant was so talkative and friendly that she spent almost 20 minutes chatting with him before she left. Those 20 minutes made her late for work and spared her life. When she went back the next day to thank him, he wasn't there... and no one knew whom she was talking about."
Talk about Guardian Angels!
"Gloria, who worked at the precise part of the Pentagon that was hit, said that she stopped to fill her car with gas that morning and the attendant was so talkative and friendly that she spent almost 20 minutes chatting with him before she left. Those 20 minutes made her late for work and spared her life. When she went back the next day to thank him, he wasn't there... and no one knew whom she was talking about."
My Human WakeUp Call - The Day I Woke Up and Started Living
This story is one of my favorite and the author's website is a true inspiration to living life to the fullest....
My Human WakeUp Call - The Day I Woke Up and Started Living
written by Mike Jaffe http://www.jaffelifedesign.com/mikes-story-human-wakeup-call.htm
I am what is known as a Human WakeUp Call. My story reminds people that life is a gift and every day counts. It’s time to wake up to the fact that none of us have endless tomorrows, even though we might be living as if we do. Contrary to the frequent fear-driven messages we hear, this is a lesson in finding the possibility for change in a mundane existence and then pursuing it. It’s the small, consistent changes we make that lead to big differences.
I wasn’t always on this WakeUp call mission however. Like so many others, during my career I never played a very active role in where I headed. The promotions and job changes were spaced out well enough to give me the illusion of progress, but in reality I simply ‘floated down the river’ letting life take me from one place to another. None of it truly felt like it was my ‘right’ work. I was unhappy, but moderately comfortable.
Then, about 5 years ago, the ‘river’ I was floating in took me to another Fortune 500 company and I found myself in yet another meaningless job. I had just moved to Connecticut from New York City and the new office was all the way in downtown Manhattan, increasing my commute from 25 minutes to more than two hours each way! Each morning my wife would drive me to the station with our one-year-old daughter sleeping in back, tucked sweetly into her car seat. I would come home each night and my little girl would be exactly as I left her, asleep in the backseat as my wife waited in the parking lot for my train to arrive. Days would go by where I wouldn’t see her awake at all. Children look peaceful while sleeping, but seeing her mostly in that state started to remind me that this was not the kind of parent I wanted to be, absent from her waking world.
I soon found myself wishing away my weekdays, hoping for each one to finish sooner than the clock would allow, in favor of the weekend and time – awake! - with my family. I realized that my work felt unimportant to me yet AGAIN, I felt out of place AGAIN, and I didn’t know what to do about it. My wife was taking care of our daughter and upkeep on our new home so I was the sole financial provider. However, I didn’t know what would fulfill me and had no direction. So I did what many people in that situation do – nothing. I just kept floating downstream and time kept slipping by.
Then, one Monday afternoon, I was sitting outside my office having lunch. It was a beautiful late summer day in New York where the sky was a stunning cerulean blue with not a cloud in sight. As I sat there enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face, I felt more grounded than I had in a long while. I looked up at my office building and was overcome by the sense that somehow it controlled my life. I realized at that moment that I HAD to make a change…even if it was a small change.
Unlike my wistful thoughts of dissatisfaction in days gone by, this time I was determined to take action. I didn’t let that fleeting notion continue on its rapid journey through my mind, only to appear again months or years later, as I had done so many times before. This time had to be different! I had to take action. So I decided that the next morning, instead of rushing to catch the early train in keeping with my new morning ritual, I would instead take a later train so I could have a nice relaxing breakfast with my wife and (awake) daughter. I remember smiling at the thought thinking this was a good first step. Not a big step, but at least a new beginning. One of the most important lessons I realized from that small decision was that nothing would change until I changed it. It was clear that I would never FIND the time. I had to CREATE it!
The next morning my wife, surprised to see that I was already dressed and ready to go, asked quizzically, “I thought you were taking the later train today?” She asked me whether we were still having breakfast together or if she should drive me to the station so I could make my normal train. Little did I know, at that moment, I was standing at the crossroads of my life and my answer to that innocent question would determine my fate.
