Thursday 13 September
I went back to work Thursday. A few subway trains were running so it wasn't too bad getting there. Here's the view of where the towers once stood. Not much work was getting done today. Clients were sending e-mail sending their best wishes and hoping none of our loved ones were victims. Everyone's mind was elsewhere.
My office emptied out in the afternoon. A friend who had left to catch a train home came back to say he had just boarded a train and they evacuated the train and closed Grand Central Station after a bomb scare. People weren't allowed within a block.
All of a sudden they let people back in. I was one of the first and it was strange to see Grand Central Station so empty. It's usually full of commuters.
Walking down the street you're constantly reminded of the towers, even though the smoke has pretty much cleared. This furniture store had a photo in a display.
I was crossing 23rd Street at Lexington Avenue and watched as one young cop with a radio came up to another cop and said "they pulled another fireman out," and they gave each other a high-five, immediately turned, and got back to directing traffic. It was pretty clear this was hitting the police pretty hard.
All over town people with missing loved ones are posting signs. You see the human toll at almost every street corner.
I was walking up Fifth Avenue, past the Empire State Building and watched a bomb-sniffing dog check out a delivery. Again, as things just started to seem to settle down you realize things will never be the same again.
It's pretty disturbing to see army trucks on the streets of Manhattan, although at the same time they're comforting.
I walked past the armory on Lexington Avenue in the 20's had long lines outside with people seeking information on missing loved ones.

I went to a friend's art opening uptown and was one of the only people there. Right now it just feels like a lot of art is too inconsequential compared to what just happened.

I channel surfed later that night just looking for the latest startling video image. It was almost pornographic the way one's attention is drawn to certain images which then quickly wear out. A friend had given me a copy of the New York Times from yesterday - we didn't get newspapers in lower Manhattan the day after. The photos were just as startling and memorable and the writing was amazing.
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