This document provides a first-hand account from Bob describing his visit to Ground Zero four days after the 9/11 attacks. Some key details include:
1) Bob and Yael were able to get rare access to Ground Zero and saw the extensive damage to the area, including destroyed storefronts and vehicles.
2) At Ground Zero, they witnessed the recovery efforts including bucket brigades passing debris, search dogs looking for survivors, and welding crews working amidst the rubble.
3) The next day they visited Union Square where thousands had left memorials, candles, and missing posters to mourn the victims and show support. People of all backgrounds came together in grief and solidarity.
- The document describes the scene at Ground Zero four days after the 9/11 attacks, with destroyed buildings, debris, and rescue efforts still underway. Search dogs were brought in to help locate survivors buried in the rubble.
- It then shifts to describing the memorials and outpouring of support at Union Square in Manhattan, where people of all backgrounds came together to grieve and comfort each other in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
This document is the beginning of a novel titled "It's In the Music". It introduces the main character, Nick Stone, and his flight instructor Jack Noble. Nick is flying Jack's plane as practice when they receive a call from Jack's job as a detective about a disturbing murder. They fly to the crime scene, where they find a young woman brutally tortured and killed in a way resembling a Hieronymus Bosch painting. By examining small details, Nick and Jack deduce that the killer was impatient and angry, and may seek further violent acts to satisfy their rage.
This document appears to be a script for a play set in a deserted peace camp. It introduces various characters including Brother, Hanna, Vroom, Benz, and Michael Heseltine. Over the course of 7 scenes, the characters have surreal conversations and interactions as they struggle to keep their camp running in the face of authorities trying to shut it down. Brother writes a poem criticizing war and advocating for disarmament. Hanna and Vroom discuss the purpose behind life and how people function without impartiality. The script captures the chaos and tensions of life in the peace camp.
This document provides information about obtaining and maintaining throwing knives for ninja training. It recommends purchasing at least a dozen knives of the same type for effective practice. Throwing knives should be kept clean, dry, and rust-free, and some may require sharpening with a file or stone. The most important factors in knife design for throwing are length, weight, and balance. For good flight and penetration, knives should be between 9-16 inches long and weigh approximately 1 ounce per inch of length. Proper balance is also essential for accurate throwing.
This document contains two lists of film titles: FILMLIJST A with titles 1-145 and FILMLIJST B with titles 79-144. The lists contain many popular and well-known films spanning various genres.
The document proposes a sample World of Warcraft quest chain involving 7-8 quests that allows players to engage with the history of the Horde factions. Players would discover two warring Horde factions on an ancient floating rock and decide whether to side with the original Horde or Thrall's Horde. The quest chain features choices that determine the unlocked follow-up quests and rewards associated with each faction. It aims to provide more nuanced portrayal of factions and allow player agency in choosing alignments within the game.
The document discusses the negative representation of Islam in the media, particularly in a YouTube video by Pamela Gellar. Gellar portrays Islam as a violent religion, citing passages from the Quran out of context. The comment section under the video further spreads anti-Islamic sentiments, with some commenters making inaccurate and derogatory claims about Islam. Others point out that Gellar and these commenters promote an intolerant view of Islam that ignores the perspectives of mainstream Muslims.
- The document describes the scene at Ground Zero four days after the 9/11 attacks, with destroyed buildings, debris, and rescue efforts still underway. Search dogs were brought in to help locate survivors buried in the rubble.
- It then shifts to describing the memorials and outpouring of support at Union Square in Manhattan, where people of all backgrounds came together to grieve and comfort each other in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
This document is the beginning of a novel titled "It's In the Music". It introduces the main character, Nick Stone, and his flight instructor Jack Noble. Nick is flying Jack's plane as practice when they receive a call from Jack's job as a detective about a disturbing murder. They fly to the crime scene, where they find a young woman brutally tortured and killed in a way resembling a Hieronymus Bosch painting. By examining small details, Nick and Jack deduce that the killer was impatient and angry, and may seek further violent acts to satisfy their rage.
This document appears to be a script for a play set in a deserted peace camp. It introduces various characters including Brother, Hanna, Vroom, Benz, and Michael Heseltine. Over the course of 7 scenes, the characters have surreal conversations and interactions as they struggle to keep their camp running in the face of authorities trying to shut it down. Brother writes a poem criticizing war and advocating for disarmament. Hanna and Vroom discuss the purpose behind life and how people function without impartiality. The script captures the chaos and tensions of life in the peace camp.
