The first attack on the World Trade Center occurred 25 years ago today. I was in my tenth year of employ at Comex, working the gold futures trading pit on the seventh floor of Four World Trade. At noon I was assigned to a market that closed, if I remember correctly, each day at eleven. Someone had to be present in case a problem was detected. I was seated on the top step of the empty ring, doing a crossword puzzle. The explosion occurred at 12:18. If the building shook, it was slight - I don't really remember. A collective, cavalier cry of "Whoa!" went up, and trading continued without interruption. Most assumed it'd been a gas or electrical explosion. Soon the evacuation order came. It wasn't immediate. The markets were given time to close and perform the follow up procedures. I'd returned to the gold ring. I was adding in a trade at the computer when the power went out. I saw it fading away just before I was going to hit "send." By then many had already left the building. Those of us who remained were able to see by the light coming through the windows that surrounded half the trading area. The elevators were out of service. We had to walk down seven flights in the dark, clutching the handrails. During that entire time I did not feel in danger. I'd had no idea how enormous the event was until we hit the street and saw people walking away from the towers, mouths blackened by the smoke they'd breathed getting out. I was stunned. Fortunately, the nearby train was running. I went into the subway and went home as I did every work day. Soon I learned that lives had been lost and many had been injured, including two friends who'd worked the ring I'd been overseeing when the explosion occurred. They were sidelined a long time. Tiny shards of glass would seep out of their scalps for months. Fortunately, they'd been close to the exit of the underground parking lot. The car was totaled. One pulled the other, whose leg was cut severely, from the vehicle and dragged him outside. It was a Friday. I don't recall if the trading floor was closed Monday, but we certainly weren't closed for more than a few days. We worked a half-day schedule for a while. In 1997 we moved to a location about 200 yards away, at the foot of the Bay overlooking Jersey. I was on vacation on 9/11. Many weren't so lucky. The trading floors no longer exists, having been done in not by terrorism but by electronic trading.
I had a visit from a guy who used to work on the trading floor, who has lived in the Atlantic Towers apartment complex longer than I have. Jeff has read several of my books, which he professes to love. For the past two years he's been keeping a journal on his dad's deteriorating mental condition. He wants to turn it into a book and asked my advice. Since he, like any normal human being, is interested in making money, I advised him to avoid self-publishing, even though it's virtually free these days. I told him to google "submitting non-fiction" and to feel free to ask me any questions.
Donations poured into the floating book shop today. My thanks to Rob, a local porter, who delivered two boxes worth by hand cart, and to the sweet elderly woman who gave me five books in Russian, and to Herbie, who surrendered a novel by Amanda Quick. Thanks also to the young woman who bought Dean Koontz's
The Darkest Evening of the Year, and to to the woman who purchased a thriller in Russian. Special thanks to the young man who asked for a sweet deal on the remaining vinyl albums. When I said he could have the 30 or so for ten bucks, he hurried home and returned in a SUV driven by who I assume was his dad, who gave me about six more books. I asked the young man if he planned to sell the albums on the web. He said he will use them in his own music-making. I had to sort the books into keepers and discards. With the records gone, I had ample room in the back seat of the old Hyundai to store the new acquisitions. I left about 15 in the lobby, and brought a novel home for personal reading. Among the batch were three on getting published. I'll offer them to Jeff next time I see him.
My Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Fortezza/e/B002M4NLJE
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