It's been 25 years. Like so many people I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. It was just horrifying.
We remember Marcy Borders. May this image of her continue to shake us and remind us of the lasting trauma and devastation affecting those who “survive” machinations of mass murder.
The former Bank of America worker was dubbed the “Dust Lady” after a photographer snapped a photograph of her stricken and caked with ash after fleeing the World Trade Center.
Marcy battled addiction, severe depression, paralyzing fear, and sickness before succumbing to stomach cancer in 2015.
Only a month into her new bank job, Marcy was at work in the North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001, when a plane crashed into the building. Instead of staying at her desk, as her boss had ordered, she fled the building and ran into the street with fellow survivors.
A stranger pulled her into a building lobby just as the North Tower collapsed — and it was then that a photographer captured her terrified face in the photo that has since been seen around the world.
Posted by The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center
I could go on about 47 sleeping through the Pentagon ceremony, but I think I'll just give it a rest.
Yes, I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news, then watched in horror as it unfolded, on a TV at work. A bunch of us were sitting in a conference room, barely breathing, not saying a word, just taking it in in horrified silence.
ReplyDeleteIt was a moment that is frozen in time and memory for many of us. We heard about the first plane shortly after starting work, and spent a lengthy coffee break an hour or two later watching the television at a nearby restaurant. The worst for me, was realizing people were jumping from the buildings.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing that photo. That poor woman but I'm so glad she ignored her boss.
ReplyDeleteI worked nights. I was asleep. I will never forget waking up from a sound sleep with the thought: 'Why are those planes flying so low?' At the same moment, Tim came rushing upstairs to tell me what was happening. All I can guess is that although I did not think I could hear the TV from my bedroom, somehow on a subconscious way, I could.
ReplyDeleteI was working customer service. That night I expected the phones to be dead. They weren't. We were getting hammered. One of the calls was from a man in NYC. You could plainly hear sirens in the background. He was mad. He had paid for two day express shipping and his package had not arrived. I removed the charge for the express shipping, but I did advise him that due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, I could not tell him when his package would arrive. It is no one's fault. I am sure everyone is doing the best that they can. There was a long pause and he said in a very quiet shakey voice. 'I know. I guess I just wanted someone to say everything was going to go back to normal." I said, the whole country wants that right now. We both cried.