Dear friends,

Sorry this is so late going out.  We just got our computers and can finally send a note.  We're all o.k.  I hope that all of you and those you love are also o.k.  Everyone around here has a story.  Here's ours: 

Our apartment was only a few blocks away from the World Trade Center, so we saw, heard, and felt far too much.  I heard the initial plane,  and Aaron was awakened by the crash.  We knew it was very close by.  We turned on the television before the news was even reporting it.  After about 15 minutes, we decided to go up to the deck on the 20th floor to scope things out for ourselves.  As soon as we got there, a woman told us that she had just seen a second plane fly right into the WTC.  I found that hard to believe and thought she was a bit out of her mind. 

Someone had grabbed the digital camera on the way out of our apartment, so we were able to see what was going on for ourselves with the telephoto lens and to document what we saw.  It was quite unbelievable.  Flames and massive clouds of smoke.  It was awhile before we realized that what looked like debris falling was actually people.  It was heartbreaking to see so many people stranded above the crash site, unable to get out.  I kept thinking that any minute, a rescue plane or helicopter would come out to rescue them.  We even saw a helicopter land near our apartment building.  We then learned that the deck was being closed, so we left.  A few minutes later, back in our apartment, we felt what was like an earthquake; the building swayed and the city rumbled.  The first tower had collapsed. 

We wanted to leave, but not until we reached Anja, who was at school.  We knew she'd be hysterical so we wanted to get through to her, and the home phone was the only phone working.  We delayed leaving the apartment, still trying to reach Anja.  Then we felt and heard the second building fall.  At that point, it felt even more intense than the first time.  We also saw on t.v. the debris rolling toward our building.  We decided to just leave and ran down 19 flights of stairs since the elevator was no longer working.  By the time we got down, the smell of smoke had filled the lobby and clouds of debris and ash had surrounded our building.  Unable to leave, we joined about 8 other residents in our building in a fairly well-insulated corridor, and waited until it seemed safe.  We eventually made out way out a side door.  There, we saw eerie images of people completely covered in ashes, along with rescue workers and mounds of debris. 

We were told to evacuate the area and joined the herds of people walking or occasionally running uptown.  My greatest fear at that time was of a stampede, as people tended to panic without any real notice.  We finally reached Anja by phone about an hour and a half after the attack and arranged to meet her at her school.  We walked about 30 blocks uptown and boarded the most crowded bus imaginable, which took us near her school. 

By the time we had Anja and had decided what needed to be done, every hotel in the city was booked.  We knew a person who rented apartments to performing artists and were fortunate enough to find a good-sized place through him.  He's been transferring other people originally booked for this apartment to smaller units, giving our family of four priority.  This has been a godsend to have this place.  We're on W. 70th Street, pretty far up from downtown and within walking distance of Anja's school.

It's now Monday morning, and we're still in that apartment.  Patrick was able to get some things from our apartment on Saturday, but under very stringent conditions and after about 5 hours of effort.  We had tried to go on Thursday night, but couldn't get all the way through.  On Saturday, Patrick had to pass several checkpoints to prove that he lived there (Aaron was turned away because he didn't have I.D. with our address).  Once he got into the building, he had 15 minutes to get what he could and come back out.  Fortunately, the elevators were working, so he could get several rolling suitcases out, mostly with computers and a few articles of clothing.  We've been told that we may not be able to get into our apartment until next week.   

We're all doing pretty well, considering.  Aaron and Anja are hanging in there just great, and Patrick and I are doing our best as well.  Like everyone else in the world, we get hit by waves of sadness.  And there are so many reminders all day long...things we need that we don't have, not knowing which way is downtown because the landmark world trade center towers are gone.

But, of course, we're among the lucky ones.  That reminder is present everywhere also, with posters of missing people tacked everywhere.  Many of Anja's classmates had parents working on the top floors of the World Trade Center.  But along with the feeling of despair that we all seem to share around here are also feelings of connectedness and kind-heartedness throughout the city.  Everyone understands.

Thank you to those of you who have been concerned for us.  I know it's been hard to make calls out.  And if you tried to contact us by replying to a previous email message of ours, it wouldn't have gone through because of changes in our mailing list process.  If you would like to contact us, you can email me at Judie@KeynoteRecords.com.

Who knows where we'll go from here.  I'm very worried about the apparent march toward war.  Let's just hope that whatever action taken is well-considered, limited in time and scope, and very specific. 

Take good care.

Hope for peace.

Judie


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