Yesterday was shock and amazement. Today these feelings have been clarified and largely replaced with a mounting sadness. The staggering human toll is still unknown, but indications are starting to come out that indicate that it is in the tens of thousands who are feared dead. We have also begun to see the terrifying pictures and hear the awful stories of the carnage in Manhattan and the District.

Lisa was finally able to contact David S., our good friend who lives in Brooklyn and works at the American Stock Exchange. We aren’t certain where he works in the financial district, but upon hearing about the crash he went to get his father from the exchange. They were just leaving when the second tower collapsed, overwhelming them. They are both now in good health, but they spend the night in a New Jersey hospital. They both saw very troubling images and witnessed great horror, and Dave sounds like he is not coping well.

Jenn P. is now back in her Crystal City apartment after being evacuated to Maryland. When we visited her in late June, she told us how her building had been built to a particular standard in case the Pentagon, eight blocks away, was attacked. We never imagined that it would be necessary. She writes:

It’s “government as usual” here, and the [law] firm follows the gov’t’s cues. People on the Metro were like drones — not talking, not reading the newspaper, just attempts to stay stable and not freak out as we crossed the Potomac and looked back at the Pentagon still burning. Police, FBI, ATF, etc. are everywhere, and for the first time ever, that makes me feel comfortable.

Needles to say, I’m petrified beyond all belief. Living eight blocks away from the Pentagon and 15 from National Airport is now quite scary. See, helicopters and planes flew over my building all of the time before, but now, everytime I hear these sounds I cringe and say a quick prayer in case it’s my last. I can’t imagine what people in war-torn countries must feel, because they experience this kind of fear every day while I’ve only felt this for 24 hours.

One of Lisa’s coworkers forwarded an e-mail from a friend, who relates his experiences yesterday in the Financial district.

Date: Wed, 12 Sep 200110:02:57
Subject: Fwd: The W.’s are OK

Hi, guys. Below is a note to me from one of my friends in NYC. I knew his office wasn’t in the WTC (but close!), but I was sure he was caught in the aftermath. I thought this real-life account was worth passing on.

I’ve also heard from a friend in DC who is serving as key info source for my group of friends down there. There are still a few people I know unaccounted for in the Pentagon.

A friend of C. [whose brother-in-law died] says she will take care of the B&B for her this weekend, but Maya and I are still going to go over.

I though I would send a blast email to everyone in lieu of answering every message we have gotten. It has been a very overwhelming day — not only the events but also the outpouring of concern from all of you. We are very grateful and comforted by knowing your thoughts are with us.

I was at work at the southern tip of Manhattan when we saw the first plane hit through the windows of our trading floor — we all thought it was an accident. Just as I was returning to my desk to work our whole building shook with the force of the second plane hitting the WTC 2 five blocks away. We were immediately evacuated. Everyone congregated in Battery Park right next to our building and it seemed like the fires were dying down a little. We all waited for about an hour as sporadic reports of more calamities made it on the radio (half later turned out to be wrong). But then I saw the first tower collapse and we were engulfed in a massive cloud of dust and debris. We started walking up the FDR — thousands of people, very orderly and no panic really. For about 30-45 minutes we were walking through what felt like a snowstorm. By the time we got clear of that around the Brooklyn Bridge, we watched the second tower collapse. Everyone was just stunned and kept walking… We hesitated as we approached the UN on the FDR because it seemed such an obvious target as well, but we were all reassured by F-16s patrolling above Manhattan that it probably was OK. Finally 3 hours later I got home to my beautiful family! It’s just eerie to think that the skyline will be forever changed.

I spent all afternoon and this morning tracking down colleagues and clients. We have several large clients who were domiciled in the WTC. The prognosis is not great, but I am heartened by several anecdotal stories of people being able to get out of the second tower from as high up as the 92nd floor…. Thankfully, all of my Goldman colleagues are accounted for.

Now for the aftermath — let’s hope that our political leaders keep their heads and don’t do anything foolish. The anger of the people here in NY and nationwide seems really intense….

Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers. That really helps us deal with this tragedy.

Determining who is responsible is proceeding quite rapidly. It is clear that our intelligence and law enforcement capacity is quite expansive, but I cannot help feeling that they have focused their efforts in a particular direction.

A car was found at Logan [Airport in Boston] containing Arabic flight training manuals. The intelligence community claims to have direct evidence of Osama bin Laden’s involvement. Twelve suspects — though perhaps they are not directly involved — have been named, and several have been detained. Because of their immigration status, the INS is detaining them without arresting anyone formally yet.

At the Westin Hotel in Boston’s Back Bay today, three people were detained for suspiciousness. [I watched on live TV] the Boston Police Department’s SWAT team enter the building along with the bomb squad. It was very surreal and quite scary to think that the events of yesterday might in some way be continuing indefinitely.

Many are saying, and I can’t help but agree, that yesterday was a watershed day in American history. Many have likened it to Pearl Harbor. To my mind, the Cold War period is decisively over, and America’s nationalist introspection is forcibly drawn outward. How we react — whether we truly engage the world or just attempt to direct it from abroad — is something we won’t know for some time.