Sent: December 11, 2001 4:34 AM
Subject: Three Month Update - Revisiting Ground Zero and Statistics
> December 11, 2001
>
> Hi all,
>
> It has been 3 months since the attack on the Twin Towers downtown.  A few of
> you have wondered what's been going on, so below are some musings, newsy
> bits, and statistics from your Woman On The Street.
>
> On Saturday, November 24th, I went down to Ground Zero again, with two
> friends who used to live in New York.  They hadn't been back to the city
> since before the attacks.
>
> I didn't think much of it, going down there again, but was fascinated by my
> reaction to it all.
>
> First of all the smell was still just awful - the fires are STILL burning
> underground - that acrid, chemical, asbestos, concrete, decomposing body
> smell.  That alone made my head ache and spin back to that week following
> the collapse.  But the zone had shrunk considerably (SO impressed with how
> much they've cleaned up) and we could get closer than I'd ever been - and
> the sight of the wreckage made my stomach churn too.  Add that to the
> constant heavy thuk-thuk-thuk-thuk of the army and news helicopters
> overhead, the sirens that wailed from various areas of the surrounding
> neighborhoods, and airplanes coming in for landings at Newark Intl' Airport
> across the Hudson, and basically,  I freaked out a little bit.  I'm one of
> the most un-paranoid person I know, but with all this sensory overload, I
> didn't know what to do.  I even KNEW that I was freaking out because of the
> smells and noises and sights, but the more I tried to ignore it, the more I
> panicked.
>
> Later, thanks to NY1 (our 24-hour local news station, who is still having
> psychologists on the air every day at 11am to discuss the aftermath and take
> calls from viewers still dealing with the events from that day) and a little
> help from the internet, I was given the rational explanation for all of
> this.  (Informed citizens skip the next three paragraphs.)
>
> When the thalamus (a part of the brain) receives sensory signals, it relays
> them to the appropriate part of the cerebral cortex.  The four lobes and
> their functions are as follows:
>
> Frontal lobe: Controls reasoning, emotions (among other things).
> Parietal lobe: It interprets sensory signals and integrates the information.
> Occipital lobe: Processes visual information.
> Temporal lobe: Processes sound. An important part of learning, long term
> memory, and emotions (among other things).
>
> What the nice shrink on NY1 was basically saying, was that when we hear
> sirens, see airplanes, smell that smell, or overload our brains with all of
> the above, we have learned to go into "Alert (panic?) Mode" .   People still
> living down in Battery Park city (adjacent to Ground Zero)as well as the
> workers down there are more often then not IN "Alert Mode" all the time -
> they never "relax".  Which is causing stress and health issues for all
> involved.
>
> Speaking of health issues, there has been concern raised about the quality
> of the air down there.  It really IS bad.  I didn't want to breath through
> my nose because of the smell - yet I didn't want to breathe through my mouth
> because of all the particles floating around.  You could see them on our
> dark jackets and coats.
>
> The Health Care Officials and EPA folks have said it's OK - but also
> admitted they are not used to testing THIS kind of air, as it has all sorts
> of stuff in it not usually tested.  I.e. "unregulated nuisance particles",
> like powdered cement.  Nice.  The tests are ongoing, so we shall see.
>
> Also when walking around down there we discovered that the walkway and path
> on the Hudson River side of the World Financial Center was opened (where I
> love to skate)!!!  We walked up the long path lined with Honeysuckle Trees
> and flowers and benches... all mostly and sadly deserted.  On a Saturday it
> would usually be packed with families and people skating or jogging.  It was
> eerily quiet. One lady was chatting with her friend on a bench, she was
> wearing a white respirator mask.  I kindof wished I had one.
>
> There is a plaza surrounding where the World Financial Center buildings meet
> on the river side - the little harbor and docks, usually filled with party
> and tour boats and private yachts, were completely empty.  Looking at the
> huge glass arch and skylight covering the Winter Garden (a concert space)
> and the shopping mall inside, all looked completely normal, until you got a
> little closer and could see through to the other side(where the Towers used
> to be).  The glass was completely shattered and the steel frames stuck up
> from every angle, all twisted and grotesque.  Looking up at the corner of
> the tallest building next to the glass, about halfway up, it looked like
> Godzilla had taken a bite out of it.  Just one corner missing, a neat little
> "bite", floors exposed and sagging, wire and steel going every which way.
>
> (I found out later that this is the American Express building - apparently
> some of the offices there are now open again and they are letting people
> back in the building.)
>
> We turned back to go towards the towers and passed so many memorials, people
> are still leaving photos, poems, letters.  One walkway was lined with
> nothing but teddy bears in every imaginable color and shape.  The
> Policeman's Memorial (a permanent structure recessed into the ground, made
> of black marble) was overflowing with offerings to New York's finest.  On
> one wall hundreds of policemen from other cities, states, and countries left
> their official patches taped to the wall.
>
> Another thing about going down there now, was that it was completely overrun
> with tourists.  Many had brought their kids.  To see bored kids chasing each
> other around down there made me so angry. I understand people wanting to see
> this, to understand it for themselves, but them standing next to the
> memorials, smiling while their picture was taken was all a bit too much.   I
> hesitate griping on this too much because I have taken my share of photos of
> this tragedy.  Although I don't remember having any smiling people in mine.
>
> Apparently the tourism industry is still suffering here, although from
> wandering around THIS weekend you'd never know it.  Tons of people packed
> the streets, doing their Christmas shopping.  Whether they were from the
> Midwest and beyond or just the B&T (bridge and tunnel, as in, New Jersey)
> crowd, I can't say.
>
> The Guggenheim and Whitney museums have both laid off 20% of their staff due
> to the lack of visitors.
