Reply #80: i was at work

[sniffa]

once it became apparent what was happening we aLL gathered around a tiny monitor or around the computers with the best connections. at around 10ish i'd guess, peopLe on the radio and such were panicking and reporting much more terrorist attacks (such as that the maLL was on fire, and that a truck bomb bLew up the capitoL buiLding) that we were aLL frozen, and kinda terrorized. i don't think it was that we were nervous of getting hit (at the time i was working in dorchester - stiLL the city, but far enough away from the main targets in boston) but just a generaL sense of fear/terror/disbeLief.

some time after 10, the minority owner of my company (a 76ish oLd grouch) came in and asked, "what's going on?"
someone toLd him what was happening, and after about 3 seconds of taking it in, he toLd us aLL to get back to work.

myseLf, i was toLd to head out to a job site i was working on - bLack faLcon terminaL - and headed right out with my instrument operator to do the work we were originaLLy scheduLed to do on that day (actuaLLy, it just had to be done that week, and we weren't pLanning on going tuesday; but i guess to heLp us deaL with what was going on, or to make sure we earned the money he was paying us, he bumped that job up to 9/11).

anyhow, bLack faLcon is a massport terminaL for ships, and anyone with haLf a brain wouLd know we wouLdn't be aLLowed on site based on the chaos that was unfoLding. so we showed up, and the massport cop actuaLLy Looked at me with contempt for asking if we get out on the dock to do our job. i toLd him i understand, and returned to our van roLLing my eyes.

in the time i was at bLack faLcon, boston ordered the city evacuated, and sometime between 11:00-11:30am, not onLy was every road cLogged with cars trying to fLee the city, but every piece of grass, curb, somewhat drivabLe surface, was aLso. peopLe were actuaLLy smashing into each other trying to get one car ahead. it was insane. i onLy had a 10 minute drive, tops, to my office, and it tooke 45+ minutes to drive that short distance.

oh, and at my company, roughLy 90% worked on a federaL project, and they were sent home with pay at 11:00.
i got back to the office, and i was one of four peopLe not aLLowed to Leave. i ended up Leaving sometime after 1:00pm... and i got in troubLe for it.