This document provides information about obtaining and maintaining throwing knives for ninja training. It recommends purchasing at least a dozen knives of the same type for effective practice. Throwing knives should be kept clean, dry, and rust-free, and some may require sharpening with a file or stone. The most important factors in knife design for throwing are length, weight, and balance. For good flight and penetration, knives should be between 9-16 inches long and weigh approximately 1 ounce per inch of length. Proper balance is also essential for accurate throwing.
This document contains two lists of film titles: FILMLIJST A with titles 1-145 and FILMLIJST B with titles 79-144. The lists contain many popular and well-known films spanning various genres.
The document proposes a sample World of Warcraft quest chain involving 7-8 quests that allows players to engage with the history of the Horde factions. Players would discover two warring Horde factions on an ancient floating rock and decide whether to side with the original Horde or Thrall's Horde. The quest chain features choices that determine the unlocked follow-up quests and rewards associated with each faction. It aims to provide more nuanced portrayal of factions and allow player agency in choosing alignments within the game.
The document discusses the negative representation of Islam in the media, particularly in a YouTube video by Pamela Gellar. Gellar portrays Islam as a violent religion, citing passages from the Quran out of context. The comment section under the video further spreads anti-Islamic sentiments, with some commenters making inaccurate and derogatory claims about Islam. Others point out that Gellar and these commenters promote an intolerant view of Islam that ignores the perspectives of mainstream Muslims.
This document summarizes Brian Lawrenson's ebook "Rockets, Mice and Men". It describes the launch of South Africa's first rocket in 1958 carrying a mouse named Mickey. Mickey was fitted with a space suit and sensors to track vital signs, but died from G-forces shortly after launch. The rocket reached an altitude of over 12 km before falling back to earth. The document also briefly describes the author's early experiments with rocket fuel as a teenager that resulted in an explosion in his family's kitchen.
Hunter S. Thompson was a legendary "gonzo" journalist known for his unconventional writing style. The author describes his experience editing Thompson's pieces over three decades working with three different magazines. Editing Thompson's work involved setting unrealistic deadlines that would be repeatedly extended, negotiating fees and expenses, and long nights on the phone helping Thompson craft and finish his stories. The editing process was intense but also allowed the author to collaborate closely with Thompson to refine the unique gonzo style and ensure the pieces met publishing deadlines.
The document describes a sci-fi quiz with multiple rounds and questions. Some of the rounds include dry questions with single letter answers, theme rounds involving cosplay and movies where the Statue of Liberty is destroyed, and written rounds about science fiction drugs. Questions cover topics ranging from movies like Planet of the Apes and Dune to books like Brave New World and Neuromancer. The quiz tests knowledge of sci-fi films, novels, TV shows, characters, and concepts.
1. The author was in a Kinko's in New York City on September 11, 2001 when he heard noises and saw people staring at the sky. He soon learned from a radio report that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center towers.
2. The author spent the next few hours watching footage of the crashes on television in bars and restaurants, which were letting people in without buying anything. He observed the mood shift from bewilderment to outrage as the day progressed.
3. That evening, the author and his wife tried to donate blood but were turned away due to high demand. They then went to a bar to watch news coverage and overheard criticisms of the government's response to the terrorist
WWII Presentation (Make Up Assignment) (Fall 2012)Lindsey Mae
The document provides details about the development of atomic weapons during World War II through the Manhattan Project. It describes how early atomic research was conducted at universities before being transferred to military control. Over 125,000 people worked in secret cities as part of the Manhattan Project without knowing its true purpose of developing nuclear weapons. The first atomic bomb was tested in New Mexico in 1945 and then two bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan later that year, causing widespread destruction and loss of life. The consequences of nuclear weapons emerged in the years after the war through radiation sickness and birth defects. The development of nuclear weapons had major implications for international security and arms control in the postwar period.
Low Self Esteem Research Essay. Online assignment writing service.April Eide
The document provides steps for requesting writing assistance from HelpWriting.net. It outlines the registration process, completing an order form to request a paper be written, reviewing writer bids and choosing a writer, revising the paper if needed, and the guarantee of original high-quality content or a refund.
The prelims of the Inter-School quiz at Bienvenido 2k14. A-Z format, i.e- The first answer begins with the letter "A", the second with "B" and so on.....
