Personal Reflections on the Week of September 11th 2001

by Tom Fote

(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association October 2001 Newsletter)

It has been a tough couple of days watching this tragedy unfold.  I was at my computer on Tuesday morning and had the television going.  Suddenly there was a picture of one the World Towers with hole in it and fire going on.  The news said a plane had flown into it and I remembered my father telling me about the bomber crashing into the Empire State building.  My first thoughts were that this was a terrible accident and I was concerned about the people that I know who work in this building.  My heart sank when I though of my friend John Toth, a former president and vice president of Jersey Coast Anglers Association and a member of the Saltwater Anglers of Bergen County.  I thought of what his wife and daughter must be going through. Then the second plane hit the other tower and I realized it was not accident but an act of terror carried out by madmen.  My emotions change form worry, sadness and pain to worry, sadness, pain, frustration and anger.  As a combat soldier I have trained for and fought in combat.   You fight other soldiers not innocent civilians.  You do not kill innocent children, women and men just to prove a point.  That is the act of cowards and fanatics, not soldiers.  

I do not know how many times I have cried or had tears in my eyes since this tragedy unfolded.  It has almost been impossible to concentrate on anything else.  My emotions have been on a roller coaster.  By Tuesday night, after making numerous phone calls to friends in JCAA, I found out John Toth was alive.  I called John on Wednesday and he told his story of being a 64^th floor of the first building that was struck.  The plane struck a couple of floors above.  He talked about his ordeal of coming down the stairs and watching those brave firemen going up the stairs to save people and put the fire out.  He talked about hearing the other building getting hit and of walking out of his building just before it collapsed.  We discussed how he hurt his leg and was having a hard time walking.  A stranger walked over and offered to lend him a hand, asked him if he could buy him lunch or a drink.  When John said no, the man helped him get safely to a bus for home.  John talked again about the firemen going up the stairs and hoped some of them survived the building’s collapse. 

I received and email from my sister saying my cousin Marie’s husband, who is a fireman, was buried in the debris and had to dig himself out. His fireman son arrived to see that his dad was all right and they both went back to work fighting the fire.

I thought about the fact that I was supposed to fly out of Newark on Thursday to San Diego and if it had been Tuesday that it could have been me on one of those planes that crashed or at least been one of the tens of thousands of people stranded all over the country.  The flight was canceled so I stayed home.  I have six flights scheduled in the next couple of weeks and I am planning to make everyone of them.   

It has also made me proud to be from New York.  It really shows what a heart the city has.  It shows how people will come together in adversity. What a great job the Mayor has done.  The firemen, police and rescue workers are our heroes. 

This type of act does nothing but drive people apart.  It does not cause sympathy.  It causes more hatred and acts of retribution.  This only means that more innocent people will die.  It will make life different for all of us and, sadly, result in the loss of innocence for the younger generation.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.  We do not know if any members of JCAA’s member clubs were lost in this tragedy.  But we all feel as though we have lost loved ones.  If you know of any JCAA members, please contact us.

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