The chatter in my head started: “Do I just take the early train and have breakfast together another day? Will my daughter even be aware that we’re having breakfast? Do I risk going in late? Will I get in trouble at work? I’ve only been there a few months, can I even do this?” But then, something inside me stirred and stopped my hesitation. “No,” I said to her. “The whole point of the morning was to have breakfast together, so let’s have breakfast together. I’ll catch the next train.” It was a simple declaration; as innocent a decision as if made on any other day of my life.
So we spent some wonderful time together having breakfast in our small dining room. It was another beautiful morning and I looked at my family and just smiled. I had known my wife since we met on a Junior High School trip to Quebec in 9th grade and I knew the moment I saw her that she was the “one”. Here we were 18 years later and I was living the reality of my dreams. Life was good!
She dropped me off and I took the train into New York City, smiling the whole way. I’m sure I looked out of place among the cranky faces of so many other commuters who were beaten down by the many hours they had spent getting in and out of the city at such a cost. But nothing could bother me that day – I felt I had some control of my life! It felt great!
I got on the subway, and instead of being in my office, I was underground at 8:45am when the first plane slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, into my floor, hitting my desk, and killing almost every single member of my group including my boss and team. The morning I had breakfast with my family just happened to be September 11, 2001.
So now you see why I feel compelled to share my story with you and why I recreated my career to serve as a WakeUp call for others - so you don’t have to experience a tragedy or a near miss to wake up to the possibility of your life. So you stop drifting downstream looking back at your life asking ‘why?’ and instead turn around to look forward and say, ‘What now? Where do I want to go?’ So you and the many thousands of people I now work with can stop ‘losing’ precious days.
In many ways my life began anew that memorable day in September, but not for the reason that you may think. Most people believe that it was my close brush with death that changed my outlook on life. Yet my feeling of being alive and having control over my life spread a smile over my face long before I arrived to see my office engulfed in flames. It wasn’t the fact that I didn’t die on September 11, but instead the reality that I had already begun living on that day.
In the simple act of taking responsibility for the direction in my life, I had turned myself around to face downstream and see where I was headed, rather than looking behind me to lament that I had lost time with my family. I was the only one smiling on that subway train the morning I rode into Manhattan late, and my mood had nothing to do with missing a terrorist attack. It was because of the knowledge that I could do SOMETHING to improve my life.
Sometimes we give in to the illusion that we have no control over our lives. Yet small decisions can make big differences in your life. Do you realize that life is a gift and every single day counts? You don’t have endless tomorrows and the ‘some day’ you are waiting for may never come.
We need to become conscious so we can realize the possibility for change within our lives! So we can get back in touch with our core values! So we can be successful at work and fulfilled in the other areas of our lives! So decency, honesty, authenticity, humility, generosity and community become part of the vernacular again and are not equated to weakness, failure or a lack of ambition. Let’s call it the WakeUp Revolution!
I gave up my comfortable corporate life and chose what for me is a harder road. Today I am a business and personal leadership coach, sharing my message and empowering others through individual and team coaching, mentoring, workshops, seminars and keynote speaking. I have been blessed to have touched people across the US, in Canada, Europe and even as far away as Nigeria in Africa. I love my family and my life as much as ever (including my son who has since been born.) Now, I even love my work! How can you live any other way?
If you feel that you have no control over your life, it’s time to find one small thing you can do to move your life in a better direction. You may have continued down uninspired paths because you were simply stuck or afraid or uncertain of how to break this powerful spell. But if you can find one thing to change, one thing that makes you feel more alive, then you must do it.
What are you waiting for?
My Human WakeUp Call - The Day I Woke Up and Started Living
written by Mike Jaffe http://www.jaffelifedesign.com/mikes-story-human-wakeup-call.htm
I am what is known as a Human WakeUp Call. My story reminds people that life is a gift and every day counts. It’s time to wake up to the fact that none of us have endless tomorrows, even though we might be living as if we do. Contrary to the frequent fear-driven messages we hear, this is a lesson in finding the possibility for change in a mundane existence and then pursuing it. It’s the small, consistent changes we make that lead to big differences.
I wasn’t always on this WakeUp call mission however. Like so many others, during my career I never played a very active role in where I headed. The promotions and job changes were spaced out well enough to give me the illusion of progress, but in reality I simply ‘floated down the river’ letting life take me from one place to another. None of it truly felt like it was my ‘right’ work. I was unhappy, but moderately comfortable.
