By Elinda Fishman Kiss

September 11, 2001 I was at the NABE breakfast meeting when the first plane struck. Not having any idea what it was, along with all others in the ball room, I was ushered out of the hotel through the bar and across the street. (I remember Bob Crow remaking, "I do not recall earthquakes in NYC.) Since I am on the NABE board, Susan Doolittle asked if I would help lead others toward the river.

Gary Ciminero (another board member) was concerned where his wife was (as she had taken a walk that morning), and I offered to return with him to look for her. As we were just across the street from the hotel, we saw the large plane strike WTC2 in the middle of the building (until that time I had assumed that the first plane strike was a small plane that had hit WTC1 by accident.) my reaction? that is on purpose; we will not get back into the hotel today; that it would be cordoned off for the investigation, and we should leave the area and leave NY. (earlier -- before the plane struck WTC2 --I had hoped to return to my room to get my computer with class notes, brief case, which held diskette backup copies of course files, clothes, etc. but realized now that we would not get into the hotel that day.) I never thought that the buildings would fall.

I met up with other NABE members and suggested that we head north. When my suggestion that we walk to Penn station was met with "It is too far", I suggested that we walk to the nearest PATH station at Christopher Street.
Approximately 17 of us headed north. One wife of a NABE member had no money or ID; she had been exercising in the gym; another NABE member (I think it was Rosemary Marcus) gave her $20. Bernie suggested that we stop at the Embassy suites to use the restrooms on the conference floor. There we met up with other NABE members. I was happy to learn that Stuart Hoffman had been able to get in contact with his wife. We saw on the TV that a plane had struck the pentagon and wondered what was going on in the world.

We did not hurry from the embassy suites hotel (which was in the WTC complex, a few blocks from the Marriott hotel where we held the NABE conference). When we did leave, our larger group was reduced to 4 (Roger Bird, Bernie Markstein, Lea Tyler) from the Philadelphia area. We walked slowly until a policeman told us that the planes might have contained dangerous gases. Then we heard a large explosion (which we later learned was the collapse of WTC2) - I thought it was another bomb; we ran; some ran so fast that they ran out of their shoes. Bernie was more than a block ahead of us as he had longer legs; I shouted to him to stop to wait for us. Lea was in high heels. I suggested that we walk along the west side - close to the Hudson River - so that we could jump in if necessary (it may be polluted but it was warm, and if there was a fire, it may be better to be there).
When we reached Christopher Street, we headed east to the PATH station, only to learn that subways and PATH trains were not running.
It was near the Christopher Street PATH station that we saw WTC1 fall. From 1-2 miles away, it looked like a building implosion.
At that point, I suggested that we walk along Hudson St, which would turn into 8th avenue so that when we reached midtown, we would be nearer the train station, and not need to walk across several avenue blocks in midtown.

When we walked past a beauty shop, I asked the group to wait while I went in to ask if I could use the phone as my cell phone had not worked (public phone lines at restaurants and hotels were long). As I was dialing my husband's office, my cell phone rang, and a female voice shouted "thank G-d, you are all right".
I responded "Who is this?" It was my sister Cheryl, who lives in a Detroit suburb.
Strangely, it never occurred to me that this attack would be news all over the US (and the world). Because I work in Newark (just across the river from NY) and New Brunswick (40 miles from NYC) and commuted from Philadelphia to NY for 4 years (90 miles), I tend to think of NYC and what happens there as local. I assumed that my husband in Philadelphia would not hear of the attacks until he listened to his car radio on the way to lunch. It never occurred to me that my sisters and parents would know about the attack. - I asked my sister to call my husband and parents to tell them that I was ok, but I had not been able to make outgoing cellular calls. (For some reason, my cell phone worked inside buildings that day, but not outside.)

We proceeded slowly toward Midtown, happy to have the company. I served as navigator since I had worked in NYC for four years.

When we reached Penn station, we learned that trains were not running. I suggested that we eat lunch (a few blocks from Penn station so that crowds would be smaller) since we may not have the opportunity later. Bernie suggested that we use the restrooms at the hotel across the street. Roger suggested that we stop at a shoe store for Lea to buy sneakers after the rest room stop.

In the shoe store, I finally reached my husband who offered to drive to Hoboken to pick us up, if we took the ferry. I asked him to call the university to have the secretary put a sign on my classroom door that I might be late, but that I was trying to hold my class in New Brunswick that night.

After lunch, Bernie suggested that we walk to the ferry, but I suggested that we first see if the trains were running. (Clearly they wanted us to leave the city, if we could.) I also indicated that we could stay with my cousin or a friend in NYC, if we could not leave the city.

When we approached the train station, we were told to go 3 separate ways for the different trains (LIRR, NJ Transit, AMTRAK). We reconnoitered with Rosemary Marcus and other NABE members near the station. Lea and Roger headed toward AMTRAK, while Bernie and I headed toward NJT. The crowd approaching the station was orderly and polite. Once inside I went to the machine to purchase a ticket and was informed by a NJT employee that the ride was free. Since I knew the NJT trains, I indicated to Bernie at which track we should wait, and we were among the first passengers on the second train to leave NYC that day.

As the train pulled out of the tunnel and into NJ, I looked back at the smoke that was WTC, and was just shocked by what happened.

I alit at New Brunswick station, and took a taxi to the university (as that had been my original plan since I expected to have a computer, brief case and suit case). (I had left my car at the university on Saturday before my husband and I went to NYC for NABE annual meeting; husband left NYC Sunday night.)

When I arrived at the university, I learned that classes had been canceled. I decided to go to my office to retrieve cell phone messages. (Since the cell charger was in the hotel room, I did not wish to run down the battery too much by using it to retrieve messages). There were 22 messages. My husband's first message was one of panic - before he knew that I had survived.
There were messages from my parents, sisters, step daughter, and even some students who knew where I was.

Since my computer was left in WTC, I used my office desktop PC to read and send email.
There were more than 40 messages from students and friends expressing concern.
I responded to my entire address book with an email
"Elinda is alive"

I received emails from students whom I had taught in Beijing in August. Since I had lost a suit in the hotel that I purchased in Beijing, several of my students arranged to buy me a replacement (which I paid for; and a colleague brought back to US for me). My sister and I had bought identical blouses in Venice; she gave me her blouse to replace mine.

The cell phone store replaced my charger for free.

In general, everyone I met that week who knew of my experience was quite supportive.

As I indicated earlier, my husband said "I was like stone" when I returned home that evening. I had remained "calm" to help others leave WTC area and NYC. The anxiety surfaced on Wednesday as I listened to the radio while I went about trying to replace the possessions that I had lost in WTC.

Wednesday morning, I called every one who I knew had been at the NABE meeting, and was happy to learn that they had survived.

I found it helpful to talk about the experience, and especially helpful to be with other NABE members who shared the experience.

I returned to the WTC area (now called Ground zero) in April with several students after we had visited Citibank in NYC, and was shocked to see that all the WTC buildings were leveled. I was quite upset to see the devastation.
My husband asked to go see the area in Junea at that time it did not bother me so much to see it, but it still is sad and upsetting that so many people lost their lives and that our country is not the same. We no longer can walk up to or drive past Independence Hall in Philadelphia. so many places now require security clearance.