This is an account of what my family and I experienced on September 11, 2001. Some of the information was supplied after the fact through news accounts and personal sources. -Bernie Markstein

The annual meeting of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), set for September 9 through 11, 2001, was held at the World Trade Center Marriott Hotel, a building that sat on the southwest corner of the World Trade Center complex. It was also known as World Trade Center 3, next to World Trade Center 1, the south tower. It was approximately 22 stories high.

Tuesday, September 11, I awoke early enough to dress and pack my bags prior to a breakfast meeting scheduled at 8 a.m. I thought about taking my bags downstairs with me, but decided instead that I would return at the 10 a.m. coffee break, gather my bags, and check out. I headed downstairs carrying only my briefcase. Because I had packed up and was to head out later that day, I had put my car keys in my pocket (I had kept them in my room during the rest of the conference). As usual, I carried my wallet and change. As had been my custom during the conference, I slipped my cell phone into my pocket. (Nancy and I had purchased cell phones for the first time in July, prior to our vacation.) I had noted my cell phone charge was low and had plugged it into the recharger for a short time prior to going down to the breakfast meeting.

After eating breakfast, Robert Scott, President and COO of Morgan Stanley, our speaker, had just been introduced by the chief economist of Morgan Stanley, Richard Berner, and begun to speak. As we sat there (around 8:45 a.m.), the lights dimmed briefly then came up again. Glass pendants, which were hanging around the lights to give a chandelier like effect, began to tinkle like there was a slight breeze wafting through the room. I remember looking up at them and thinking that it was odd. Then we heard a huge "Boom" which seemed to come from the front right of the room (roughly to the southeast by my reckoning).

We all sat for about two seconds. Then a number of people stood up and started heading rapidly for the exit. In short order, all were on their feet, heading for the exit. I remember thinking as I stood up, "World Trade Center, bomb". I grabbed my briefcase and headed for the exit along with everyone else. As I approached the exit doors, the emergency alarm was sounding (roughly 10 to 20 seconds after the initial boom).

While people were quick to exit, there did not appear to be any pushing or shoving. Once outside in the main hall, I saw a woman on the floor who had apparently tripped over a tripod holding a placard announcing our event. A number of people surrounded her to protect her from the crowd while one person helped her to her feet and another folded the offending tripod. A few people (five to ten?) burst into the corridor from the entrance off the south tower lobby. They were clearly in a panic and running. A number of us turned to them and in a loud voice told them to slow, to walk, and not run. Surprisingly, they did and the little moment of panic died (would that have worked if there had been a larger number? Who knows?).

People were trying to exit via the hotel's main entrance, which faced west, but came back inside because of falling debris. At that point we did not know what had happened. Looking through the large glass windows next to the hotel's west entrance, I could see cars at odd angles on the street. Had there been a very bad car accident? A gas explosion? A bomb? These were the thoughts that ran through my head.

There was no ready safe exit at that time, so we milled around the lobby. That seemed safe enough for the moment. I tried to call my wife, Nancy, on my cell phone, but couldn't get a call through.

As I was looking for an exit, someone in a work uniform down the hall towards the entrance onto the south tower lobby seemed to be waving us that way, indicating we should exit there. I started towards those doors, got about half way there and noticed that the lobby on the other side of the doors appeared to be filled with smoke. That didn't look like a good way to go, so I turned back, telling the few others who had followed me that I didn't think that was such a smart idea. They, along with the fellow who I thought first indicated that route, turned back to the main lobby.

Most people were still milling around the main lobby (some people apparently had left via the west entrance by then). As we were killing time and didn't seem to be in danger at the moment, I thought idly if there might not be time to run up to my room and retrieve my luggage (which was already packed). I looked at the elevators, which as I expected were in their lockdown position-on the first floor with doors open. I abandoned my luggage retrieval idea, which I have to admit was not too smart to begin with. (Although it was a stupid idea, I wasn't so stupid as to consider walking up to my room on the thirteenth floor to get my things.)

A few moments after that, the hotel opened the doors to its restaurant, allowing us to exit to the south, on Liberty street. At this point, roughly five to seven minutes had elapsed since the initial boom.

