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While everyone sat glued to their televisions on Tuesday watching the devastation from across the country, one former U of L student was much closer to the action than he ever wanted to be. David is a theater major from U of L and works Off-Broadway in New York City. He did not want his last name printed because he feels that the attention of the events that occurred in New York should not be centered on him but on the ones who were less fortunate. Along with his wife Dee Dee they live in New Jersey but spend much of their time in New York.

On the tragic day that terrorists struck the World Trade Center, they both became deeply immersed in a drama that was far beyond anything that he had ever trained for. The following is David’s personal account of the day’s events.

“My wife and I are both safe, thankfully. My wife was 2 blocks away in a conference at the Embassy Suites on the corner of Vessey and West St. when all of this happened. She got dusty and many blisters from her shoes on her long walk uptown… happy blisters.

I think that for her, only now, today, as she finally gets all the dust out of her hair, is she realizing how close she was to the destruction. She and her group were in a meeting at 8:45 and being almost directly below the North tower did not hear the crash. The sound tended to travel further out. Only after many interruptions on the hotels PA about ÔStay where you are. You are safe,’ did someone from their group go and check. They were told a plane had hit one of the twin towers. They didn’t expect a commercial jetliner. They all thought it was a little tourist prop, and horrible as that is, they were going to proceed with the conference. Then the second one hit.

I had talked to her about 8:15 before anything had happened. When I set down with my coffee and turned on the news I thought I was watching a movie. They were saying a plane had hit… and then the second one hit. I could not get through to Dee Dee’s cell.

She got through to me at about 9:35 on a pay phone and said she was fine they were in the hotel and being sent back to their rooms to get their belongings to evacuate. They thought it Ômight be’ a terrorist attack. I assured her that after watching the second plane dive in it was, Ôget out!’ She got through again at 9:52 and said they were in the lobby getting ready to evacuate. Eight minutes later the building collapsed and neither of us had any direct contact again until 2:30pm.

Luckily, around 11 or so she got through to her mom and dad in E’town, they got through to our brother-in-law in Radcliffe, who then managed to get through to me. I was a wreck. Couldn’t call in the city but could call out of state… When they evacuated her hotel, they did so after the first building had collapsed.

As she was ushered outside into the dust cloud of the South tower, no one from her group new it had fallen. Choking and coughing, only able to see up to a person ahead of them, she and her group made a single-file line and followed policemen until she said they just stepped out of the blanket of dust into a bright, sunny day. Many people stopped at the edge or near the edge of what looked like a dissipating cloud. She and one other from her group kept going. Looking back, they still did not know the South tower had fallen because of all the dust, but they could see the North tower burning. She said what the TV’s don’t show is how much fire there truly was, how many people were falling out. Less than a few blocks later they turned when they heard the second building fall, moving quickly on to gain cover as the dust cloud surged at them once again. Dusty but fine.

She had walked to 72nd St. when she finally got a line through to me; we had been communicating through relatives in Kentucky because we were unable to make any local calls.

Her brother-in-law kept us in touch. Tuesday, I was a bigger wreck than she. Not knowing, not being able to take action, waiting was terrible. My heart and soul goes out to all of those who even now are waiting.

Her hotel was damaged but is still standing and was set up for medical aid.