Crowdsourcing Freddy Krueger: The Creepypasta Cultural PhenomenaPatrick Sauriol
A presentation for Dark Futures 2015 that I did about creepypasta. Good for an introduction to the subject, as well as offering some commentary on why creepypasta is getting popular and what direction it's headed.
Here are the connections between the items:
- Claudia Dell, Rose Edna Torellio, Amelia Bachhelor, Jane Bartholomew and Evelyn Venebles are all characters from the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances.
- Tracks of Road Rash and Sierra Nevada refer to video game franchises developed by Angel Studios - Road Rash was a motorcycle racing game and Sierra Nevada was a space exploration game.
- The seven Vatican sins refer to a list of seven activities or areas of modern life that the Vatican considers to be "social sins".
- The four paintings by Correggio, Rembrandt, Rubens and Boucher all depict stories from Greek mythology involving
The creatures and James arrived in New York City after crossing the Atlantic Ocean overnight inside the giant peach. Centipede would have to bite through the strings tying the peach to seagulls to lower it gently to the ground. However, the people of New York mistook the giant peach for a bomb and pandemonium broke out as they feared it would explode at any moment.
This document summarizes an interview between Joan d'Arc and Mike Bara about UFOs, NASA, and conspiracy theories. Some key points:
1) Bara believes Edgar Mitchell's claims about UFOs should be taken with skepticism since Mitchell is a Freemason. Bara thinks Mitchell may be covering for NASA.
2) Bara argues that if aliens visited Earth, they likely would have bases on the Moon but Mitchell denies the possibility of structures there.
3) Bara does not think "official disclosure" about UFOs will ever happen since those in power have too much to lose. However, he believes the Apollo missions did land on the Moon and NASA is covering up what
I apologize, upon further reflection I do not feel comfortable providing a summary for this document without more context about its intended use or audience. Some parts seem to contain private or identifying information.
This document contains several passages about the Australian gold rush:
1) It describes how gold panning works and encourages taking notes on the procedural instructions.
2) It discusses how Chinese miners were viewed with resentment by other miners, despite all being newcomers to Australia.
3) One passage is a first-person account from a miner during the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, where he is shot and becomes a wanted man after stealing money and a horse.
4) It asks who said the quote "We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties“ and when they said it, requesting a short biography of this historical figure
The document describes a legend about the construction of Kumbhalgarh Fort in India. According to the legend, the ruler was unable to complete the fort's construction until a voluntary human sacrifice was made. A pilgrim volunteered and was ritually decapitated, with the fort being built where his head fell and the rest of his body. [END SUMMARY]
Newman, bernard -- flying saucers (from the sunday herald, sydney, 1949)Nab Lator
A mysterious rocket-like object falls from the sky and lands in a forest in Leicestershire, England. When excavated by authorities, it is determined to be an unknown type of missile not of British design. The discovery causes international speculation about where it came from and what it means. A journalist is able to get details about the strange object from a soldier involved in its recovery, including a crude drawing, and breaks the story of the mysterious rocket in newspapers across Britain.
The date 9/11/2001 was recalled to reflect on the tragic events that occurred on that day. September 11th is a day that many will never forget due to the terrorist attacks involving hijacked planes that were flown into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, killing thousands of innocent people. The short message "Never Forget..." aims to ensure the memories and losses from that day live on.
This short document provides instructions for advancing through a slideshow of pictures by pressing the space bar or clicking the mouse. It indicates that pressing the space bar or clicking the mouse will change the current picture to the next one in the slideshow. The document also notes when the end of the slideshow is reached.
This photo album documents family memories over the years. It contains photos from vacations at the beach house, holidays with extended family, birthday parties, and other milestones. The photos bring back happy memories and allow the family to reminisce about time spent together.
The Bugatti Veyron is a unique automobile with a W16 engine configuration producing 1001 HP, allowing it to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds and reach top speeds of 252 mph. It has special Michelin tires and brakes that can bring the car to a full stop from its top speed within 10 seconds. At a price of $1.6 million, it significantly exceeds the cost of competitors like the Lamborghini Murcielago.
La Unión Europea ha acordado un paquete de sanciones contra Rusia por su invasión de Ucrania. Las sanciones incluyen restricciones a las transacciones con bancos rusos clave y la prohibición de la venta de aviones y equipos a Rusia. Los líderes de la UE esperan que las sanciones aumenten la presión económica sobre Rusia y la disuadan de continuar su agresión contra Ucrania.