>
> The City, Metro, and Nation sections of the Sunday Times still concentrate
> mostly on the issues surrounding the WTC collapse.  In the weather section
> there is also a headline that reads "Today in Afghanistan, expected highs
> and weather patterns at midday" and a map of Afghanistan to accompany it.
>
> Anxiety and stress are still an issue living and working here.  Just this
> past week the city ordered mandatory counseling and therapy for all NYPD
> officers to help deal with the situation.  A new ad campaign called "Project
> Liberty", a 1-800 number, just started running here, to help those still
> feeling the effects of the attacks.
>
> (On a personal note, I recently had 2 dreams, one was about being in a
> crashing airplane, the other was about watching a city burn in the distance.
> Why I am dreaming about this now, I don't know.)
>
> Substance abuse is up 12% since the 11th.  Federal funding, in addition to
> all that has been allotted for rebuilding streets and buildings and
> companies, has been given to substance abuse programs to help "rebuild
> people".
>
> NY1 News (that 24 hour news station), as well as having that call-in show
> with psychologists every day at 11am, also have a "New York Today" segment
> every night at 8pm, with purely New York news relating to the aftermath of
> the collapse of the towers; information for people still needing help,
> including the many small businesses that were affected, places for families
> of victims to get help, financial resources, statistical updates, etc.
>
> Other random factoids from Ground Zero:
>
> 20 bodies were found this past weekend, in stairwells under the towers the
> recovery workers were removing debris from.  Another body was found
> yesterday (Monday).
>
> The numbers of missing ARE declining though, as paperwork and duplicate
> forms are cross-referenced and "found" people are removed from the missing
> bin.  The missing/dead numbers are down to 3,152 (from 6,000+)  now only
> slightly more than than those killed in Pearl Harbor (2,400).  Many people
> are concerned that these new lower numbers will lessen the effect and impact
> this whole thing has had on the city and the country and the world, and much
> news is being made of this.  I think it's more of a testament to the men and
> women who died during the recovery efforts - despite all those who died, so
> many more lives were saved than originally anticipated.  Pretty amazing.
>
> The latest numbers:
>
> Missing 704
> Recovered Dead 502
> Death Certificate Issued (body not found) 1,946
>
> 718,000 tons of debris (120,000 tons of it is steel) have been removed from
> the site, carted away in 54,000 truckloads.
>
> Since the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH - serving New Jersey residents)
> train station under the Trade Center was destroyed, ferry service has been
> added all around the island downtown.  The PATH trains served 75,000 riders
> daily.  The ferries have seen an increase in ridership from 32,000 to
> 59,000.  There are now 9 landings (2 more than previously), 22 routes (used
> to be 13), 51 boats (used to be 37.)  Some of the boats are being borrowed
> from chartered whale watching boats because NYC just doesn't have that many
> ferries.  People who live on the Upper East Side now also have the option of
> taking a ferry downtown to work; the traffic down there is still so bad with
> so many roads still closed and heightened security.
>
> That's it for now;  I hope those of you celebrating Hanukkah have a good
> week - that reminds me, the Empire State Building is lit in blue and white
> in honor of the holiday.  (It's been in red, white and blue since September
> 11th.)  I made it up to the top a couple of weeks ago.   We went up at
> night. There were many others there with us, and despite the ghastly glow of
> worklights from lower Manhattan where the towers used to be, the city still
> looks SO beautiful, so peaceful, so incredible from up there.  I wish you
> all could see it. 
>
> Take care of yourselves,
>
> Love,
>
> Sandy
*****************************************************
 
Sent: January 11, 2002 6:02 PM
Subject: 2 more things from NYC...
> Hi again,
>
> 2 more things and I'll leave y'all alone.
>
> There is a traveling exhibit called "Faces Of Ground Zero" that is on
> display now at Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal here in the city
> until January 20th.
>
> The exhibit consists of 85 Polaroids taken by Joe McNally.  Each photo is 9
> feet high, taken by a camera that measures 40 x 80;  it is the only camera
> of its kind in the world.  There was also a looped 10 minute video showing
> the process McNally went through in taking the Polaroids.
>
> The photos show survivors and a short paragraph about what they do and how
> they were affected by September 11th.  They are firefighters, sanitation
> workers, doctors, 9-to-5ers, students, wives, sisters, children.  A few dogs
> and one turtle were also featured.
>
> The exhibit will be going to Boston, London, San Fransisco, Chicago, and Los
> Angeles.  I highly reccommend it - the stories are incredible, and the
> photos themselves are works of art.  A bit emotionally draining but so so
> moving.
>
> The other thing is this:  A few of you have written back expressing concern
> over my harsh words regarding comments about interest rates and football
> analogies.  I apologize if I offend, this certainly was not my intent!  Good
> lord everyone knows I'm a Packer Backer too.  Go Pack.
>
> I know September 11th HAS affected everyone in some way or another and we
> are all still trying to fully understand it and deal with it.  Sometimes how
> we choose to deal with it, how we show our feelings and emotions, they are
> not the ones the receiver wants to hear.  This is nobodys fault.
>
> For all the reasons I mentioned in my last update how we are different (age,
> race, social status, citizenship, etc), these are also only the beginnings
> of the variables involved in deciding who we are and how we perceive events
> and how we react to them.
>
> My reactions you read in my last update were from
> pen-to-paper-to-keyboard-to-your-computer, as felt by me on a plane somwhere
> above Indiana.  Or was that Kentucky?  Regardless, I considered editing my
> words, but decided not to;  what I was feeling was important and needed to
> be said.  If you want to send me editorial comments and your own feelings
> about things, please do.  I apologize if I upset or offended anyone, but I
> do not apologize for how I felt at those moments when I wrote that.
>
> Enough said.  I hope you all understand.
>
> Shutting up, but not shutting down...
>
>
>
> Sandy
>