Then, about 5 years ago, the ‘river’ I was floating in took me to another Fortune 500 company and I found myself in yet another meaningless job. I had just moved to Connecticut from New York City and the new office was all the way in downtown Manhattan, increasing my commute from 25 minutes to more than two hours each way! Each morning my wife would drive me to the station with our one-year-old daughter sleeping in back, tucked sweetly into her car seat. I would come home each night and my little girl would be exactly as I left her, asleep in the backseat as my wife waited in the parking lot for my train to arrive. Days would go by where I wouldn’t see her awake at all. Children look peaceful while sleeping, but seeing her mostly in that state started to remind me that this was not the kind of parent I wanted to be, absent from her waking world.
I soon found myself wishing away my weekdays, hoping for each one to finish sooner than the clock would allow, in favor of the weekend and time – awake! - with my family. I realized that my work felt unimportant to me yet AGAIN, I felt out of place AGAIN, and I didn’t know what to do about it. My wife was taking care of our daughter and upkeep on our new home so I was the sole financial provider. However, I didn’t know what would fulfill me and had no direction. So I did what many people in that situation do – nothing. I just kept floating downstream and time kept slipping by.
Then, one Monday afternoon, I was sitting outside my office having lunch. It was a beautiful late summer day in New York where the sky was a stunning cerulean blue with not a cloud in sight. As I sat there enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face, I felt more grounded than I had in a long while. I looked up at my office building and was overcome by the sense that somehow it controlled my life. I realized at that moment that I HAD to make a change…even if it was a small change.
Unlike my wistful thoughts of dissatisfaction in days gone by, this time I was determined to take action. I didn’t let that fleeting notion continue on its rapid journey through my mind, only to appear again months or years later, as I had done so many times before. This time had to be different! I had to take action. So I decided that the next morning, instead of rushing to catch the early train in keeping with my new morning ritual, I would instead take a later train so I could have a nice relaxing breakfast with my wife and (awake) daughter. I remember smiling at the thought thinking this was a good first step. Not a big step, but at least a new beginning. One of the most important lessons I realized from that small decision was that nothing would change until I changed it. It was clear that I would never FIND the time. I had to CREATE it!
The next morning my wife, surprised to see that I was already dressed and ready to go, asked quizzically, “I thought you were taking the later train today?” She asked me whether we were still having breakfast together or if she should drive me to the station so I could make my normal train. Little did I know, at that moment, I was standing at the crossroads of my life and my answer to that innocent question would determine my fate.
The chatter in my head started: “Do I just take the early train and have breakfast together another day? Will my daughter even be aware that we’re having breakfast? Do I risk going in late? Will I get in trouble at work? I’ve only been there a few months, can I even do this?” But then, something inside me stirred and stopped my hesitation. “No,” I said to her. “The whole point of the morning was to have breakfast together, so let’s have breakfast together. I’ll catch the next train.” It was a simple declaration; as innocent a decision as if made on any other day of my life.
So we spent some wonderful time together having breakfast in our small dining room. It was another beautiful morning and I looked at my family and just smiled. I had known my wife since we met on a Junior High School trip to Quebec in 9th grade and I knew the moment I saw her that she was the “one”. Here we were 18 years later and I was living the reality of my dreams. Life was good!
She dropped me off and I took the train into New York City, smiling the whole way. I’m sure I looked out of place among the cranky faces of so many other commuters who were beaten down by the many hours they had spent getting in and out of the city at such a cost. But nothing could bother me that day – I felt I had some control of my life! It felt great!
I got on the subway, and instead of being in my office, I was underground at 8:45am when the first plane slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, into my floor, hitting my desk, and killing almost every single member of my group including my boss and team. The morning I had breakfast with my family just happened to be September 11, 2001.
So now you see why I feel compelled to share my story with you and why I recreated my career to serve as a WakeUp call for others - so you don’t have to experience a tragedy or a near miss to wake up to the possibility of your life. So you stop drifting downstream looking back at your life asking ‘why?’ and instead turn around to look forward and say, ‘What now? Where do I want to go?’ So you and the many thousands of people I now work with can stop ‘losing’ precious days.
