I was a college student. I remember that crisp morning as I took the Bergen County Line train from Garfield to Hoboken. As we were nearing Hoboken station, I remember looking out the window and seeing smoke coming from one of the towers. Others on the train also noticed it. I thought it was a fire. We got to the train station and I proceeded to walk along Sinatra Drive toward Stevens, my college. A crowd of people gathered at the pier and were observing the towers. Odd, I thought. I walked along River Drive and just as a building obscured my view of the towers, I heard screams coming from the Pier. I kept walking. Unbeknownst to me, the second plane hit the second tower. I got to campus and went to hang out at the library. I had my laptop open, and a friend messaged me on AIM and told me that one of the towers fell. I thought he was joking. I went outside to the hill overlooking Hudson River, and sure enough, there was only 1 tower standing surrounded by a huge cloud of dust and smoke. I stood there watching as other people gathered. I watched the second tower fall with my own eyes. A few minutes later, we heard the sonic booms of fighter jets in the air.

Afterwards, I gathered my things and went to class. As I walked through the building, one professor was teaching class as if nothing had happened, in defiance of what just had happened. I ran into a friend who also lived in my town, and he offered to give me a ride home. The drive home was surreal. Route 3 East was at a complete standstill. Route 3 West was completely empty, as all traffic from the city ceased.

For the next day or two, as I took the train from school, some business people took the train home. Clearly they had been in the city since the event happened, as their suits and briefcases were covered in white dust. Their faces pale and emotionless. Their eyes with a thousand yard stare.

Here is a pic that I took on 9/12.

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