Yesterday, Leah and I went to our favorite Japanese store in the International District. It's on the other end of our downtown bus tunnel, so the ride to and from is free. She and I were hurrying down the steps and stairs to make it to the bus platforms when we came upon a woman staggering down the stairs. Leah and I slowed down as this tall, dark haired stranger lurched and wobbled down the steps, veering this way and that. At one point, she turned and glanced in irritation at the two of us because we had caught up to her, although we were keeping a bit of distance.
She wasn't drunk; she was wearing incredible high stiletto heels and didn't know how to walk in them.
On September 11th, one of the young underwriters formerly of our New York office was at his new office on the 70th floor of Tower Two. He and his coworkers felt the building shudder and grabbed their cell phones, heading toward the stairway. He and another male coworker were descending with two female colleagues, urging them to take off their high heels because they had a long way to walk. About five flights down, they heard the announcement giving an all clear to return to their floor. The men continued downward, the females, refusing to remove their heels, went back up to the office. When they reached street level, the air was filled with debris, smoke and dust, so the underwriter grabbed his friend and they ran to his old office at my company. Behind them, the first tower was disintegrating. When they reached the floor that he used to work at, cloaked in white from the dust, one of his former coworkers enfolded him in an enormous bear hug, crying and explaining that building two had just gone down. Of their entire staff, only those two women were among the missing.
Watching that woman wobble down the stairs at the bus tunnel reminded me of the story.
I may own a lot of shoes but none of them make it hard for me to walk.
We close at 12:30 today for the long holiday weekend. If I don't post anything twixt now and then, have a nice weekend everyone and a happy holiday. :)
She wasn't drunk; she was wearing incredible high stiletto heels and didn't know how to walk in them.
On September 11th, one of the young underwriters formerly of our New York office was at his new office on the 70th floor of Tower Two. He and his coworkers felt the building shudder and grabbed their cell phones, heading toward the stairway. He and another male coworker were descending with two female colleagues, urging them to take off their high heels because they had a long way to walk. About five flights down, they heard the announcement giving an all clear to return to their floor. The men continued downward, the females, refusing to remove their heels, went back up to the office. When they reached street level, the air was filled with debris, smoke and dust, so the underwriter grabbed his friend and they ran to his old office at my company. Behind them, the first tower was disintegrating. When they reached the floor that he used to work at, cloaked in white from the dust, one of his former coworkers enfolded him in an enormous bear hug, crying and explaining that building two had just gone down. Of their entire staff, only those two women were among the missing.
Watching that woman wobble down the stairs at the bus tunnel reminded me of the story.
I may own a lot of shoes but none of them make it hard for me to walk.
We close at 12:30 today for the long holiday weekend. If I don't post anything twixt now and then, have a nice weekend everyone and a happy holiday. :)
posted by Owl Chick at 12/21/2001 11:08:00 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home