As we headed out the door, two firemen entered through that door, ordering us to leave the building (which we were already doing)-in fact, their entrance was impeding our exit. However, a moment later, they must have received an order to go elsewhere, because they turned and headed back out. With them gone, it was easier for us to exit.

When I emerged on the street, I immediately ran directly to the west. Debris was still falling, though apparently nothing large. I did notice as I ran that a policewoman who was standing in the street directing us away from the building grabbed her arm as if a piece of glass or something hot had struck it.

I was now about a half block to the west of the Marriott Hotel. I could look up and see the north tower in flames. Flames were shooting out of several floors. Those floors were totally engulfed in flames. Someone told us an airplane had struck the tower. We, like most people, thought it was a small airplane or corporate jet that had gotten in trouble. I wondered why the air controllers would allow an airplane to fly so close to Manhattan.

Someone official (police? fire?) ordered us to move further away. We moved back to near Two World Financial Center, about a block to the west of the Marriott. I tried several times, unsuccessfully, to call Nancy on my cell phone. Again, I couldn't get a line out. As someone pointed out later, several cells for that area were on top of the two World Trade Center towers. No doubt by then the north tower cells were no longer working. People fortunate enough to get a call out on their cell phone were not relinquishing their line.

We kept looking up at the unbelievable sight. I could barely imagine the horror of what people on those floors were going through.

At one point someone in the crowd yelled ("Look"? "Oh my God"?). I looked up and saw a person falling. (Had that person fallen? Jumped?) It was more than I cared to see. I did not look up again when similar cries came from the crowd.

A friend I knew through NABE (Anne Picker) to whom I had been talking suddenly put her head on my shoulder and said with a tremor, "My God Bernie, my daughter used to work up there until a few months ago."

At that point we weren't sure what to do. Would they get the fire under control eventually? Would we then be allowed back into the hotel to retrieve our luggage? It seemed unlikely that our conference would resume.

As we were milling around trying to call out on our cell phones and trying to decide what to do, I must have heard a sound (other than that initial boom, I don't remember any sounds from that day). I looked up to see a commercial airplane heading directly at the World Trade Center south tower. This was no accident. It was angled down and heading directly at the tower. It was like in the movies, only this was real. It was 9:03 a.m.

I saw the plane hit, the ball of fire erupt from the building where it entered. At this point I realized I might be in danger from falling debris. I turned to run west (along with the rest of the crowd in the street), hesitating momentarily as I contemplated if the covering in front of Two World Financial Center would provide any protection (I decided it would not).

As I ran to the west, towards the river, I realized that it was very open. There was little protection. I spotted a stonewall that stood roughly seven to eight feet high. I ran to it and put my back against it, figuring it provided the most protection I could hope for. After about a minute or so, it became clear that no debris was falling near me, and that I was safe for the moment (I probably never was in danger given where I was). However, it was now obvious that this was not a safe place. I started walking west again and quickly turned south (little choice given the river was in front of me), following the crowd.

At this point I had completely lost contact with anyone I knew from the NABE meeting. I did not recognize anyone around me. I started talking to a gentleman walking alongside me. He had been at the Marriott attending a different conference on the third floor when the first plane struck. His name was David Hemsey. He was in charge of human relations for (I think) a jewelry firm that employed about 100 people. His firm had an office in mid-town Manhattan. He lived in Rhode Island and had been attending an HR conference.

We walked south, discussing what we had experienced and trying to decide what to do. The weather belied the events of the day. It was a beautiful day with a crystal blue sky. Not a cloud was evident. Several times during the day people would remark on how good the weather was, how fortunate we were that it wasn't raining. No doubt the hijackers had picked that day largely because the good weather gave them great visibility for their plan.

At some point, someone told us that the Pentagon had been attacked as well.

Eventually, we were about four or five blocks to the south of the World Trade Center. We were near a mall like walkway where we could look back and see the two towers on fire. We felt reasonably safe at the time, never considering that the towers might collapse.