In many ways my life began anew that memorable day in September, but not for the reason that you may think. Most people believe that it was my close brush with death that changed my outlook on life. Yet my feeling of being alive and having control over my life spread a smile over my face long before I arrived to see my office engulfed in flames. It wasn’t the fact that I didn’t die on September 11, but instead the reality that I had already begun living on that day.
In the simple act of taking responsibility for the direction in my life, I had turned myself around to face downstream and see where I was headed, rather than looking behind me to lament that I had lost time with my family. I was the only one smiling on that subway train the morning I rode into Manhattan late, and my mood had nothing to do with missing a terrorist attack. It was because of the knowledge that I could do SOMETHING to improve my life.
Sometimes we give in to the illusion that we have no control over our lives. Yet small decisions can make big differences in your life. Do you realize that life is a gift and every single day counts? You don’t have endless tomorrows and the ‘some day’ you are waiting for may never come.
We need to become conscious so we can realize the possibility for change within our lives! So we can get back in touch with our core values! So we can be successful at work and fulfilled in the other areas of our lives! So decency, honesty, authenticity, humility, generosity and community become part of the vernacular again and are not equated to weakness, failure or a lack of ambition. Let’s call it the WakeUp Revolution!
I gave up my comfortable corporate life and chose what for me is a harder road. Today I am a business and personal leadership coach, sharing my message and empowering others through individual and team coaching, mentoring, workshops, seminars and keynote speaking. I have been blessed to have touched people across the US, in Canada, Europe and even as far away as Nigeria in Africa. I love my family and my life as much as ever (including my son who has since been born.) Now, I even love my work! How can you live any other way?
If you feel that you have no control over your life, it’s time to find one small thing you can do to move your life in a better direction. You may have continued down uninspired paths because you were simply stuck or afraid or uncertain of how to break this powerful spell. But if you can find one thing to change, one thing that makes you feel more alive, then you must do it.
What are you waiting for?
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Getting Fired Saved Her Life on 9/11 - Meredith Start's story
Meredith Start
They say writing is very therapeutic and as I start to think of what I want to write, I feel horribly ill. Therapeutic? Yeah right…
I am NY born and bred. Being born in 1972, the Towers were always “there for me”. One of the coolest memories I had was the first time I went to Windows on the World (WOW). An ex-boyfriend rented a limo and took me there for my 19th birthday. It was soooo amazing. So, naturally, when I was offered a job there the following year (1992), I jumped at it. I worked with the coolest people at Cantor Fitzgerald and I took every chance I got to peek out the window from 105 floors up.
I missed the first attack on the WTC (I had taken the day off to pick up an Indian Headdress for my parents housewarming gift). The next day, however, I had gotten a call from my supervisor and he asked if I could come to work. They sent a limo to pick me up and I got to 4 NY Plaza (where Cantor had set-up temporary shop) and it was decided that we would venture up to the 105th Floor to input the trades from Friday (the day of the bombing). We got up there about midnight and two things I remember vividly - the smell of both smoke and the food from the cafeteria that lay there since Friday, and the soot everywhere. It amazed me that soot from the bombing in the garage traveled up more than 105 stories.
Anyways, I left Cantor in May of 1993. I remained in contact with several people for a while after my leaving, but as most people know, that only continues for about a year or so.
My professional life continued in the Wall Street area and I went to WOW many a night for the ambiance. My last job in NY was at American Express in the Financial Center (I now live in Macungie, PA) and I walked through the WTC every morning. I shopped there CONSTANTLY and continued to go to WOW. I loved those buildings and the prestige that went along with it.
On the morning of September 11, I remember waking up very happy/anxious. I met this wonderful man on September 7 and we had hit it off wonderfully (we’re still together). I saw him on September 8 and that night (9/11) he was coming to my apartment for dinner. I went in to work early so that I could leave at 5:00 and people asked what I was doing there. I told them I wanted to leave early to set-up for the night. Then, at 8:52, my phone rang. It was my friend from NY (David). He told me that a plane just hit 1 WTC and he was standing there watching it and his next words were “it’s a terrorist attack”. I instantly signed on to Yahoo and MSNBC but couldn’t find any info other than what he told me. My first thought was I hoped to God that people I used to work there left the company.
