Roswell Remembers 9/11: That "Pristine" Day Ten Years Ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: As part of Patch's coverage and commemoration, we are putting together images and human interest stories about how that tragic date has affected us all.

What follows are the thoughts and memories of Cathy Subrisky, a native New Yorker, who is now a Roswell resident. She recalls the immense physical and emotional terror of being at work on Manhattan that day.

"On 9/11, I was on the train headed to Manhattan going to work. The day was pristine. One could see for miles.

The train was about midway on the Manhattan Bridge when we saw a huge burst of black smoke from the downtown area. Our immediate thoughts were "Uh oh, there goes the ventilation system on one of the buildings."

Being on a moving train and the first plane hitting the North Tower from the water side, prevented us from seeing the immediate hit.
When I got to my office, the second Tower was hit. People were first being informed of this and we were making arrangements to leave Manhattan.  

When two of my neighbors met with me, we also waited for a friend's daughter coming from school. She needed to walk over a mile to meet with us. She did and the four of us began to walk from West 40th Street and Broadway, along with thousands of other people, to exit Manhattan. Having heard the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges were closed, we headed to the 59th Street Bridge to Queens, NY.   

I cannot express how caring people were on that day: walking, talking and comforting each other.  

When we got began the walk on the 59th Street Bridge, there was a direct, unobstructed view of where the towers once stood. Now, just smoke flowed across the skies. We stood for a moment, my heart stopped thinking 'what in God's name happened.'

I made it to my friends' home in Astoria, Queens. After settling down somewhat, I needed to get back to Brooklyn, NY, where I lived. I found a car and driver who took us through the backstreets (which every savvy New Yorker needs always to know) and I arrived at my home shortly before 6 p.m.  

In my front yard was a document from an agency in the World Trade Center Tower 1; it was singed at the edges.

The impact of that day disbursed papers of all sorts as far away as my area - in excess of 15 miles. Today, it sits on a wall in my Roswell home framed, with a note, "9/11, NEVER FORGOTTEN."

The media didn't stop for a moment and to this day still replays the devastation of that day. I lost a business associate in World Trade Center Tower 1. In my heart I know there were far more lost, never to be accounted for, with the amount of people passing through those towers on a daily basis. I cry every time my eyes see images of people jumping from the towers to avoid being burned.  

I am angry still at our national security, which I feel was asleep at the helm. They seemed to have forgotten the "minor" attack on World Trade Center Tower 1 in 1993, on Clinton's watch.

My thanks will always be to those who lost their lives; the firemen, police, rescue teams, those on the planes and those who carry their memories. But above all, to New York Mayor Rudolph Guilliani, to whom words and praise could never be enough.  

Though I now reside in Roswell, I will first and foremost always be a New Yorker in my heart.

Thanks for being there with me."

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Were you in New York at the time? Did you have family or friends who were affected? Do you know of anyone who was deployed to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan?

If your life was in some way changed by the events of 9/11, we're asking for photos or personal accounts to share with our readers. What are your memories of that day that changed your life here in Roswell?

Please send a photo and your story by e-mail to Christine Foster.