Attacks alter fabric of New Yorkers

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NAME — Colleen Merkel
AGE — 23
GRADE —

ATTACKS ALTER FABRIC OF NEW YORKERS

High school senior recalls reaction, reflects on way people, city changed

December 23, 2001

By Colleen Merkel, 16

All around the nation, people have experienced different reactions and emotions to the events of Sept. 11. Although many people were affected, some of the most riveting accounts are from the people who live and work in New York City. New Yorkers, known for being aggressive and blunt, became one family, united in their grief.

In October, Y- Press spoke with several members of the Children's PressLine bureau in New York City, including Sarah Johnson, 17, a senior at the Bronx High School of Science. These are her recollections of Sept. 11 and the following days.

"I was at school, and the principal just came over the loudspeaker and made an announcement that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center. And nobody believed it at first because first of all, it was over the loudspeaker, and it was just kind of this voice coming out of the wall. And second of all, I go to school up in the Bronx, like 205th Street, . . . so we aren't even in the city. It's just kind of isolated up there, and so it just seemed really out of touch with reality. So we didn't believe it when we first heard about it.

"The principal made announcements every period about what was going on, updating us and everything. The teachers were trying to be very supportive and they let us make phone calls to our parents. There was one classroom that had a TV, so whenever you got to change class, they would let you go into the history room and watch the TV so you could see what was going on.

"My biggest relief was when me and my friends started walking home. . . . We got to the train station, which is about two blocks from the school, and they said that the train was running. And I was just so happy that I didn't have to walk home.

"And I got from the train to the store where my parents both work -- I hadn't been able to get through to them on the phone. When I got there, they were both all right, and I was able to go home with my dad. And it was just really nice to see that the store was open, they were still selling picture frames like they always do. It was such a relief to know that my life was still normal, or as normal as can be expected . . .

"What I saw on the news was everybody was devastated. I think it's been a very accurate portrayal of the emotional atmosphere in New York. Like they would show people who were supporting the fact that the U.S. wanted to go to war, but they were also showing people who wanted to just deal with them peacefully. They were showing people who were crying and sad because they lost people who they cared about. They were showing people who were volunteering all day in the sun, and who were just there offering their support, and people who were traumatized because they were there to volunteer, but there was nothing to volunteer for . . .

"All over the country, they were all here, like EMS workers, firefighters, policemen, sheriffs. I know the sheriffs from California were here. They were all here to help clear up the debris, help any victims. It was a really good show of support. It made me feel like, 'Wow, New York isn't so special that it has to be isolated from the rest of the country.'

"But after about a day of watching the World Trade Center, I honestly could not look at the TV anymore. I had to watch movies, comedy or get away from the TV altogether because it was too much to see the image again. . . .

"We had no classes the day after it, and we went back on that Thursday. Some classes we just discussed what had happened, such as history, because obviously it was history in the making. But other classes where it's more factual, such as math, we just went on with our lessons.

"It was a pretty normal day otherwise, because most people who had been severely affected did not come to school because they needed more time off. So things just continued as normal until on Monday when we had like a vigil, where during our lunch period, people would be outside just giving speeches, singing songs, and like just talking about what happened, their reactions. It was a very positive day.

"There's been a lot of patriotism and national pride. Everybody's been walking around with flags on their hats, bags, jackets, shirts, cars, windows, everywhere. And I mean it's really nice to see, but it's also sort of forced.

"I'm not a very patriotic person per se, but it's like people just say, 'Oh, well yeah, since the tragedy happened you have to put a flag on now.' It's not like they actually believe in it all the time. Any other day, like before this whole thing happened, you'd hardly ever see a flag. . . .

"People aren't as rough as they were before. I mean there's still rush hour where everyone's pushing on the subway and everything, but for at least a week afterwards, people were more relaxed. You could see that everyone was thinking, so they would just kind of turn it down a notch.

". . . A couple days after it happened, it was just like the worst smell you have ever smelled. It's like burning, but it's worse. Somebody said it smells like death. . . .

"It just was so distant from me. I didn't know anybody there. I'd heard about people who were there, but I didn't personally know them, so it hasn't really touched me in the way that it's touched so many people. . . .

"My biggest fear was that I have a friend who's in the Marines, and he's stationed overseas right now. And when on the news they said that they were sending the Marines out from the base where he's stationed, I was just really, really, really worried that they were gonna send him out, but I got word from him that he was not being sent out. And that was another big relief.

"New York seemed so invincible before this. I had this whole vision that New York couldn't be touched, and then all of a sudden it's in flames. (It was) like the defeat of America's ego.

"I realize now that we're just like the rest of the world, that we're able to be attacked just like anybody else is."

Assistant Editors: Melissa Tuckman, 15; Katie Qualkinbush, 14; and Lisa O'Connor, 14.

Reporters: Gabrielle Bibeau, 13; Kristin Drouin, 12; Julie McDowell, 13; and Stephen Miller, 11.

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