Today is Monday, June 15th, 2009; Karen's Korner #1591
A writing from "Chicken Soup for the Soul of America", featuring stories surrounding times right after September 11, 2001 (in part):
Twin Saving at the Twin Towers
Kenneth Summers was one of the few people who were seriously injured and lived to see another day, only because someone stepped forward in sacrifice.
An early bird, Summers arrived at his desk on the 27th floor of the North Tower......around 7:15 a.m. After clearing up is busywork, he took the elevator down to the soaring glass lobby of the World Trade Center to mail some personal bills. What a perfect day, he thought. Crystal clear sky, cool air. The kind of day you feel happy to be alive.
"I wasn't outside for more than ten seconds, when I thought I heard something like a massive train rushing past. Then boom! I looked to the right and saw someone I knew from upstairs racing for cover," he recalled. "I don't even know if I took the time to look up."
To take cover for himself, he rushed back to the revolving door leading into the North Tower. Inside that swirling door, Summers immediately noticed the space around him filling up with orange-yellowish colored fumes. "A second later, all hell broke lose," he continued. Shards of glass were flying everywhere as the force of an explosion lifted him up and out onto the street.
"I ws on my back and on fire. I frantically looked to see if I had fingers or toes. I was lying next to the big planters outside and I kept saying to myself, I'm okay. I'm okay. Then I realized I was bleeding from my hands to my head, and I was covered in burns."
He beat his clothers and his hair with his hands to extinquish the flames that engulfed him. Once he put the fire out, he staggered across the street, looked up and saw the black smoke billowing from the top floors of the Tower. Was it anothe bomb, like in 1993? he thought. Or maybe a plane had hit the towers. People on the sidewalk around him seemed frozen. Summers pleaded with strangers to help him, but understandably everyone seemed too stunned to respond.
A split second later, there was a swoosh over his head, and he heard a second explosion. Suddenly the South Tower was ablaze. Fiery debris rained down and Summers began to run. His skin was smoking and smoldering, peeling off in sheets. He was charred black and going into shock.
That's when a stranger with a kind face started calming Summers. "I want to help you. My name is Stephen Newman. I want to be your guide," he offered.
A 36-year-old banker for Merrill Lynch, Newman wasn't sure what motivated him. He knew Summers needed medical attention fast. "We have to get across the river," he said to the badly injured man who was getting weaker by the moment.
Staggering, Summers slumped more and more with every step. But Newman's calm persistence pushed him on. The hobbling man and his newfound guide were the last two people to board the ferry leaving for Jersey City. As the ferry pulled away, the South Tower collapsed.
Medical help was waiting for the critically injured when they reached their destination. Summers was one of the few lucky ones. He lived. Had Newman not stopped amidst all the panic that surrounded them, Summers is certain he would have perished. "Steve save my life," Summers said.
Yet, in a startling revelation, Newman made the same declaration to him. "You probably saved my life, too," he replied. "If I hadn't helped you, we both might have been there when the buildings fell."
Through the sacrifice of one, two lives were saved. It was volunteering of the tallest order.
~~ Robin Gaby Fisher
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