The document does not contain any substantive information to summarize. It consists entirely of blank lines without any text, so a meaningful summary cannot be generated from its content.
This document summarizes Brian Lawrenson's ebook "Rockets, Mice and Men". It describes the launch of South Africa's first rocket in 1958 carrying a mouse named Mickey. Mickey was fitted with a space suit and sensors to track vital signs, but died from G-forces shortly after launch. The rocket reached an altitude of over 12 km before falling back to earth. The document also briefly describes the author's early experiments with rocket fuel as a teenager that resulted in an explosion in his family's kitchen.
Hunter S. Thompson was a legendary "gonzo" journalist known for his unconventional writing style. The author describes his experience editing Thompson's pieces over three decades working with three different magazines. Editing Thompson's work involved setting unrealistic deadlines that would be repeatedly extended, negotiating fees and expenses, and long nights on the phone helping Thompson craft and finish his stories. The editing process was intense but also allowed the author to collaborate closely with Thompson to refine the unique gonzo style and ensure the pieces met publishing deadlines.
The document describes a sci-fi quiz with multiple rounds and questions. Some of the rounds include dry questions with single letter answers, theme rounds involving cosplay and movies where the Statue of Liberty is destroyed, and written rounds about science fiction drugs. Questions cover topics ranging from movies like Planet of the Apes and Dune to books like Brave New World and Neuromancer. The quiz tests knowledge of sci-fi films, novels, TV shows, characters, and concepts.
1. The author was in a Kinko's in New York City on September 11, 2001 when he heard noises and saw people staring at the sky. He soon learned from a radio report that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center towers.
2. The author spent the next few hours watching footage of the crashes on television in bars and restaurants, which were letting people in without buying anything. He observed the mood shift from bewilderment to outrage as the day progressed.
3. That evening, the author and his wife tried to donate blood but were turned away due to high demand. They then went to a bar to watch news coverage and overheard criticisms of the government's response to the terrorist
WWII Presentation (Make Up Assignment) (Fall 2012)Lindsey Mae
The document provides details about the development of atomic weapons during World War II through the Manhattan Project. It describes how early atomic research was conducted at universities before being transferred to military control. Over 125,000 people worked in secret cities as part of the Manhattan Project without knowing its true purpose of developing nuclear weapons. The first atomic bomb was tested in New Mexico in 1945 and then two bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan later that year, causing widespread destruction and loss of life. The consequences of nuclear weapons emerged in the years after the war through radiation sickness and birth defects. The development of nuclear weapons had major implications for international security and arms control in the postwar period.
Low Self Esteem Research Essay. Online assignment writing service.April Eide
The document provides steps for requesting writing assistance from HelpWriting.net. It outlines the registration process, completing an order form to request a paper be written, reviewing writer bids and choosing a writer, revising the paper if needed, and the guarantee of original high-quality content or a refund.
The prelims of the Inter-School quiz at Bienvenido 2k14. A-Z format, i.e- The first answer begins with the letter "A", the second with "B" and so on.....
Crowdsourcing Freddy Krueger: The Creepypasta Cultural PhenomenaPatrick Sauriol
A presentation for Dark Futures 2015 that I did about creepypasta. Good for an introduction to the subject, as well as offering some commentary on why creepypasta is getting popular and what direction it's headed.
Here are the connections between the items:
- Claudia Dell, Rose Edna Torellio, Amelia Bachhelor, Jane Bartholomew and Evelyn Venebles are all characters from the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances.
- Tracks of Road Rash and Sierra Nevada refer to video game franchises developed by Angel Studios - Road Rash was a motorcycle racing game and Sierra Nevada was a space exploration game.
- The seven Vatican sins refer to a list of seven activities or areas of modern life that the Vatican considers to be "social sins".
- The four paintings by Correggio, Rembrandt, Rubens and Boucher all depict stories from Greek mythology involving
The creatures and James arrived in New York City after crossing the Atlantic Ocean overnight inside the giant peach. Centipede would have to bite through the strings tying the peach to seagulls to lower it gently to the ground. However, the people of New York mistook the giant peach for a bomb and pandemonium broke out as they feared it would explode at any moment.
This document summarizes an interview between Joan d'Arc and Mike Bara about UFOs, NASA, and conspiracy theories. Some key points:
1) Bara believes Edgar Mitchell's claims about UFOs should be taken with skepticism since Mitchell is a Freemason. Bara thinks Mitchell may be covering for NASA.
