© Walter Goralski 2011
Made with Xara
Here you will read Alex's story and see his pictures. Then Camille's story tells about how a young girl from a little town in North
Dakota came to the big city. Finally, Walter's story shows you the still-reeling city on October 7, less than four weeks later, and then tells
how little we might really know about the tragedy.
The video from October 7, 2001 opens across from City Hall and in front of Pace University. My sons Chris and Alex (the student
who took the photos that day) are with me, and all I can say is "unbelievable." Yes, the smell was as bad as stated, and not at all reduced
by the brisk wind. A subdued, shuffling crowd makes their way down Broadway for most of next 8 minutes of video, and the number of
fully armed and ready troops at each street corner is notable. Even on a Sunday, signs of activity at the site are obvious (there is a scene
of water being poured onto still-smoldering fires about the 7 and a half minute mark). The ruins of the towers are still impressive, even
after the catastrophe, and dust is everywhere. At one point a giant BOOM startled me at about the 5 and a half minute mark.
The video continues at Grand Central Terminal in front of a makeshift memorial and monument to the "missing." Sadly, all of the
people on the zoomed-in signs in the video are victims of the attacks. The soundtrack picks up some annoying floor-cleaning machine,
but that cannot be helped. Out on 42nd Street, another memorial attracts people who salute and walk by somberly.
Above all else, there is the pain of the day. This multimedia slideshow was created from photos downloaded from the Internet,
none taken later than September 28, 2001. The music seemed a natural accompaniment. There are no actual depictions of the falling
towers, however. Just the honest efforts and reactions of the people who were there, before and after. The photo quality is not the
greatest, but reflects the quality of the monitors available at the time, and the leisurely pace of the slides changing and lack of fancy
transitions reflects the speed of "multimedia" computers of the day.
This material is not meant to entertain, but to educate.
© Walter Goralski 2011
Made with Xara
Here you will read Alex's story and see his pictures. Then Camille's story tells about how a young girl from a little town in North
Dakota came to the big city. Finally, Walter's story shows you the still-reeling city on October 7, less than four weeks later, and then tells
how little we might really know about the tragedy.
The video from October 7, 2001 opens across from City Hall and in front of Pace University. My sons Chris and Alex (the student
who took the photos that day) are with me, and all I can say is "unbelievable." Yes, the smell was as bad as stated, and not at all reduced
by the brisk wind. A subdued, shuffling crowd makes their way down Broadway for most of next 8 minutes of video, and the number of
fully armed and ready troops at each street corner is notable. Even on a Sunday, signs of activity at the site are obvious (there is a scene
of water being poured onto still-smoldering fires about the 7 and a half minute mark). The ruins of the towers are still impressive, even
after the catastrophe, and dust is everywhere. At one point a giant BOOM startled me at about the 5 and a half minute mark.
The video continues at Grand Central Terminal in front of a makeshift memorial and monument to the "missing." Sadly, all of the
people on the zoomed-in signs in the video are victims of the attacks. The soundtrack picks up some annoying floor-cleaning machine,
but that cannot be helped. Out on 42nd Street, another memorial attracts people who salute and walk by somberly.
Above all else, there is the pain of the day. This multimedia slideshow was created from photos downloaded from the Internet,
none taken later than September 28, 2001. The music seemed a natural accompaniment. There are no actual depictions of the falling
towers, however. Just the honest efforts and reactions of the people who were there, before and after. The photo quality is not the
greatest, but reflects the quality of the monitors available at the time, and the leisurely pace of the slides changing and lack of fancy
transitions reflects the speed of "multimedia" computers of the day.
This material is not meant to entertain, but to educate.
