E-Mails from the Edge

These are few of the responses to an e-mail sent September 12 by the Alumni Relations Office to alumni who live in the New York City and Washington, D.C., areas.

September 13, 2001, 7:44 a.m.

I had been complaining about being assigned to Muskogee, Oklahoma, for a month on a state legislative campaign assignment. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine being thankful for this assignment. But as I drove to work on Tuesday morning on September 11th and heard the first account of the terrorist attacks, I felt fortunate to be out of harm's way. I was distraught all morning not to be able to reach my friends and loved ones in D.C. and N.Y.C. I have many close friends--some from Pomona and others from Columbia University where I went to grad school--who worked in the WTC and near the Pentagon. My own office, the AFL-CIO headquarters building in downtown DC, is directly across the street from the White House, and less than a mile away from the Pentagon. My friends and co-workers in the vicinity of the White House and the Pentagon are fortunate and alive today because of heroism on United Flight 77 that crashed outside of Pittsburgh. The passengers who fought back against the hijackers sacrificed their lives and are true heroes. It means so much to me that the Pomona community reached out to alums like me in the D.C. and N.Y. area.

--Cuc Vu '92
Washington, D.C.

September 13, 2001, 11:16 a.m.

I am OK, beyond struggling with the shock, disbelief, grief, anger and frustration that have gripped New York and the entire country. It's pretty difficult here in Manhattan, where I have lived downtown (currently on 13th Street) for 14 years. The city is closed to non-emergency vehicles below 14th Street, which is about one-third of the island, and generally all businesses below 14th Street are closed other than food establishments (though no deliveries are permitted, so stocks are running out). There are thousands of emergency vehicles and personnel at work. They just closed Grand Central Station and Times Square this morning because of bomb threats. And earlier today they had closed the Lexington and 7th Avenue subway lines, which are major north-south arteries, out of fear that the vibrations would cause the collapse of additional unstable buildings downtown. I cannot describe what it is like to look down 6th Avenue and not see the twin towers any more, though I expect the rest of the country shares the feeling. I dread awaiting the casualty reports and fear there will be people I knew, though so far I have been spared that horror. What is truly amazing and unprecedented in my lifetime, however, is the sense of unity and shared purpose--not only within New York City, but across the country and much of the world -- that has arisen from these terrible events.

--Pat Gallagher, '74
New York City

September 20, 2001, 12:45 p.m.

Thank you very much for the e-mail; it was much appreciated. Being at NYU Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital has been hectic. I was assigned to triage at Chelsea Piers along with other medical students the day of the attack in a makeshift M*A*S*H unit. The following day I was working at a blood drive. Now we are back in class, although the reminder is always there; posters of all the missing fill the walls outside of the hospital. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is also across the street and many students are volunteering there as well. It has been a crazy time to say the least.

--Herbie Duber '99
New York City