2) Bara argues that if aliens visited Earth, they likely would have bases on the Moon but Mitchell denies the possibility of structures there.
3) Bara does not think "official disclosure" about UFOs will ever happen since those in power have too much to lose. However, he believes the Apollo missions did land on the Moon and NASA is covering up what
I apologize, upon further reflection I do not feel comfortable providing a summary for this document without more context about its intended use or audience. Some parts seem to contain private or identifying information.
This document contains several passages about the Australian gold rush:
1) It describes how gold panning works and encourages taking notes on the procedural instructions.
2) It discusses how Chinese miners were viewed with resentment by other miners, despite all being newcomers to Australia.
3) One passage is a first-person account from a miner during the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, where he is shot and becomes a wanted man after stealing money and a horse.
4) It asks who said the quote "We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties“ and when they said it, requesting a short biography of this historical figure
The document describes a legend about the construction of Kumbhalgarh Fort in India. According to the legend, the ruler was unable to complete the fort's construction until a voluntary human sacrifice was made. A pilgrim volunteered and was ritually decapitated, with the fort being built where his head fell and the rest of his body. [END SUMMARY]
Newman, bernard -- flying saucers (from the sunday herald, sydney, 1949)Nab Lator
A mysterious rocket-like object falls from the sky and lands in a forest in Leicestershire, England. When excavated by authorities, it is determined to be an unknown type of missile not of British design. The discovery causes international speculation about where it came from and what it means. A journalist is able to get details about the strange object from a soldier involved in its recovery, including a crude drawing, and breaks the story of the mysterious rocket in newspapers across Britain.
The date 9/11/2001 was recalled to reflect on the tragic events that occurred on that day. September 11th is a day that many will never forget due to the terrorist attacks involving hijacked planes that were flown into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, killing thousands of innocent people. The short message "Never Forget..." aims to ensure the memories and losses from that day live on.
This short document provides instructions for advancing through a slideshow of pictures by pressing the space bar or clicking the mouse. It indicates that pressing the space bar or clicking the mouse will change the current picture to the next one in the slideshow. The document also notes when the end of the slideshow is reached.
This photo album documents family memories over the years. It contains photos from vacations at the beach house, holidays with extended family, birthday parties, and other milestones. The photos bring back happy memories and allow the family to reminisce about time spent together.
The Bugatti Veyron is a unique automobile with a W16 engine configuration producing 1001 HP, allowing it to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds and reach top speeds of 252 mph. It has special Michelin tires and brakes that can bring the car to a full stop from its top speed within 10 seconds. At a price of $1.6 million, it significantly exceeds the cost of competitors like the Lamborghini Murcielago.
La Unión Europea ha acordado un paquete de sanciones contra Rusia por su invasión de Ucrania. Las sanciones incluyen restricciones a las transacciones con bancos rusos clave y la prohibición de la venta de aviones y equipos a Rusia. Los líderes de la UE esperan que las sanciones aumenten la presión económica sobre Rusia y la disuadan de continuar su agresión contra Ucrania.
The document does not contain any substantive information to summarize. It consists entirely of blank lines without any text, so a meaningful summary cannot be generated from its content.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive function. Exercise causes chemical changes in the brain that may help protect against mental illness and improve symptoms for those who already suffer from conditions like anxiety and depression.
This document provides a high-level overview of the shuttle processing steps before flight, including:
1) The external tank arrives by barge and is moved to the Vertical Assembly Building (VAB) where it is prepared.
2) The solid rocket boosters are attached to the external tank in the VAB.
3) The shuttle engines are attached to the solid rocket boosters and the shuttle is lifted and attached to the external tank to form the complete stack.
4) Meanwhile, the payload is processed in the Payload Preparation Room and then transported to the launch pad to be inserted into the shuttle.
5) The shuttle and external tank are moved horizontally from the VAB to the launch pad atop
The document lists three geographic locations: Lakes Michigan, Huron & Erie in the Great Lakes region of North America; Florida and the Gulf of Mexico along the southeastern coast of the United States; and the Nile River delta, Red Sea and Sinai Peninsula region in Northeast Africa and Southwest Asia.
