We’re half an hour north of the city, but news comes to us in bits and pieces. We don’t get good radio reception in our office, so we rely on the internet and on calls from friends and family closer to the scene.

My initial thought is that a small plane with an inexperienced pilot slammed into one of the buildings accidentally.

That is, until someone cries, “Oh no! Here comes another one!”

We all know what that means.

I try to call my mother. She works in the city, and might have been getting off of the PATH train at the WTC right when the first plane hit. Unfortunately, the phone lines are overloaded and I can’t get through.

Over the next several minutes, we hear hundreds of stories. A plane hit the Pentagon. One is seen headed for the UN Building. One crashes in a field. After all planes are grounded, seven flights turn up missing.

I finally get in touch with my mother. She had taken the day off to see her doctor here in Rockland.

My aunt, however, did go into the city that day.