Two of Pam Slette’s favorite places in Manhattan have changed forever, and she may never visit them again.

Thursday, September 13, 2001

Two of Pam Slette’s favorite places in Manhattan have changed forever, and she may never visit them again.

The first is the docking area for the ferry from New Jersey, where she enjoyed watching people hustle off the boat and crowd into the subway to head for work.

Now that same ferry is being used to shuttle the wounded and dead to hospitals across the Hudson River.

The second place is the plaza between the two towers of the World Trade Center. Slette said she often ate her lunch in the plaza, chatting with other office workers on their breaks or enjoying the entertainers who often performed there.

The plaza is now buried under tons of steel and rubble.

Slette, a 1972 graduate of Albert Lea High School, works in the New York Mercantile Exchange building in the World Financial Center, only a block from the site of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks, which she witnessed.

The catastrophe, followed by her evacuation from the area, is still fresh in her mind.

&uot;I had been at work about 40 minutes when a coworker ran into the office and told us about a plane hitting one of the towers of the World Trade Center,&uot; Slette said. &uot;We weren’t sure what to think, so a bunch of us went to the 10th floor where there are some balconies looking over that direction.&uot;

When Slette saw the flames and smoke billowing from a gash in the building’s upper floors, she knew she was witnessing one of the city’s darkest moments.

&uot;I just remember looking at the building as if it wasn’t even real, at first. Then it just dawned on me – that building is never going to recover from this. The damage is so horrible it must be irreparable,&uot; she said.

&uot;One lady said, ‘I’m going to go call my mom.’ And I thought, ‘Good idea.’&uot;

It was only moments later that Slette and her coworkers were advised to evacuate the building. Slette returned to her office, made a quick reassuring call to her mother in Albert Lea, grabbed some personal items, and headed for the street level.

&uot;It’s very odd what goes through your mind in times like that,&uot; she said. &uot;I remember grabbing this bandana that I had gotten the day before in the plaza from these guys promoting the New York Rangers hockey season. It occurred to me that someone might be able to use that bandana.&uot;

On the street, Slette emerged into chaos with police officers and emergency vehicles already arriving on the scene. By this time the other tower had been hit by a second jet, and people were frightened and crying as they realized the violent intent behind the crashes. Many were panicking as they began to think about colleagues in the World Trade Center.

&uot;I just headed north, along with, I suppose, thousands of people. It was an exodus,&uot; she said. &uot;There were so many of them limping or clutching their arms or trying to stop the bleeding on some part of their bodies. Others like me were unhurt, but just clearing out of the area.&uot;

As they trudged north, huge explosions caused them to look back over their shoulders to see the towers collapsing. Slette said it was as if the world was ending.

&uot;We were all so stunned. People were saying things like ‘I’m never going back there again.’ It was so surreal,&uot; she said. &uot;I didn’t realize it was such a targeted area, but many people around me didn’t seem that surprised. I suppose many had been there for the bombing several years ago.&uot;

During the five-mile walk away from the scene, Slette passed hundreds of people getting medical attention at makeshift triage centers on the street. She handed one wounded woman her New York Rangers bandana.

&uot;She had very serious lacerations on her arms and hands, but she looked so determined to keep her composure,&uot; Slette said. &uot;All she could say to me was, ‘I made it.’&uot;

Though she had been walking for hours, Slette said time was standing still. When she reached St. Thomas Church at 53rd street, she had no idea how much time had passed. She ducked into the church to find an impromptu prayer service.

&uot;I joined in, and just closed my eyes as tight as I could. All I could see, though, was the collapse of those buildings. Even though I’ll never actually see them again, the images will stay with me,&uot; she said.

A few blocks east of the church, people were already lining up around the block to give blood. Slette was told to return at a later time because she had the wrong blood type.

She found a ride home to Forest Hills, and immediately turned on the TV.

&uot;I needed some kind of confirmation, even though I was there for the whole thing. I was still unsure if I was going to wake up from it all,&uot; she said.

As she sat in her apartment, she began to think of the names and faces of friends in the World Trade Center plaza – people she ate lunch with every day.

&uot;I’ve really been wondering about them, even though I don’t know many of their last names or phone numbers.&uot;

&uot;They’re people I’ve become familiar with because we eat in the same area every day,&uot; Slette said. &uot;I’ll probably never know how they’re doing or if they made it out.&uot;

People with offices in the World Trade Center were at the top of their professions, Slette said. She thinks that’s one reason the terrorists targeted the twin towers.

&uot;The people in those buildings, they had really made it in life. They were the best and brightest,&uot; Slette said. &uot;I know what kind of symbol those buildings must have been to the terrorists – some kind of capitalistic landmark.&uot;

&uot;Those buildings were America at the highest level of business achievement, but to me, it represents the thousands of great people who went there every day to do their work,&uot; she said.

Slette is due to return to work today or Friday, and is anxious about seeing the destruction.

&uot;I’ve been watching on the television, but these are places I’m intimately familiar with, as are many New Yorkers, and now I can barely recognize the area. It will be difficult, but this city is so resilient,&uot; she said. &uot;I know we’ll move on.&uot;

Slette isn’t angry as much as she’s even more convinced of the importance of tolerance and understanding of other cultural and spiritual points of view.

&uot;Those terrorists thought they were doing something holy. They did it out of pure religiosity. I don’t pretend to fully understand their motives, but they probably didn’t think they were doing evil deeds,&uot; she said.