Thankful that he and others ran for their lives Sept. 11
In response to Anthony Rappa’s letter titled "Deepest Appreciation for Those Who Answered the Call," I can only ask him where he was that day, because I can’t believe that he was there.
I was there, on the 105th floor of World Trade Center tower two, and watched from my window as the ball of fire that followed the unforgettable, thundering boom of an airplane slamming into the side of a building, rose up to greet me. I jumped back from the window as that ball rose, instantly feeling its incredible heat, even some 10 feet from the window.
My two colleagues and I immediately turned and proceeded down 105 flights of stairs, lending support to each other along the way as we "ran" from the unknown. When we got somewhere in the 60s, we heard the announcement over the P.A. system telling us what had happened, advising those in tower two that it was OK to remain in the building and that tower two was in no "imminent danger." Having seen the blast and felt the intense heat it gave off, our minds were not to be persuaded by the announcement to stay. Instead, we decided to continue down to the bottom. Again, all along the way, everyone in our stairwell supported each other.
When we got to the 45th floor, the plane hit our tower. We got rocked around in the stairwell, some fell, but were quickly helped up and persuaded not to panic. Eventually we made it down and out the door where we continued to run from what was earlier called "no imminent danger" and had now become imminent death if we were to stay.
Some 25,000 people apparently made it out of that complex that day; most on their own, some through the direct aid of others, and some through the subtle aid of just following someone who was running away.
If I weren’t with two of my colleagues who were insistent on continuing down, who knows where I would have wound up. I wanted to leave the whole time, but if they felt it was safe to stay, perhaps I would have been persuaded to stay like so many of the friends I lost that day were.
I say, "Hail to those who ran for their lives," for one will never know just how many people were saved simply by following the crowd.
Tom Rhatigan
Middletown