There was a bench nearby, by the water, so we sat down to regroup. I had a map of Manhattan in my briefcase. I pulled it out and considered our options. It was clear we were not getting back into the Marriott that day! We needed to figure a way off the island and home. The Path train from the World Trade Center was no longer an option. My plan was to work my way north to another train station and take a train to New Jersey and my car. I was unaware at that time that the trains were not running.

As we sat at the bench and discussed what to do, some people came up to us and asked directions to the ferry (south of us in Battery Park). As with us, they just wanted off the island. I was able to give them directions.

About this time my cell phone rang. It was Nancy! A friend (Liz Webbink) who had been at the NABE convention earlier, but had gone home the day before, had called Nancy to inquire after my safety. Nancy's call came at 9:23 a.m.

(Nancy told me later that her cell phone had lost its charge. My cell phone number was on her cell phone and she did have it written down anywhere! Further, she did not know where the recharger was. As it happened, her sister Margaret called her shortly after Nancy got off the phone with Liz. Margaret had my cell phone number!)

Once Nancy got through to me, I was able to tell her I was all right and that I was going to try to get home if I could. I also told her where the recharger was, solving her cell phone problem.

My first plan was to go south, swing east, and then turn north, working a giant loop around the World Trade Center. However, the more I thought about it, I realized that would be quite a walk. I decided that it was worth trying to go directly north, staying to the west alongside the river. I would have to pass very close to the World Trade Center towers, but that route would be faster. I figured that if this were unsafe, there would be a police line turning me back. The cost of trying this option would be going about five blocks out of my way.

I pointed out to David that the safer route was the loop to the south and then east. I offered him my map and directions on that route if he preferred it. He chose to stick with me. As it turned out, my northern route would prove to be the safer one. Again, no one at that time (least of all me) thought of the towers collapsing. Most of the people I talked to later who took the south, east, north route got caught in the debris cloud from the south tower collapse.

David and I started north. Along the way, we ran into three people from NABE from the Philadelphia area whom I knew-Roger Bird, Elinda Kiss, and Lea Tyler. I gave my map to David in case we were separated.

The five of us proceeded north. We did not run into a police line. We were not turned back. Everyone around us was moving to get out of the area.

Eventually, we reached a hotel about a block or two to the north and west of the north tower. (The hotel was probably part of Four World Financial Center. The entrance faced west, towards the river.) There was a police line there (yellow tape), representing the northernmost line at that point. At my suggestion, we stopped in the hotel to use the restrooms. David chose to stay outside and wait for us.

I was surprised that the hotel was still open and appeared to be functioning. Inside there were people lined up to use the public telephones (remember, it was next to impossible to get a cell phone line out). We stopped briefly in the bar where there was a television broadcasting the news. We quickly determined that they had no real information and knew little more than we did. We decided to continue north.

As we headed for the door, we looked for David, but couldn't find him. About this time, someone official looking (a fireman?) stuck his head in the hotel and told us to get out, the building was collapsing! We ran outside where everyone was running north and we were again told to run, because the building was collapsing.

I ran about two blocks to the north. As had been the case all that morning, people were running, but not in panic. There was no pushing or shoving. People were careful not to run into or hit anyone.

As I looked to my right, I could see a huge cloud of smoke and debris from the collapsed south tower. No debris was falling around me. The buildings to my east (to my right) were protecting us. Also, the wind must have been blowing from west to east. The tower had collapsed at 10 a.m.

I stopped running. Our group (minus David) recollected itself and continued the trek north.

(I found out later that David had tried to wait for us, but that emergency personnel ordered him to move north. That is when he became separated from us. He eventually made it home that night after walking half of Manhattan. He worked his way north, found a phone and called his office. They told him to go to their mid-town office, in the 50s. He walked there only to find the office closed. After some more calls he walked to Brooklyn where a driver met him and drove him home to Rhode Island!)

Our plan was to stick together, go north, and find a train to New Jersey. As we walked north we tried to call, and eventually got through to, a close relative for each person in our party on my and Elinda's cell phones. We reassured them that we were safe and had them call others. Ironically, my attempts to call Nancy and reassure her that I was still safe after the building collapse failed.