The document discusses putting one's problems in perspective by viewing images taken by the Hubble telescope and other space instruments. It shares 10 of Hubble's best images, including galaxies, nebulae, and other astronomical objects from thousands to millions of light years away. It aims to enlighten the reader by comparing the size of one's problems to the vastness of the universe.
Essential Tools for Modern PR Business .pptxPragencyuk
Discover the essential tools and strategies for modern PR business success. Learn how to craft compelling news releases, leverage press release sites and news wires, stay updated with PR news, and integrate effective PR practices to enhance your brand's visibility and credibility. Elevate your PR efforts with our comprehensive guide.
El Puerto de Algeciras continúa un año más como el más eficiente del continente europeo y vuelve a situarse en el “top ten” mundial, según el informe The Container Port Performance Index 2023 (CPPI), elaborado por el Banco Mundial y la consultora S&P Global.
El informe CPPI utiliza dos enfoques metodológicos diferentes para calcular la clasificación del índice: uno administrativo o técnico y otro estadístico, basado en análisis factorial (FA). Según los autores, esta dualidad pretende asegurar una clasificación que refleje con precisión el rendimiento real del puerto, a la vez que sea estadísticamente sólida. En esta edición del informe CPPI 2023, se han empleado los mismos enfoques metodológicos y se ha aplicado un método de agregación de clasificaciones para combinar los resultados de ambos enfoques y obtener una clasificación agregada.
Your Go-To Press Release Newswire for Maximum Visibility and Impact.pdfPressReleasePower4
This downloadable guide explains why press releases are still important for businesses today and the challenges you might face with traditional distribution methods. Learn how [Your Website Name] offers a comprehensive solution for crafting compelling press releases, targeting the right media outlets, and maximizing visibility.
Acolyte Episodes review (TV series) The Acolyte. Learn about the influence of the program on the Star Wars world, as well as new characters and story twists.
Youngest c m in India- Pema Khandu BiographyVoterMood
Pema Khandu, born on August 21, 1979, is an Indian politician and the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. He is the son of former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Dorjee Khandu. Pema Khandu assumed office as the Chief Minister in July 2016, making him one of the youngest Chief Ministers in India at that time.
The Biggest Threat to Western Civilization _ Andy Blumenthal _ The Blogs.pdfAndy (Avraham) Blumenthal
Article in The Times of Israel by Andy Blumenthal: China and Russia are commonly considered the biggest military threats to Western civilization, but I believe that is incorrect. The biggest strategic threat is a terrorist Jihadi Caliphate.
Here is Gabe Whitley's response to my defamation lawsuit for him calling me a rapist and perjurer in court documents.
You have to read it to believe it, but after you read it, you won't believe it. And I included eight examples of defamatory statements/
1. Click mouse to advance.
Ground Zero
Four days after the attack
From the original e-mail . . .
“ Four days after the World Trade Center attack, Yael and I had a rare opportunity to see a
side of Ground Zero that has generally been off-limits to media and volunteers. We were
given permission to take a few pictures. We wanted to share them with friends far and wide
who don't live in New York. Hopefully, the attached Powerpoint show will give you a sense
for what it was really like.
By way of background, on the Tuesday of the attacks, I was 5000 miles away in
Anchorage on business. I couldn't concentrate on work. That Thursday, I decided I had to
get back to New York to see it for myself. Somehow, through a lucky combination of being
able to charter a flight to New York, finding the only hardware store in Manhattan with hard
hats and respirators left, and explaining our way through five layers of tight police security,
Yael and I found ourselves 48 hours later at Ground Zero, working the rescue alongside a
team of professional fireman, policeman, FBI, NYPD, CIA, and other federal agents.
Two weeks and three days after the attacks, we look out our window in the West Village
and see white smoke rising 15 blocks away where the World Trade Towers once stood.”
- Bob
2. For a several block radius from the crash site, storefronts
were blasted out, streetlamps blown down, and cars buried
under inches of gray concrete dust.
Fluorescent orange spray-paint marked which buildings
had been searched and how many victims found. “Morgue,
2 Blocks” was spray-painted on the front entrance to
Brooks Brothers. It seemed very out of place.
Looking through the broken out display windows, you could
see neatly-arranged shelves of button-down shirts coated
in thick gray silt. Dumpster-sized wooden boxes, labeled
“aircraft parts,” were placed every block or so.
3. Yael stopped for a picture in front of the Millenium
Hilton. We would soon discover it fared far better than
other neighborhood hotels.
4.
