911... It was ten years ago

20 minutes to 12am... looks like i was unable to forget what happened in the last ten years. although i was only 7 years old that year, but the chaos and pain in that horrible incident continued to linger in my mind. i found an article that i wished to share. an amazing article about the incident 911. enjoy~ **

KUALA LUMPUR - Ten years have gone by but for Malaysian-born Alan Ong See Inn, the nightmare of 9/11 lingers. He was among those fortunate enough to escape just before the Twin Towers in down town Manhattan, New York came crashing down. "I have only gone back to Ground Zero a couple of times. I don't want to be reminded of the horrible nightmare where almost 3,000 people lost their lives and where I could easily have been a victim," said Ong, 65, a bank vice-president. "It's too painful," he added. Ong was vice-president of the Overseas Union Bank that had its offices on the 39th floor of the World Trade Center's (WTC) North Tower. Ong's memory of that fateful day is still vivid. "It was a beautiful day. As I walked to the revolving door at the foyer of the WTC at 8.45 that morning, there was a nice breeze and I decided to turn back and sit on one of the benches near the fountain. "It was something I had not done before but it was that simple action that saved me. "Normally, there would be lots of people here but on that day I was alone and I was looking to the Century 21 Tower with my back to the WTC. "I heard the roar of a plane engine. It was not exceptionally loud but before I could turn there was a loud sound and when I looked up the building was on fire. "Debris of broken glass, metal and all sorts of material rained down near where I was. "I held my briefcase over my head and ran as fast as I could in the direction of Century 21 Tower." At that time, he did not think it was a terrorist attack. But 17 minutes later, a second plane slammed into 2WTC (South Tower) and he knew it was not an accident but a terrorist attack. He just continued running towards Chinatown. Incidentally, Ong was there during the first terrorist attack on the WTC on Feb 26, 1993, when six people were killed after a car bomb was detonated in the basement carpark. To this day Ong, who lives in New Jersey, has the soft briefcase that he credits to probably saving his life. "The briefcase has seen better times. There is a deep scratch mark on it that reminds me of the shield it was when a piece of window glass fell. "I was holding the bag over my head when I ran for my life. "I still use this briefcase which I cherish very much because you never can tell what will fall when you are walking in Manhattan," he joked. One of the lessons he learnt was never to live or work in the higher floors of buildings. His office is now on the lower floors. "After 9/11, I told my children (Ong has two daughters) not to live or work on higher floors, no matter how beautiful the scenery is. "History has taught us that in the event of a disaster, those on the higher floors do not stand a chance," he said. ** thank you. dreamssoon =)