As we walked north and talked, I realized I should call my sisters. I reached my sister Janet Wintrob's work, but she was not there yet. I asked them to call her at home and let her know I was safe. I reached my sister Nancy Salkover at work. She had known I was in New York, but didn't know I had been at the World Trade Center. I asked her to leave a message on our home answering machine for Nancy (my wife) that I was OK. By now, my partially charged cell phone was getting low on charge, so I wanted to conserve power for later calls. I turned off the phone to save the charge. Thus, Nancy's calls to me couldn't get through.

We were now at Canal Street on the West side highway. We had stopped to make some of these calls and collect ourselves. As we prepared to start north again, I glanced to the south. I said to everyone, "Stop! Look!" We turned to see the north tower collapse. (By now we were far enough north to be out of harm's way.) It was an incredible and frightening sight. It suddenly struck me that I had seen numerous emergency vehicles heading south and only a few heading north (I had seen one dust covered "civilian" car head north as well). Many emergency workers must have been hurt or killed in the collapse. Only later was I to learn how horrific the loss of life for all was.

The north tower had collapsed at 10:29 a.m. We continued to walk north, greatly shaken. There was nothing to do but try to get home.

We passed people standing on the street watching the "action"-the smoke rising from the World Trade Center and the steady stream of emergency vehicles speeding south and the occasional vehicle going north-and listening to news blaring from car radios. (There would be a car parked, windows down or doors open with the radio on loud, and people clustered around it. I stopped by one briefly when it sounded like a report on the subway, in hopes that we might get some useful information. None was forthcoming-as in the hotel bar-so we proceeded north.) At one point an official (a fireman?) came by and told people to move north because of the danger of chemicals in the air. I suspect this was more an attempt to move people out of the area since we were so far north and there didn't appear to be a wind blowing anything towards us. We were moving north anyway, so the warning didn't matter too much except that it created some additional anxiety in our group.

We were now near our planned objective, the subway station on Christopher Street where Elinda, who was familiar with the New York train and subway system from commuting for about three years, told us we could get a Path train to New Jersey. As we walked east on Christopher Street we stopped a woman to be sure the station we wanted was ahead. She informed us that no trains or subways were running. It looked like we were trapped on the island for the time being.

Roger quite wisely pointed out that Manhattan was a commuting city and that they would have to let the trains and subways start running again sometime (though we had no idea when that sometime would be). Certainly the authorities didn't want everyone from outside to stay in Manhattan. That would create its own problems.

In the meantime, we decided to continue north to Penn station and see if we could get some information. As we did so, Roger suggested to Lea that she might want to stop and buy some sneakers (she had been wearing high heels since leaving the Marriott; also she had carried her laptop computer which Roger and I took turns carrying early on). Roger had spotted a shoe store in the previous block. Lea agreed that it was a good idea but it wasn't worth going back, surely we would see another shoe store eventually.

A few moments later, Roger pointed across the street and said, "Look, Lea, Foot Emporium. We can get you sneakers there." We pointed out to Roger that his great find was FOOD Emporium (an understandable error given that the sign was in a hard to read script where the "d" did look a bit like a "t"). We had a good-natured chuckle at Roger's expense. There seemed to be some hope if we could let a little humor into our thoughts.

(By the way, news reports had suggested that people stay away from historic and landmark buildings. Fat chance in Manhattan!)

Eventually, we reached Penn station. There was a large crowd milling around outside. I went up to one of the police standing in front of an entrance to the station and asked what was happening. He told me that no trains or subways were running and that the bridges and tunnels were closed as well! He did think that the ferries were still running. There was a ferry at 37th and 12th Avenue that would take us to Weehawken, NJ near the Lincoln tunnel.

That didn't seem to help us much, so our group decided to wait awhile and see what developed. We elected to head east and maybe find a place to eat. We went into the hotel across the street from Madison Square Garden. It was utter chaos in there. People were lined up at the desk trying to get a room. The hotel had put out a table with cups, canned soda (long gone), and some ice. We grabbed some cups and filled them with ice. We were all thirsty by then.

