~ World Trade Center ~
New York City, USA ~ September 11, 2001

Telling It Like It Is ~ An eye witness account of the planes hitting the Twin towers. The individual writing it is a steel worker on the Pan Am building, within sight of the Towers during the strike.

The morning sky was a brilliant azure with wiffs of high cirrus clouds. Sun sparkled the deco chrome eagles of the Crysler as tourists gathered at the Empire and Trade center observation decks. We can see them from our eagle aerie here at the 60th deck of the old Pan Am; like ants we see the reflection of their lens and chrome covers. The view of the Trade towers is distant; but we have brothers there. The steel workers are my crew.

We are friends and they do my rigging. Sometimes in mornings we make pre arranged mirror flashes like clever boy scouts then salute each other by cell phone over morning coffee confirming our signal success and gaffaw like errant school boys.

Eight am yesterday morning we are hanging rigs at the 57 floor; its a busy morning we are on the Vanderbuilt side with commanding views of lower Manhattan. The Hudson is majestic in the September sun. The Circle line and the tugs dart and ply the island like it was a holiday. Office workers pour into their buildings, many with coffee in hand. It's a Tuesday its warm yet you can feel a cool Canadian front upon us.

Up high my foreman Tiny grins with his missing eye tooth. His rig rests over the side of the 57 floor; approx half the distance in height of the twin tower. We are gamming on about the weather; and and what we "gotta do"...When Tiny (who weighs 275) breaks conversation and sez "Getta load of this asshole"!

With that all eyes focus on this incoming 757 wagging its wings coming over the Pan Am just 200 feet from our deck. As the huge jet approached it veered slightly to the right; the sparkle of the sun glistened its wings and the rays warmed its fuselage our men who hang precariously off the sides of buildings are outraged at the total disregard for saftey; stand and yell obscenity at the piliot shaking their trowels as the jumbo careens over broadway just broadside of us.

The sun is very bright just now we can see the white shirt of the pilot(?) and in the direct sun we can see the heads of passengers at their assigned windows I distinctly see a blond woman at her seat. This is unbelievable. Perhaps another low level tourist ride; perhaps he came low to avoid another air craft; perhaps ...perhaps .... as we watch the plane pass the Empire state Building and then diminish in size until ...until.....poof a large ball of flame emerges from the twin tower...... all at once everyone is screaming...radios crackle ... "IT hit the Trade Tower...Tower Hit...a plane just hit Trade center!!!

We are slack jawed in disbelief; there is a deafening silence as we glance at each other in momentary stillness; radio calls are coming in from below asking for information...we watch the burning and tug at cigarettes and hang nails...... minutes pass and we observe what appeared to us a observer plane coming in for a "look see". But suddenly it too plows into the other tower ...explosion ..fire ball... no mistake this time ..that's deliberate.....all of a sudden it becomes apparent that we are a potential target.... everyone starts yelling ..."get down ..get down" like submarines under depth charge attack, huge hanging rigs and their crews drop down the sides of the building in fits and starts ...cussing and yelling as they push off the building face and scale down in record time.

Once down we head for the corner irish bars of O"Malleys And Patrick Connellys and the Ragged Sleeve where we stand six and seven deep, gain information from the sports TV 's over pints of black and tans. Office workers are ordered out of all buildings and jam into the saloons with us. There on large screens the tragedy unfolds in Washington and Pa; we think of our missing steel crew; unable to call loved ones; some crying others vowing for revenge.. all different nationalities all united as New Yorkers and patriots in America. There wasn't time for a second pint....Port Autority police from Grand central burst in saying "Get Out ..Get Out... "Grand Central is going to blow".....everyone dropped their conversation and took to the streets,,, I became separated from my crew as thousands ran down 44th street to Times Square ....... with that the towers collasped; on 42 street many stood holding hands in prayer others by the thousands stood beneath mega screens 4 stories high trying to get some handle on it trying to come to grips with the totality of this criminal act.

...I wandered for hours ..all the while thinking and praying that quite possibly the world as we know it has changed. forever......... I do not know what future lays for us ..I do not know how to get home ...my first home call was at 2 am there was alot of crying and relief because we sometimes work in this area. It seems back home there is a run on petrol and ammo ..It will be sometime before I can get a flight out. .....Blessings to you Mon Oncle