Show & Tell

My first time participating in Mel's Show & Tell. I decided to do a 9-11 post, since I missed the deadline for the September 11th 100 Words Project.

I live in NYC. I was unemployed on September 11th, 2001. I'm not a morning person, so I was sleeping at the time of the attack. My phone started ringing. I rolled over and looked at the caller id. It was my cousin. I didn't answer, figuring I'd call her later. After not answering for a while, I finally answered the phone at about 10am and found out what was happening.

I started volunteering at ground zero two days later. In the beginning there was very little security. A couple of friends and I just walked down to the site and started helping. We ferried snacks and coffee from the Red Cross stations to the men working on the pile. The Pile. The 6 story high, still smoking, pile of rubble. Walking past rows of burned out cars. We came home sore, with our clothes covered in a fine grey dust. Once security was tightened I began working with the Red Cross in their respite centers. Since I was walking in and out of "the zone," I was given a hard hat to protect from possible falling debris from rooftops.

My mementos from those days.


Now seven years later, my retrieval may very well fall on September 11th. My child would be conceived that day. Somehow this feels significant.