And then, when I was outside smoking a cigarette, the second plane hit. Thank God I wasn’t watching TV as it happened. Watching it after the fact was more than I could handle. Needless to say, I was hysterical. Then my next thought was I could’ve been there. I would’ve been walking through the building or the plaza at the time the first plane hit. American Express had fired me while I was on disability and I hated them for it, but now, I realized everything happens for a reason.
Several employees were in someone’s office here watching TV and I remember someone saying they thought the buildings were going to collapse. I said there was no way. I told them that because of their height, the buildings were made to swing 18 inches or so in any direction. I remember a Nor’easter in December of 92 that caused the building to move so much that I actually had to go down to the lobby and buy Dramamine. I remember the elevators slamming against the shaft from the wind and the movement of the buildings. I remember the water in the toilet moving. And then it happened....
God, all of those people. I’m crying as I write this.... It’s now been a little over ten months and it still seems like a dream.
I left work and went home and watched TV all day and cried my heart out. I called everyone that I could (thankfully, all of my closest friends were OK - David had gotten trapped in a building while the buildings crumbled, but he was fine too). Dennis showed up at my house early because he knew of my attachment.
Ironically, we had talked for four hours the night before and upon finding out that he never even went out in NY (he grew up on a farm in Jersey), I told him that myself, my sister and a friend were going to the city that Friday (9/14) to celebrate my and my friend’s birthdays and that he was going with us and I was taking him to WOW. I told him my two favorite places were WOW and this restaurant in Arizona. My first words when I saw him were I guess we need to go to Arizona now.
The next day, I got a phone call from my mom. Elvin Romero, a guy who lived across the street from me for 18 years (his sister and I were in grade school together), was on the 104th floor. And then, it just snowballed.... John Gnazzo, Anthony Dionisio, Shannon Fava, Mike Wittenstein, Cathy Lougidice, Vinny D’Amadeo, Frankie Nazario, Tom Damaskinos, Joey Reina, Paul Nimbley. And many more whom I can’t think of as I write this. You know what pisses me off the most? The majority of them were my age with children my son’s age… They will always be in my thoughts and prayers along with all of the others who so senselessly lost their lives.
I remember when I told my son that I used to work there. His answer was “well I’m happy you live in Macungie”. My sister called me to tell me that I was a lucky bitch because I cheated that building twice. But you know what? I don’t feel so lucky…
Yeah, maybe this was therapeutic.
http://www.vanadia.com/nycstories/911stories/meredith_start/
Lori Clinton's story
Lori Clinton
I wrote this story as therapy. I myself thought I was not directly affected by the tragedy; however, I have been more affected than I expected. Here is my story.
In August of 2000 I accepted a job as an executive assistant for one of the most prestige Insurance Brokers in the world Aon Corporation. I was so excited I was going back to Manhattan after holding a job on Staten Island, I was going back to my favorite place to work, The World Trade Center. I was going to be on the 105th floor, I was so excited! What a great view, what an easy commute and being back in the building would mean my friends from my old company was just a few floors below on 36. So I quit my 5 minute commute job and took off to the big city. I would be working for 4 of the top guys in the company.
It was a great job! The guys I worked for needed some work, however, I was the best of the best, “I could handle them, they just needed to be treated like children and whipped into shape!” I loved working in the Trade Center. I remember watching the Yankee parades from the windows. The helicopters would fly below our floor because we were so high up. Watching the tree from Rockefeller Center come across the Hudson. Jumping on the path train to play the NJ lotto. I would meet my friend for lunch and we would walk the concourse, shop. My favorite was going for drinks after work, we would go down to Moran’s in the Financial Center in the summer and sit on the patio, to O’Hara’s across Liberty Street just me and the old gang from 36, Lauren, Rich, Mike, Norton, Jim, Jen...a big dysfunctional family.
