remembering 9/11
Remembering 9/11/2001.
I was working at the radio station and was going to see an account in New Jersey. I was living in Long Beach at the time so I decided to take the Rockaway’s route to get there. I was stopped in traffic for a while listening to Howard Stern and he was saying that a plane hit one of the towers. He didn’t seem to take it seriously because the information was just coming in. Then the second plane hit and Howard seemed stunned. At that point I turned to 1010 WINS to get more information. I was stuck in traffic because every firefighter, every ambulance and every officer was leaving the area to rush into the city. The sirens were so loud; I had to close my windows on that beautiful Tuesday morning.
I now panic and call the station. Trish the receptionist at WBAB told me not to worry because the client already called to tell me not to come. I called the client myself who was worried because he had a friend who worked in the towers.
At this point I find an opening, turn around and go to my parent’s house in Merrick. I remember like it was yesterday driving over the Loop Parkway. I turned to my left over the bridge and there it was from a distance…there it was. Two beautiful towers burning and smoke so thick it turned the sky black. The towers didn’t collapse until I got to Merrick. When the towers collapsed, I did to.
God Bless those men and women who gave their lives to save lives.
-Christine Gerani
Joe Gerani
I was also working at WBAB at the time. It was a truly frightening day. I can still recall the sick feeling in my stomach standing in the newsroom watching a live TV shot of the second plane hitting the building and fully realizing we were at war. It was that moment that we all knew our lives as we knew them would never return.
As horrific as that day was, the next week did more to restore my faith in humanity than at any moment prior or since. BAB and BLI went into straight news and information, and the parking lot of the radio station turned into an impromptu collection point for Long Islanders to bring whatever supplies were needed to help in the rescue efforts. It started Wednesday morning with a handful of listeners dropping off water, gloves, masks, really only on the mention on-air of the fact that these things are needed for the heroes who were in Manhattan as a part of the rescue efforts. Suddenly a huge truck and trailer showed up volunteering to transport whatever listeners would bring to donate. Then another truck, and another. That was fine, because what started with dozens of people quickly grew to hundreds, with cars backed up for miles on Sunrise Highway to drop off supplies.
The charity AmeriCares heard what was going on and sent volunteers to collect donations that would go to a victims fund, in case anyone cared to donate. Thousands of dollars were raised, and many thousands more in the ensuing weeks. Much of the staff worked practically around the clock throughout the week. It showed, to me, that as tough as life can be, when faced with a tragedy, human nature can really take over, and people will scramble to do whatever they can to help others. Gives you the confidence that even when staring into the eyes of evil, you can get past it, because there’s always someone who has your back.