I've covered a lot of major news stories: The arrest of the Mayor of Atlantic City and other city officials in a corruption sting, the crash of a Trump helicopter that killed several Trump Casino executives (Trump backed out of the trip at the last second) and the Presidential Summit (all then-current living Presidents) in front of Independence Hall. Needless to say, the 9/11 attacks was the biggest of them all, although my involvement was very minimal. And only I would have a funny story from that fateful day. Hey, I'm a big believer that comedy can help in the most stressful of times, and I've requested that when I die, instead of my friends and family sitting around a funeral parlour crying and mourning that they be at a bar Irish wake-style laughing and celebrating my life telling their favorite stories about me which would probably take days.
I was the early-morning photographer/live truck operator at KYW-TV/Eyewitness News for about 9 years, doing 3 or 4 live shots for the morning news whether we had a story that day or not. I was working with veteran reporter Dick Standish that morning... one of the nicest, classiest people I have ever worked with. We had finished our story for the morning and were heading to our next assignment when he got a call that a small plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Because of the enormity of the Twin Towers many eyewitness mistook the plane to be much smaller than it was. In Philly TV news, there are certain reliable places you go to get interviews for certain stories. If you need quick sound bites on Philly sports, you go to Pat's or Geno's. We'd often show up at 4:00 a.m. looking for "breathing human beings" as Dick would call them to interview... you'd be surprised how many people are eating cheesesteaks at 4:00 a.m. in Philly. We would often end up interviewing the workers and owner Joey Vento at Geno's... quite the character and always willing to help us out. Anyway, for small plane crashes, it was Northeast Philly airport where you could always find pilots of smaller planes to interview. Dick had the fortitude to turn on the radio and tune into a New York A.M. station which was fuzzy but listenable. They were interviewing someone who was looking out the window of their apartment in Manhattan describing the scene of the North Tower crash. At 9:05 a.m. this person described in horror that another plane had crashed into the South Tower. "HOLY SHI##" We immediately said out loud. It was now obvious this was more than a small plane accidentally crashing into a tall building.
I immediately called my oldest brother Rick who had lived and worked in NYC for almost 20 years. "What the hell is going on, they're attacking New York. Are you OK?" I asked. "I'm fine" he said calmly. "I work in Mid-town, I'm nowhere near there." Typical New Yorker. The city's under attack and everyone above Lower Manhattan is calm. I'm not poking fun, it's just the way residents of New York are, proving this in the hours and days afterwards by staying calm and banding together to help one another out, by standing their ground to prove their resolve and vowing that terrorism will never defeat them or make them move out of the city. My wife (then girlfriend) worked a few blocks away, and as I turned my attention to my job, I forgot to call her... something she NEVER lets me forget. (She doesn't buy my story that I figured she was alright PHYSICALLY, so it wasn't a big deal. I did neglect how she was emotionally, something I admit I should have been more aware of.)
We quickly got a phone call telling us to find somewhere where people would be watching TV to get their reaction. I suggested Amtrak's 30th St. Station since we were only a few miles from there and I had watched the TV in their lounge a few times waiting for a train. We found an overflowing crowd glued to the TV there and caught their shock and disbelief on tape. It was there that I watched both towers collapse live on TV... an image I will never forget. Our station decided to immediately put on our news, which stayed on all day right up until the network news at 6:30. Dick and I would do a live shot every 20 minutes or so and the veteran reporter he was somehow found something to say to fill the time they needed.. NOT an easy thing to do on live television. The Philadelphia Police Tactical Squad showed up and with Amtrak Police evacuated and sealed off 30th St. Station for the rest of the day. They made a perimeter with police tape while we were live on the air, and later realized we were stuck INSIDE the perimeter. (much to the dismay of the Action News crew.) Dick asked a tactical officer, "Sgt. Mike" if we should move, and he told us no, to stay where we were and to continue to do our job. We stayed there until 6:30 p.m., after reporting to work at our usual time, 3:30 a.m.
