Remembering What Happened

[JRB]

I was working in the IT deopartment of New York State Electric And Gas (NYSEG) on 9-11. It was a quiet morning until the first plane hit the World Trade Center. We had TV sets all over our call center that played CNN constantly. At one point or another that day, we all gathered around the T.V.s stunned at what we were watching. NYSEG provides utilities to parts of Manhatten and a lot of downstate NY, so once the towers collapsed all hell broke loose in the center. The power grid board was lit up like a Christmas tree and the call center lines were instantly jammed up. For security reasons the building went on total lockdown. For the entire day no one was allowed to entrer or leave the NYSEG building. As tech support we felt completely helpless to do anything but keep the phone lines and servers up and running for the building. During that day I felt like I was on automatic pilot just doing my job. Once we were allowed to leave the building that night it all hit me and I was pretty much numb. To this day I am in total awe of those who risked or gave their lives to save complete strangers. It really convinced me of the devineness of the human spirit. Today I'm going to the New York State Museum at the Empire State Plaza here in Albany to visit the 9-11 display and memorial there. It's the most extensive 9-11 exhibit in the world that includes sections of the towers, destroyed emergency vehicles and a vast collection of letters and personal effects left at the sight. I know I won't see many dry eyes there today.