One Year Later page

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One Year Later Remembrances

Adolfo Laurenti
PhD Candidate in Economics, George Mason University

Unforgettable as September 11th will remain, the after-shock was rather to realize how too easily forgettable too many other days, "normal" days, had been until that morning... Since September 12th, my resolution has been to honor the blessing of a life in which every day is special and unique, and as memorable in the good as September 11th will remain in the bad.

Lawrence W. Lovik, Ph.D.
Holder, Chair of Free Enterprise and Professor of Economics
Troy State University, Troy, Ala.

Freedom is a very large word. The high degrees of economic, political, and religious freedoms we have are unparalleled in all history. On 9/11, CNBC abruptly broke away to the Twin Towers, a place I stayed on visits to NY and a symbol of capitalism. An assault on our way of life was underway. We, individually and collectively, must face the future with great resolve. Thomas Jefferson noted, "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."

John Tepper Marlin
Chief Economist, NYC Comptroller
President, New York Chapter - NABE

My office in the Municipal Building (I am the Chief Economist for the current NYC Comptroller, as I was for the two previous Comptrollers) is a few blocks from the WTC and our phone exchange was in the WTC, so I was functioning with a cell phone for weeks after 9/11. My main activity for the three weeks after 9/11 was preparing an economic impact report (released October 4, 2001) which arrived at a range of $90-$105 billion as the impact on NYC. The report received an award from the National Council of State Legislatures for the "speed of production and depth of analysis". It was the first economic analysis out, primarily because the NYC Comptroller had been the main source of economic analysis after the WTC bombing in 1993; the elements of analysis were already in place. I am currently working on a "One Year After" follow-up report and the numbers are similar but slightly lower based on the data that
have appeared during the last year.

Todd P. Martin, 1st VP & Chief Economist
People's Bank, Bridgeport, Conn.

The attacks of 9/11 had a profound impact on my life. Not only were a number of my close friends killed at the World Trade Center (including a college roommate), but also many of my friends were attending the NABE annual meeting. Personally, 9/11 showed us how fragile and precious life is. Professionally, 9/11 highlighted how vulnerable economic forecasts are to exogenous events and why we economists need to increasingly utilize scenario planning to effectively provide value to our clients.

Duncan Meldrum, Chief Economist
Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.
NABE Board Member and VP-elect

Seventy-five words cannot express all the ways my life is changing. I am becoming less concerned with traditional measures of success, more concerned with relationships, but less able to communicate with people. I am more enthusiastic about working for organizations that mean something to me, but also more concerned that work satisfy me intellectually and emotionally. I also have become closer to many NABE members who were there, and find that they are helping to heal an emotional hole opened by 9/11.

Malcolm Mitchell
BP Chemicals, London

Life changes, no - thank goodness. Memories, yes. Memories of a wonderfully generous family in New Jersey who even as complete strangers housed me for 3 full days. Memories of the support and encouragement of colleagues at work. And very special memories shared with my own family, through which we rediscovered the truly important things in life. I've been back, and it helped. But the WTC has moved on; it's not the place of 9/11. I've found my personal quiet place in Manhattan to keep my memories.

Lillian 'Lee' Moy
US Census Bureau, Washington, DC

The events of 9/11 have affected people everywhere - from Africa to Asia,
and the Americas to Europe. This is one of biggest tragedies in my life
that I've lived through. My view changed greatly on that day ? 9/11, since
so many innocent lives were taken in that tragedy- just as a candle loses
its flicker in the wind.

I was caught in the Marriott World Trade Center when the first plane struck
the North Tower. In a frantic search for what was happening, myself and
two other colleagues escaped the World Trade Center, to find the top of the
building on flames.

As I looked in awe and disbelief of what was happening, within five
minutes, the sounds of a loud aircraft engine approached, and my life
changed drastically. Did I know what was to happen? How long would this
event go on?

With some hesitation, but a need to escape this disaster without losing
everything, I told my colleague Laurie Torene to go back inside the
Marriott Ball Room, where we had stored our bags and computers. We managed
to retrieve our handbags, with wallets and keys, which proved to be very
helpful as we returned to work at the Census Bureau.

That's why I'd like to share some important lessons on living. This means
having a certain level of tolerance for events and people around us. It
also means having an understanding and appreciation of all that we have

Hugues J. Rinfret, CFA
Director, SunTrust Bank

The tremors of the planes crashing in the towers still haunt my memory from time to time. Strangely, I haven't felt much anger or desire for revenge, but rather a sense of sadness. The memories will never go away, and probably shouldn't. Finally reaching my wife over the cell phone after the towers had collapsed was the best moment of a horrible day. I won't forget. I have two young kids, and one day I will tell them. In the meantime, the little joys of daily life have taken a different perspective.

Dana A. Saporta, Economist
Stone & McCarthy Research Associates

I was at work, watching the events unfold on television. The full emotional impact didn't hit me until my 5-year-old bounded off his school bus that afternoon with a smile of surprise to find me home early. I later learned that teachers rode the buses that day to ensure an adult was at home to meet each child. It was a comforting reminder that even such horrific events can bring out the best in people.