O.K., here's the funny part. Sgt. Mike new Dick Standish and was standing around talking to him sometime in the late afternoon. Things had calmed down quite a bit, and since we couldn't move to get fresh interviews, our live shots became less frequent. Sgt. Mike asked us if we needed to use the rest room, and blurted out "oh yeah!" Dick declined, and Sgt. Mike told me to go inside 30th ST. Station to use the Men's room. "Are you sure about that Sarg?" I asked. "Won't the Amtrak police give me any grief?" "Tell them I told you you could go in" he said sternly. "If they give you a problem, come out and get me." Mind you, this a cop in FULL tactical gear including a machine gun, several handguns and enough ammo to take out a platoon.
"O...K... I thought" knowing full well what would happen when I stepped inside the building. Sure enough, two steps inside the building I spotted an Amtrak cop at the far end of the structure start walking towards me. "HEY, WHAT THE FU#$ DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING A##HOLE? THIS BUILDING IS IN LOCK DOWN. GET THE FU@# OUT OF HERE BEFORE I ARREST YOUR ASS" Mr. Amtrak Cop screamed at me. "But Sgt. Mike of the Philly Tact Squad told me I could...."trying to explain before Mr. Amtrak Cop cut me off. "I DON'T CARE WHO THE FU#$ TOLD YOU WHAT....I''M TELLING YOU TO GET THE FU@# OUT OF HERE" he screamed in response. His screams echoed in the empty vastness of the huge building causing them to have double the impact. I sheepishly stepped back outside. "What happened?" asked Sgt. Mike. "He yelled at me to get the fu#$ out of the building after I told him you said it was o.k." "WHAT?" Sgt. Mike said with an angry look on his face. "FU@# HIM....Let's go, follow ME" he said. With a sarcastic grin on my face I followed Sgt. Mike with all his weapons hanging off him like a soldier heading into battle back into the empty train station. FU@#ING Amtrak Cop... How DARE he. I have WAY MORE FIREPOWER THAN HIM." As I entered the building, I was immediately accosted by Mr. Amtrak Cop. "HEY, I TOLD YOU TO GET THE...." he started. "HEY, I TOLD HIM HE COULD USE THE MOTHERFU@#ING MEN'S ROOM" Sgt. Mike barked. "YEAH TAKE THAT MR. AMTRAK COP I YELLED"....... To myself. "GO TAKE A PISS" Sgt. Mike barked at me. I had to chuckle on the way in to the Men's Room about the irony of the situation. Our country is trying to deal with the worst terrorist attacks in our country's history and these two cops are about to open fire on each other because I have to pee. Only me I tell you. Sgt. Mike gave me his card and told me if I EVER needed him to feel free to call him. To this day I have never been escorted to a Men's Room by a heavily armed man with an attitude because someone was challenging his authority.
Now the sad part. The true impact of the terrorist attacks was not felt by me until the next day. Working in TV news, you don't have time to deal with how you feel about a story. Having a live deadline constantly hanging over your head makes you concentrate only on what you have to do to prepare yourself for the next broadcast, whether you're a reporter or photographer/live truck operator. I went home and watched the coverage and called me girlfriend (too little, too late) and my brother and found out his assistant's fiance was lost in the Towers. The next morning we were sent up to the Trenton train station to interview commuters who may have witnessed anything the day before. A few told us they could see the smoke from the World Trade Center site, but most talked about being stuck on the train for hours in some remote location after all trains, planes and traffic was stopped from entering Manhattan. One man said, "Do you know what got to me? When I finally got back here last night I noticed all the cars parked in the lot across the street and wondered how many people had parked there yesterday and never came back." As I videotaped the cars in that lot I began to cry wondering how many DID park there the morning before, ready to start another routine day of work at the World Trade Center not knowing the fate that would meet them when they finished their commute and went to work. I thought of the wives, husbands, significant others, family, friends and especially the children who would never see them again and had to step away from the camera overcome with emotion. Seeing something, ANYTHING...even a car in person makes it so real. That's the image I'll never forget from that day 8 years ago.
In YOUR own way, please Never Forget.
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