A lot can change in 24 hours. I was oblivious to the changes this morning; even more surprising when you consider I live 4 blocks south of the World Trade Center. With cable down and my cell phone service not working, I would have slept through the tragedy had I not logged in to Instant Messenger and been greeted by concerned friends.

The scene in my lobby was chaos. The streets were blanketed with dust; the lobby was blanketed with dust, every corner, even the basement. Though I missed the incident, many of my neighbors watched it in horror, and shared their experience. One tenant described waking to a loud boom and watching a tidal wave of debris heading her way. Startled, she shut the window and ran into the halls. Another actually took pictures of the 2nd plane hitting the tower. He said the plane came in low over our apartment then turned sideways as it hit the WTC. "It was nothing like Hollywood," he said. The plane just seemed to implode into the building; but anyone watching on TV can see that the big explosion was on the other side. Yet another tenant described seeing people jumping out of the building. Back in the lobby, everyone was shaken, but helpful and supportive. It was great how everyone, neighbors yet strangers, came together to help each other get through this.

I was stuck in the lobby for about 2 hours before I learned the building would be evacuated for the night. The building down the street was in danger of collapsing; water and gas service was turned off. Hanging around there was pointless, so I ventured outside. The news describes the scene as a nuclear winter. Everything was covered in a snow of dust a few centimeters high. Papers from all sorts of businesses were strewn across the street. There was a stark silence, broken by a few officers in the area. Looking up towards the WTC, I could see nothing but a brown cloud. I started heading North on Broadway. Even with the mask I was wearing, it was getting hard to breath and my eyes were stinging. I saw a fireman hug another, obviously shaken by the damage he just witnessed.

I was skeptical when I heard of villagers stopped in their tracks when Mt. Vesuvius erupted, but now I can understand it. Though I didn’t see anything so drastic, there were cars abandoned in the middle of the road, covered in dust. Bagel Stands were left standing on the sidewalk. (One of my favorite lunch carts, Ali Akbar's Grill, is right across the street from the WTC; I hope he's safe) Flowers and fruit were caked with dust as well.  A few steps later I saw a single woman's shoe among the debris.  And a surreal image among the dirt and debris was The Trump Tower, whose sidewalk and façade were hosed clean.

As I continued North, I saw the fire, right above what used to be Krispy Kreme. That burning orange shining through the smoke is forever etched in my mind.  The smoke clouds billowed above me but the swirling dust diminished (The wind was blowing South.), and I discarded my mask. City Hall was crowded with officers, hospital workers and TV crews. Police actually did a great job in controlling the crowded exodus out of Downtown. A few people held crudely drawn signs labeled "O+", "O-", "B+", with lines forming behind them for blood donations.

I then encountered the most painful image of the day. Construction workers were hustling plywood and wood studs to the park, where others were nailing two studs on either side of a piece of plywood, then loading them onto dump trucks for transport to the WTC. "Please tell me that's not what I think it is?" I asked a bystander; he just nodded solemnly.  The workers were building crude stretchers to transport the bodies, and hopefully some wounded.

Stores on either side of me were closed, the people walking around me were all obliviously shaken, and some were taking pictures of what they could. I too have some pictures I’d like to share; unfortunately in my rush I didn’t grab the wire to connect to my digital camera. About two miles later I reached the Prince Street subway station, which was running. I rode up to a friend’s place, where I write this now. Even up here in Midtown, the streets are now quiet and the city is shut down. Television has been running non-stop, but there is no new information.

Words cannot describe what has happened here today. I can’t even register the number of times I’ve exclaimed "Oh my god..." It has been a shocking day for all; my heart goes out to those who suffered any loss in this tragedy.