I really didn’t find friends at Aon, knowing how you cannot mix business and fun, I kept my distance, however, the few connections I made remain with me forever, Ann, Janice, Juanita, Valerie, Michele, Rosalie… and my boss Norman. Norman was this hot headed, stubborn guy to work for but with a heart of gold. He met his match when I started to work for him. We would go at it, fighting; however, it was what he needed. Norman hadn’t been able to keep a secretary EVER! His fiancée, Susan, we would chat when she called for him and he hated it! She is sweet as pie and I felt like I have know her forever. She knew Norman could be very difficult. He was set in his ways; he never took a lunch, always on the phone with clients. His office was piled high with papers and boxes of stuff. We would become friends; he would give me advice with my Mortgage, my Marriage. We would talk about his upcoming wedding, where to honeymoon, and what kind of reception to have.
In March, I got some news, I was pregnant. I took my test in the bathroom of the 105th floor. I knew things needed to change right away. I was too emotional to work with Norman. I began to have panic attacks, when getting in the two elevators to go the 105th floor, as one of my first days, the elevator came crashing to the bottom and injured several people. I began to panic when on the bus on the bridge, hyperventilating at each instance. Plus, I was sick, vomiting every day, this baby was making me sick. I approached my boss for a change instead of going straight to Norman. They took me off his projects immediately. They still did not know I was expecting. Norman was upset with me, not even a hello in the hallway. The other guys I worked for were happy; finally they had their assistant back.
I continued to get worse with my panic attacks. I would twitch when the building swayed. I would vomit in my garbage pail from the panic attacks. I went to see my doctor, he suggested I go out on disability immediately, this was July of 2001. So here I was pregnant, just purchased a house, home pregnant and sick as a dog. I didn’t want to go on medication because of the baby.
So here it is, August 28, I didn’t think things could get worse, my cousins husband Michael Gorumba, 27, a NY Rookie Firefighter, dies on the job. Out of no where! It was the hot story on news. I was terrible. I was vomiting at the funeral home. My eyes swollen shut. I couldn’t feel any worse. To my surprise two weeks to the day later, I would be haunted by my words.
It was September 10th. I get a call from a co-worker, Rosalie, seeing how I am doing. Finding out what had happened as she saw my picture in the paper when Mike died. She would tell me about what’s going on at work. Norman just got back from his Honeymoon, torturing everyone. Josephine had come back from Maternity leave. Loonie was still Looney. Jim and Lisa had left the company. Rodger was in Europe on business. We talked about my pregnancy how I was so sick. I was about to find out how sick I would become.
It was the morning of September 11th. My husband was at work in Staten Island. I was still sleeping when the phone rang and it was him. “Turn on the TV; something has happened at the Trade Center”. Katie Couric says a propeller plane has hit One World Trade Center. OK, not my building. But I was still freaked out. Then it happened as I am watching the TV the plane enters the screen and hits my building! I go into frantics, screaming, panicking. I instantly called my girlfriend, Lauren, who works on 36, she is on the bus still, however, her brother, who works for my company is in the building on the 100th floor. She enlists me to call his cell phone; what if he didn’t make it runs through my head. I can’t bear to tell anyone I know before anyone. I call Rosalie, no answer. I get my mom on the phone who is at work 10 minutes away, I needed someone to be here with me and fast. I get on the internet and find anyone to talk to.
I was hysterical. My phone was non stop. Who didn’t know I was home? Who would think I am at work? What if I was there? What if my Doctor hadn’t given me permission to stay home and been so adamant about it. I would have been there. Me and my unborn baby! And Norman, I knew he wouldn’t have gotten up from his desk, I just knew in the pit of my stomach, he was in the building and I knew when I saw my building collapse first he would be there. And who else would be there? Would it be my friend from 36, where were they? Would it be the guy in the corner office that I sat outside of? Would it be the girl that answers the phone? Would it be the little guy in the copy center? Would it be the little guy that delivers my mail? Would it be the woman at the news stand that would smile at me even when I didn’t buy the cigarettes anymore?
By the time 7 World Trade Center Collapsed I had a full house. One woman who lived in Staten Island next to a friend who worked in the Financial Center that had to take the ferry to Jersey and was stranded as all the bridges to new York were closed. Another friend who worked in jersey and my Mother stranded at my house. My husband was allowed to come from Staten Island to Jersey to come home. We had the TV on all night watching, hoping, and praying.