The hotel was only letting guests who could show a key go above the lobby. We did find a stairway that led to a restroom. The restrooms were not very nice or big, but they did fulfill our need.

We decided to continue with our quest for something to eat and continued east. At that point, we spotted a Foot Locker across the street. As we headed to it, I said to Roger "Look, there's a Food Locker! We should be able to get sneakers for Lea there."

Roger and I found a place to sit down while Lea looked for sneakers with Elinda's help. While Roger and I sat and talked, I tried unsuccessfully to call Nancy on my cell phone. An employee asked if she could help us. We explained we were waiting for a friend who was buying shoes. The employee said that was no problem but that if we wanted anything they were closing at 12:45 (it was around 12:15 then). At least Foot Locker wasn't going to fold in the face of terrorism, at least not immediately!

With Lea now in sneakers and her high heel shoes in a bag, we resumed our pursuit for a place to eat. We soon found a pizza place with an empty table near the door. None of us felt like eating, so we bought some drinks and sat down to figure our next move. Elinda was able to make some calls on her cell phone. We reached Nancy who told us that all of New Jersey transit was closed down-no buses or trains were running! So, even if we got to New Jersey it wasn't clear how we would get to our cars (Elinda's car was in New Brunswick, mine in Trenton, Roger's in Philadelphia at 30th Street station). As best as Nancy could tell, they were letting passenger cars move on the roads. Also, Nancy told us that Philadelphia had closed down the public schools. It began to look like we might be stuck in Manhattan for a while. Elinda noted several times that she had a friend in the area who most likely would be willing to let us stay overnight.

Remembering I had a friend who lived in Elizabeth, New Jersey, I looked in my briefcase and found his telephone number. I suggested that we take the ferry to New Jersey and I would call my friend. If I had the right number (it was an old one) and if he was home (uncertain, but probable), he would undoubtedly give us a ride to New Brunswick to Elinda's car. Elinda would then give us a ride to my car in Trenton. I would take Roger and Lea to Roger's car in Philadelphia. Roger would then take Lea home in Villanova (near where Roger lived). Lea's car had been parked at the World Trade Center and presumably would never be seen again.

I volunteered to go outside and see if I could find out from someone official if the ferries were still running. I could not find an official, but I saw a bus stopped to pick up people. I figured the bus driver might know something since they had two-way radios on the buses (or so I guessed). I stuck my head in the bus and asked my question. The bus was crowded to bursting with people standing in the aisles. The bus driver didn't seem to know. A passenger said nothing was moving on the west side. But then a number of passengers said that, yes, the ferries were running. Although it wasn't official, they sounded like they knew what they were talking about. I took my report back to the group.

We decided that it was worth a try and started walking to the west, towards the ferry. As we were walking, I noticed a subway entrance with a few people entering and exiting. I stopped a fellow as he emerged from the subway and asked him if the subways were running. He said he wasn't sure about the subways in general, but this line was running on a limited basis. At that point a light bulb went off in each of our heads. We decided to head back to Penn station, just a bit out of our way, and see if the trains were running.

When we got there, there was a transit official outside near where the cabs pick up. He told us that the trains weren't running at present but should start to run shortly. He was directing people who wanted to take New Jersey Transit to one entrance and those who wanted to take Amtrak to another. Roger and Lea wanted to take Amtrak while Elinda and I wanted New Jersey Transit. We agreed to split up and hope for the best. (Roger and Lea made it back home safely in record time.)

Elinda and I headed over to the entrance the transit official had indicated. It was the same entrance we had come to when we first arrived in our trek north from the World Trade Center. There was a large crowd waiting patiently outside. Some people filled us in with news reports (a few had radios with them). That was when we first heard that a plane had crashed in western Pennsylvania, supposedly shot down by the US air force (later we learned that that rumor was wrong, that some passengers had fought the hijackers resulting in the plane crashing and presumably preventing it being crashed into another target). We also heard brief accounts of where people had been when the attacks occurred.

After about ten or fifteen minutes, the (transit?) police at the doors opened them and began letting people in. People moved forward-everyone wanted to head home-but there was no pushing or shoving. After letting a group in, the police closed the doors. There was no complaining. Everyone understood that the transit people were doing the best they could under the circumstances.