Francis H. Schott
NABE President, 1977-78

On Sept. 11, 2001, my wife Barbara and I were at the Ridgewood, NJ, railroad station, ready for a 9:30 am train to Hoboken from where PATH would take us directly to the WTC station underneath the Towers. We were to be co-hosts with Gil and Dorothy Heebner at a lunch table for Albert Merlin, former head of the French Association of Business Economists. Six other former NABE presidents were to join us. I had in my pocket the key to NABE's presidential suite on the 21st floor of the WTC Marriott, courtesy of Dick Berner. Susan Doolittle had assured me that the harbor view would be spectacular. I skipped the Convention breakfast because of the impending lunch. We never made it to the WTC because the Ridgewood Emergency team turned us away from the train. Albert Merlin spent the next three days at the Novotel before catching the first resumed flight to Paris. On Feb. 6, 2002, Annick and Albert Merlin were our dinner guests at the Hotel du Louvre, Paris, across the street from the Museum. We were happy to have them during a brief vacation trip -- a small act of redemption and renewal.

I was a Director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of N.Y. at the time of the first attack in 1993. We had headquarters on the 102nd floor of WTC #1 and decided to move after the attack because of clearly deficient smoke alarms and protection. We moved to WTC # 7 which sank to the ground in the late pm of 9/11! I lost a friend in Neil Levin who was chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York in 1993 and executive director of Port Authority NJ/NY on 9/11. The garage and lobby of the Marriott (then Vista) were greatly strengthened after 1993 which helps to explain why the main lobby of the 9/11 NABE meeting place survived relatively intact until demolition.

Manoj Shanker
Frankfort, Ky

My life quickly came back to normal after September 11th. What did change is that I normally think of myself as being open minded and fairly liberal. Since the terrorist attack I have become suspicious of both the Middle East and Islam. So essentially the hijackers succeeded in alienating more people from a religion and cause to which in the past we may have been merely indifferent.

Gary Shilling
President, A. Gary Shilling & Co.

September 11 showed that evil still exists, but also that destroying things is much cheaper than building them. Unfortunately, the terrorists got a tremendous bang for their 19 lives and four million bucks in flight training and other costs. Insurance companies will pay out $30 to $58 billion. The federal government will spend $40 billion for clean-up, another $18 billion annually for homeland security and more in military increases. Beefed up security at airports and border crossings means tens of billions in additional outlays and lost time. Business security costs may rise $50 billion per year. Not since Pearl Harbor has a shock to America been so expensive, and that equally unexpected attack cost the Japanese much more than $4 million in today's dollars.

Mulambo Sililo
Senior Credit Analyst, Mizuho

I don't know what shocked me more as I walked down from the 48th floor of WTC building - to realize that I am about to die or that I had spent a third of my life not knowing what it was all about anyway. From utter shock, it was like I was reborn. I have such purpose in life sometimes I am afraid I am going to get overwhelmed. Life is short and there is no time to waste.

Diane C. Swonk, Past NABE President
Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Bank One

If one theme resonates from 9/11, it is that the fate of our children is inherently dependent on how children view their fates around the world. When the dignity in death is greater than the dignity in life for a child, we have failed. Personally, I have found a tranquility that previously eluded me. Building sandcastles in with my children on a hot summer's day means more than ever, and the economics that I practice has more purpose.

Ellis W. Tallman, Research Officer and Senior Economist
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Since that day I am more conscious of the things I value. I spend more time with my family - not necessarily doing anything in particular. How else has my life changed? I learned clearly that life involves risk. It took a while for that to feel normal - but I am conscious of it. Life is fragile, but I don't want to get overly negative about it. We go on doing what we do, and adjust to the circumstances.

Mike ter Maat
Director, ABA/Foreword Financial Conferences

We lost bank members, service members and other friends, as did we all. Our hearts remain heavy. The division at the American Bankers Association for which I was responsible, the information products business, had to slug out a difficult year for conferencing. We canceled two events including our September convention, and postponed a third. Bankers have responded in American style by redoubling efforts to fight terrorism-related money laundering.

Michael Wald
Regional Economist, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

2001 was my first NABE national conference. Nothing changed immediately after 9/11. No bad nightmares, anger, or sense of revenge. But I have changed. Although my job is the same, it is not as central to my life. Change seems more natural, and after 25 years in the government, 9/11 made me more ready and accepting of change. As an amateur economic historian who reads about great events, what a surprise to actually be involved in one.

H. Peter Wallace, CFA
SVP - Director of Fixed Income
Heritage Asset Management, Inc

My life has changed significantly. I now try to live my life to the fullest, appreciate life, my family, work associates and those things that I had often taken for granted. I awake every morning and view life that day as a fragile gift. I now realize how short and precious life truly is. Not a single day has passed since September 11th that I have not reflected on the events of that horrible morning.

Ewen Wilson
US Census Bureau
Washington, DC

The haunting images of people jumping, like tiny rag dolls from burning
towers high above the streets of Manhattan, the collapse of the World
Trade Center, and the resulting avalanche of dust and debris from which we fled, choking for breath, are vivid memories rekindled by the inevitable, obsessive, maudlin media coverage of this first anniversary of September 11. I would just as soon forget. The TV in my home remains switched off. And yet, it is appropriate that we, as a nation, remember that fateful day and pay proper respect to the thousands of people who lost their lives, especially those heroes who helped others escape. We have drawn together as Americans, rallied around the flag and committed to fight terrorists and those who would rob us of our freedom and destroy our way of life. There is no doubt that, with the grace of God, this great nation will prevail.

Marty Wolk
MSNBC

I'm a bit more focused on spending time with my family and enjoying the time we have on this Earth. And yet I feel incredibly driven to do the best job I can as a journalist covering the economy in a time of enormous turmoil. Personally, I have made a few changes -- wrote a will, bought some life insurance. I also have developed an aversion to seeing graphic, cinematic violence.

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