By the morning, I was in contact with some co-workers via the internet. And from watching the missing on TV seeing people that I would see every day, knowing that I sat in the same corner as them. I knew if I were there, I wouldn’t be here today.
December rolls around and on December 4th at 12:22 am, my hero came into my life. James Dawson was born. He reaffirmed to me that I was supposed to be his Mommy. I wasn’t supposed to be there on September 11. And that by some reason, God, decided to forewarn me and save me. James gives me strength from the sorrow I feel, and the guilt and grief that sometime overcome me.
I speak to a few co-workers. We share our grief and weird happiness that we are survivors. However, Norman wasn’t so lucky. I speak to Susan every now and then. I feel a connection to her. In some way Norman has given me my new friend, we will finally meet sometime this week. I know she finds peace when we talk about him.
I still have nightmares 8 months later. That I am watching the parade from the window and the planes come flying at me. Deep down I know that it just wasn’t my time then, however I still have sadness. James gives new meaning to my life and for that I am grateful.
I wrote this for anyone reading that it might help. Talking about our grief helps us move on. And as Americans we must!
Lori Clinton, New Jersey
http://www.vanadia.com/nycstories/911stories/P2/
I wrote this story as therapy. I myself thought I was not directly affected by the tragedy; however, I have been more affected than I expected. Here is my story.
In August of 2000 I accepted a job as an executive assistant for one of the most prestige Insurance Brokers in the world Aon Corporation. I was so excited I was going back to Manhattan after holding a job on Staten Island, I was going back to my favorite place to work, The World Trade Center. I was going to be on the 105th floor, I was so excited! What a great view, what an easy commute and being back in the building would mean my friends from my old company was just a few floors below on 36. So I quit my 5 minute commute job and took off to the big city. I would be working for 4 of the top guys in the company.
It was a great job! The guys I worked for needed some work, however, I was the best of the best, “I could handle them, they just needed to be treated like children and whipped into shape!” I loved working in the Trade Center. I remember watching the Yankee parades from the windows. The helicopters would fly below our floor because we were so high up. Watching the tree from Rockefeller Center come across the Hudson. Jumping on the path train to play the NJ lotto. I would meet my friend for lunch and we would walk the concourse, shop. My favorite was going for drinks after work, we would go down to Moran’s in the Financial Center in the summer and sit on the patio, to O’Hara’s across Liberty Street just me and the old gang from 36, Lauren, Rich, Mike, Norton, Jim, Jen...a big dysfunctional family.
I really didn’t find friends at Aon, knowing how you cannot mix business and fun, I kept my distance, however, the few connections I made remain with me forever, Ann, Janice, Juanita, Valerie, Michele, Rosalie… and my boss Norman. Norman was this hot headed, stubborn guy to work for but with a heart of gold. He met his match when I started to work for him. We would go at it, fighting; however, it was what he needed. Norman hadn’t been able to keep a secretary EVER! His fiancée, Susan, we would chat when she called for him and he hated it! She is sweet as pie and I felt like I have know her forever. She knew Norman could be very difficult. He was set in his ways; he never took a lunch, always on the phone with clients. His office was piled high with papers and boxes of stuff. We would become friends; he would give me advice with my Mortgage, my Marriage. We would talk about his upcoming wedding, where to honeymoon, and what kind of reception to have.
In March, I got some news, I was pregnant. I took my test in the bathroom of the 105th floor. I knew things needed to change right away. I was too emotional to work with Norman. I began to have panic attacks, when getting in the two elevators to go the 105th floor, as one of my first days, the elevator came crashing to the bottom and injured several people. I began to panic when on the bus on the bridge, hyperventilating at each instance. Plus, I was sick, vomiting every day, this baby was making me sick. I approached my boss for a change instead of going straight to Norman. They took me off his projects immediately. They still did not know I was expecting. Norman was upset with me, not even a hello in the hallway. The other guys I worked for were happy; finally they had their assistant back.
I continued to get worse with my panic attacks. I would twitch when the building swayed. I would vomit in my garbage pail from the panic attacks. I went to see my doctor, he suggested I go out on disability immediately, this was July of 2001. So here I was pregnant, just purchased a house, home pregnant and sick as a dog. I didn’t want to go on medication because of the baby.