That was how it proceeded. The police would (presumably) get word a train was on the way, let a group of people into the station, then close the doors again. Eventually, our turn came and Elinda and I went in.

(At one point while we were waiting, we heard air force fighter jets roar overhead. Although I was pretty sure that they were from our air force, I admit to being nervous. I thought in my black humor sort of way, "Great! I walked all the way from the World Trade Center to die at Penn station!")

Once inside, Elinda positioned us equidistant from the entrances to the three most likely tracks our train would be on. We saw two other people from NABE whom we had run into earlier in our walk from the World Trade Center. Thanks to Elinda's positioning, when our train came, we were able to quickly move to a side entrance and get down to the train fast enough to get two seats!

We sat for about ten to fifteen minutes before the train began to move, so presumably anyone who was in the station and wanted to get on the train was able to do so. As the train began to move, everyone applauded.

I was sitting next to a man who worked in the financial district, close to the World Trade Center. He told me the story of his escape. As we emerged from the tunnel on the New Jersey side, he looked back at Manhattan and remarked how strange the view was without the World Trade Center towers! As the train headed south, we were able to see the smoke rising from the area for most of our ride to New Brunswick. At one point on our ride, I put my hand on my head where I found a tiny speck of glass-the only debris that had fallen on me, probably from my initial dash from the Marriott Hotel.

At New Brunswick, Elinda departed. She retrieved her car and then headed to her office at Rutgers University where she proceeded to work for the evening! (Originally, she was to have taught that night, but the university closed due to the day's events. She had lost her laptop with most of her class notes on it in the Marriott Hotel.)

I arrived in Trenton a little before 4:30 p.m. I called Nancy on my cell phone to tell her where I was and that I would be home in about an hour or so. No trouble getting a cell line here!

When I emerged from the station, two men were selling copies of the "Bucks Country Courier" (a local newspaper) with pictures of the burning World Trade Center towers on the front page. It hadn't taken them long to swing into action.

I went over to the garage, retrieved my car, and headed home. I listened to the news in the car on my drive home, trying to get on top of events. Traffic was relatively light since most businesses had closed early and sent their workers home. I pulled up to the King of Prussia exit of the Pennsylvania turnpike, the busiest exit in the entire system, to find no line and even some tollbooths with no cars! Very eerie for a normal rush-hour time. I was home by about 5:45 p.m.

As I pulled in, my family came out to greet me. About the same time, my sister Nancy Salkover called to check on me. (According to my sister, Laura answered the phone and gushed with great relief and enthusiasm, "Daddy's home!") Laura handed me the telephone as I got out of the car. I talked briefly to her, then turned to hugs from the family. I gave them a brief recount of my day. We turned on the television to watch what I had experienced.

Everyone who attended the NABE conference was eventually accounted for. All escaped safely, though some had more traumatic experiences than I did. According to the Marriott, all guests were evacuated safely. The Marriott accounted for all of its employees except for one who was listed as missing.

Over the next several days, I watched and read the various news reports. I tried to get back to normal, but found it hard to concentrate. The emotions I had not had time to feel began to seep in. Each night I went to sleep with the images of the burning buildings and the crashing airplane in my thoughts. I awoke each morning with the same images. I was a bit nervous each time I heard an airplane fly overhead. (For the first few days, air force planes were patrolling the air space above Philadelphia.) Living only a few miles from Limerick nuclear plant, we are close to a potential target. We also live under one of the standard approaches to the Philadelphia airport, so planes flying overhead are not unusual.

Those people unfortunate enough to talk to me in those first few days heard my story in excruciating detail. Eventually, I learned to shorten my story (despite the length of this narrative). Now, over a month later, I am still taking in other people's stories and processing my thoughts and emotions. I learn time and again how truly lucky I was. Most of the decisions I made that day were the right ones, not due to intellect, but due to dumb luck. Well, there's nothing wrong with being lucky. I continue to grieve and feel sorrow for those who were less fortunate than I.

Bernard M. Markstein III
Phoenixville, PA

October 17, 2001