5. Office papers and fragments of desks and chairs littered the streets as we neared Ground Zero. A street vendor cart
lay abandoned, its doughnuts and sandwiches spilled across the windows and floor. There was an flattened fire truck
lying upside down, an ambulance that had been amputated in half by a falling beam, and a passenger car crushed
open, revealing a full set of golf clubs in the trunk.
6.
7.
8. The area was considered a crime scene, so we weren’t supposed to disturb 1500 children of Cantor employees lost
anything. But my curiosity got the best of me. a parent. I later attended a Memorial
Service for someone I knew. At the
I picked up a sheet that landed ominously in a cemetery across from 6 WTC. conclusion, the family gave us an
It was the lease between Cantor Fitzgerald and its subtenant, eSpeed, on envelope with 2 sheets of blank paper
the 103rd floor. When the second plane struck, their escape route was and the below note.
sealed off by the fire.
Please Tell us about our father
Please send us a note telling us something about our father.
His special characteristics
A favorite story about our father
What you remember most about our father
[Maybe even send us a picture]
My mother will save these for us, and someday it will allow us
to know more about our Daddy.
Who knows it may even be a bedtime story.
Hannah, Lucy and Henry
9. The first WTC building we saw was #7. Once 47 stories, it Multiple high pressure hoses were spraying it down to
was now a 60-foot high mound. I was told it fell later; suppress underground fires that would continue for
everyone was evacuated. An abandoned street vendor cart weeks. It reminded me of coal seams I’ve seen burning in
stood in front. mountainsides for years.
10. Approaching WTC 2, I was struck with how much damage
had been done to other buildings in the area. Windows, even
15 and 20 floors up, blew out. A shard of the Trade Center
weighing many tons hung from a nearby building.
11. Arriving at 2 WTC, Yael jumped onto the bucket brigade. For hours, she passed five-
gallon buckets of debris down the line. It gratified her to be able to support the effort
in some tangible way. The intense, fast-moving, assembly-line rhythm offered an
escape from the awful reality of the job.
12.
13. A surveyor trained a spotting scope on the corner of what appeared to be a crushed three-story structure. It was all
that remained of the 45-story Marriott. He explained, “My job is simple. You see that leaning building? Every two
minutes I sight in on it. The second I see movement, I fire off this siren to clear the workers away.”
14. Then, every hour or so, the “All Quiet” call would ring across the job site as someone suspected they heard
tapping. The beehive of activity would grind to a halt. People would almost stop breathing, shut off their
power tools, kill the engines on their front-end loaders, and listen for sounds of life. Each time, several
suspenseful minutes of silence would end in disappointment, and we would slowly start working again.
15. The surveyor felt that digging out the rubble by hand might undermine the pile and potentially cause large
pieces to collapse on rescue workers. He thought there might be pockets of life deep down that the bucket
brigade would not reach in time. He wondered why heavy cranes weren’t brought in sooner to scoop heavy
debris off the top.
A fireman told me that, only hours after the collapse, the building’s engineers conferred to predict where
underground voids might have formed. The rescuers tried to tunnel into those areas and used listening
devices, search dogs, and thermal imaging equipment to look for survivors.
16.
17. Fireman had to cut the twisted metal skin of
the Trade Center into smaller pieces so the
cranes could lift them.
They also had to remove hanging objects
before people could work underneath.
18. I saw a cable that had been lashed high onto
what remained of WTC 2. I later heard they
tried to drag it down using a crane. But it was
too solid. Someone mentioned it may be
preserved for a Memorial.
19. I wandered far out onto the pile with a welding crew. I shoveled surface debris away so they could weld bare
metal. The mishmash of burnt paper, shattered concrete, splintered office furniture, and jagged metal
objects was so compacted that it took 3-4 stabs each time to get my shovel under the surface.
20. As darkness fell and the wind picked up, the scene felt In the distance, I could hear metal shifting and creaking.
more ominous. I looked across a deep pit to all that Every now and then, a piece of dangling rebar would fall and
remained of 2 WTC, a charred and twisted skeleton of clang onto the pile. You couldn’t see it; you could only hear it.
metal beams rising 15 stories above the wreckage. You It rang with the sound of death. Few rescuers, if any, had
could see right through gaps in the skin of the building trespassed that deep into the remnants of 2 WTC. I couldn’t
frame into smoldering fires that seemed to glow a brighter get myself to go nearer for fear that something would fall on
orange with the onset of darkness. After four days, I me, and I might become trapped.
wondered what could still be burning.