So here it is, August 28, I didn’t think things could get worse, my cousins husband Michael Gorumba, 27, a NY Rookie Firefighter, dies on the job. Out of no where! It was the hot story on news. I was terrible. I was vomiting at the funeral home. My eyes swollen shut. I couldn’t feel any worse. To my surprise two weeks to the day later, I would be haunted by my words.
It was September 10th. I get a call from a co-worker, Rosalie, seeing how I am doing. Finding out what had happened as she saw my picture in the paper when Mike died. She would tell me about what’s going on at work. Norman just got back from his Honeymoon, torturing everyone. Josephine had come back from Maternity leave. Loonie was still Looney. Jim and Lisa had left the company. Rodger was in Europe on business. We talked about my pregnancy how I was so sick. I was about to find out how sick I would become.
It was the morning of September 11th. My husband was at work in Staten Island. I was still sleeping when the phone rang and it was him. “Turn on the TV; something has happened at the Trade Center”. Katie Couric says a propeller plane has hit One World Trade Center. OK, not my building. But I was still freaked out. Then it happened as I am watching the TV the plane enters the screen and hits my building! I go into frantics, screaming, panicking. I instantly called my girlfriend, Lauren, who works on 36, she is on the bus still, however, her brother, who works for my company is in the building on the 100th floor. She enlists me to call his cell phone; what if he didn’t make it runs through my head. I can’t bear to tell anyone I know before anyone. I call Rosalie, no answer. I get my mom on the phone who is at work 10 minutes away, I needed someone to be here with me and fast. I get on the internet and find anyone to talk to.
I was hysterical. My phone was non stop. Who didn’t know I was home? Who would think I am at work? What if I was there? What if my Doctor hadn’t given me permission to stay home and been so adamant about it. I would have been there. Me and my unborn baby! And Norman, I knew he wouldn’t have gotten up from his desk, I just knew in the pit of my stomach, he was in the building and I knew when I saw my building collapse first he would be there. And who else would be there? Would it be my friend from 36, where were they? Would it be the guy in the corner office that I sat outside of? Would it be the girl that answers the phone? Would it be the little guy in the copy center? Would it be the little guy that delivers my mail? Would it be the woman at the news stand that would smile at me even when I didn’t buy the cigarettes anymore?
By the time 7 World Trade Center Collapsed I had a full house. One woman who lived in Staten Island next to a friend who worked in the Financial Center that had to take the ferry to Jersey and was stranded as all the bridges to new York were closed. Another friend who worked in jersey and my Mother stranded at my house. My husband was allowed to come from Staten Island to Jersey to come home. We had the TV on all night watching, hoping, and praying.
By the morning, I was in contact with some co-workers via the internet. And from watching the missing on TV seeing people that I would see every day, knowing that I sat in the same corner as them. I knew if I were there, I wouldn’t be here today.
December rolls around and on December 4th at 12:22 am, my hero came into my life. James Dawson was born. He reaffirmed to me that I was supposed to be his Mommy. I wasn’t supposed to be there on September 11. And that by some reason, God, decided to forewarn me and save me. James gives me strength from the sorrow I feel, and the guilt and grief that sometime overcome me.
I speak to a few co-workers. We share our grief and weird happiness that we are survivors. However, Norman wasn’t so lucky. I speak to Susan every now and then. I feel a connection to her. In some way Norman has given me my new friend, we will finally meet sometime this week. I know she finds peace when we talk about him.
I still have nightmares 8 months later. That I am watching the parade from the window and the planes come flying at me. Deep down I know that it just wasn’t my time then, however I still have sadness. James gives new meaning to my life and for that I am grateful.
I wrote this for anyone reading that it might help. Talking about our grief helps us move on. And as Americans we must!
Lori Clinton, New Jersey
http://www.vanadia.com/nycstories/911stories/P2/
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About Me
- msgeek17
- Lewisville, Texas, United States
- I am a former Microsoft computer geek turned writer & artist. I am a wife and mother of two beautiful children who enjoys writing, making jewelry and art, watching tv and reading. I am a very spiritual and empathetic person by nature; I'm an "old soul" :)