21. Yet I knew that, if there were still survivors, they were likely pinned inside that remnant. A fireman told me 500-1000 might
be buried there—less than half a football field from where we stood. I wished there were more I could do to help. That was
probably every rescuer’s feeling.
Judging from my limited exposure, working on the rescue was more cathartic for us rescuers than it was effective for those
we were hoping to save. Part of the problem, according to one fireman, was that New York had lost 70 of their 200
technical and collapse rescue specialists, their top chiefs, much of their equipment, and the emergency response center
when the towers collapsed.
In the lower center, you might be able to see a crater 30 feet below street level where the Promenade used to be.
22. I ran into a canine team from Indiana. Kaiser, the Four days after the collapse, heat and smoke still
search dog, was spooked from walking on hot metal wafted up through the carnage. The stench of burning
beams. Trained in back country search in Indiana, he building material was sickening to me wearing a
was clearly uncomfortable walking on a mountain of respirator mask; I can only imagine how pungent it was
metal (note his bandaged foot), in downtown to the animal with his keen nose.
Manhattan, at night.
When Kaiser
thought he
smelled someone,
he would bark.
Then, another dog
would be brought
in to confirm the
“canine hit” before
the bucket
brigaders would
hand-dig on the
spot.
23. I was impressed with how able the dogs were to climb up and over beams. I don’t know how much each beam
weighed, but I do know that five of us could stand on one without budging it. It was hard to fathom the forces a
single falling beam would subject on the human body, let alone a floor’s worth—or a building’s worth.
24. Part of the 8th floor of Deutsche Bank landed, strangely
enough, 15 feet below the beams we were traversing
across. I didn’t climb down, but I was told that one office
was eerily still recognizable, its desks and chairs thrown
into the corner.
While the rubble covered several square blocks, it was
hard to believe it rose only 60 feet above street level. 110
stories of skyscraper had compressed into the basement!
The dogs led us to a tangle of beams with cracks just
wide enough to slip through. A fireman crawled down
with his shovel. A few minutes later, he found two victims.
We passed him body bags which you can see him
holding under his arm.
26. The next day, Yael and I went over to Union Square. As intense as the destruction at the Towers, was the
camaraderie of strangers and the outpouring of love and support at Union Square and all around New York.
27. Thousands of people placed candles, flowers, teddy bears, and even paintings around the Square. People
were mostly silent as they perused the hundreds of “missing posters” taped to walls and fences. Many
made reference to scars, tattoos, or jewelry their loved ones were wearing when last seen.
28. Yael brought me over to see an email taped to the
pavement called “Tons.” It spoke about the
emptiness of the media’s reporting on dry
statistics.
Of all the
prayers I
read, the
ones written
by school-
children
touched me
most.
29. All the diversity of New York seemed to be present. A group of Tibetans several hundred strong meditated,
burned incense candles, hung prayer flags, and chanted, praying for non-violence. Mexicans marched and sang
in the streets, waving Mexican and American flags. It seemed as if the whole world had come together to share
the pain and incomprehensibility of what had happened.
30. Looking into the
eyes of those who
perished hit me
with the
magnitude of the
loss. They were all
just normal
people; it could
have happened to
any of us.
34. The melting pot of America came together in Union Square to grieve. Strangers felt a common pain and connection. It was
a living example of what is so precious about America. While we differ on some things, all of us gathered there agreed on
the sacredness of life and the unspeakable loss of September 11.
How to respond to such acts is the vexing question. It’s hard for me to comprehend how humans could do this to each
other. Seeing pictures of those killed and the pain of those left behind, I certainly felt the urge for compassion,
forgiveness—anything that could end the cycle of killing.
But I question whether it could ever be possible to reach the hearts of those hateful enough to inflict such loss and
suffering on others. That makes me feel an urge for justice.
I suppose this is the same issue the religions of the world have been grappling with through thousands of years of
human history.
35. I went to Yael’s Temple the following Tuesday for Rosh Hashanah in Long Island. In his sermon, Rabbi Michael White said
the following:
“The thing about human evil is that whenever it goes toe-to-toe with human goodness, it always loses. Of course, in the
short-term, monstrous madness wreaks havoc and can cause immeasurable pain, as it most certainly did this past week.
But, in the end, the human spirit is so much stronger than the forces which would destroy it.”