At the PETE awards on Sept 8, 2001
I guess I should have posted this yesterday, but I was watching some of the 9-11 specials on TV and never go around to it. I found this story in the Winter 2002 issue of DayTrippin' magazine. I thought it was well worth repeating in memory of those who were in John Lennon's beloved New York City on September 11, 2001 and lost their lives on that day. It is not only a story of some Beatle fans who met McCartney but also what they saw and did on that tragic day in history. It was written by Shelley Germeaux.
Two of the most devoted Macca fans got a whole lot more than they bargained for during their recent trip to New York City. After a glamorous night at the PETA gala, their vacation ended with them trying to escape from lower Manhattan when the World Trade Center Towers exploded. These two women graciously agreed to share with me how their light-hearted weekend of Paul-watching in NYC suddenly turned into horror on the morning of September 11.
Tessa Reichlin and Casey McKenna faithfully flew from Seattle to NYC for the annual PETA event, that they attend each year, to see Paul McCartney. This year, PETA's 21st anniversary party was on September 8, and tickets were $500 apiece. The event was held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, in midtown Manhattan. However, because of a great deal on hotel prices, Tessa and Casey stayed at the Millennium Hilton, which is located right across the street from the World Trade Center.
Their plan was to stay a few more days after the gala and check out the possibility of moving to NYC with their Espresso business. They currently own and operate an espresso drive-through shop in Seattle called "The Daily Devil" on Sandpoint Way. It does a fantastic business, but they wanted a bit more "excitement." And excitement they got!
Around 5pm on September 8th, they arrived at the Waldorf-Astoria for the PETA dinner. Dressed for an elegant evening, they were greeted by cocktails and vegan h'ord'ouerves, which were served at both VIP and regular receptions. Despite everyone hoping to see Paul and Heather arrive at the reception to mingle, that was not the case. Paul and Heather arrived instead around 8:30, a half hour after the grand ballroom opened.
Tessa and Casey were disappointed that Paul did not make it to the reception, but they did bump into him in a very interesting place, so to speak, to their surprise. Casey remembers, "We were standing in the hall with some women from our table. Our backs were to the wall, or so we thought. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard, 'Excuse me,' and turning around, I said, 'Oh, sure,' before I realized who it was --double take!! It was Paul coming out of the men's room! Tessa laughed and said hello. Paul was just as surprised to see us! 'Oh, hi girls!', he said, and held out his hand to us. He was very sweet as he shook our hands, and he also extended his hand to the women who were there with us.
With the exciting "Paul moment" over, everyone went to their seats. Paul and Heather were seated at a front table. Former Pretender, Chrissie Hynde, a regular attendee and good friend of the McCartneys was seated with them, as well as actress Charlize Theoron, who was to be presented with an award during the evening. Paul was given a humanitarian award. He then presented the Linda McCartney Memorial Award to Chrissie. Stella McCartney was also granted a humanitarian award but was not present. While everyone enjoyed this award ceremony, a vegan dinner was served of salad, rolls, soup, pot pie, and wine, as well as a large dessert buffet.
PETA had not said who was going to perform at the gala, only that "it will be a spectacular evening complete with a star-studded entertainment." Of course, everyone hoped to see Paul perform that night, but as it turned out, he did not. The only act was Chrissie Hynde, who sang just one number, "I'll Stand by You," holding a mic, to taped accompaniment.
After Chrissie gave her brief performance, there was an intermission during which most guests vacated the event, including Paul and Heather. A rockabilly group continued the entertainment for the rest of the evening, and managed to persuade remaining guests to get up on the dance floor.
With the lackluster PETE evening over with (other than getting to bump into Paul!) Tessa and Casey continued their business pursuits around NYC, checking out neighborhoods, shops for lease, etc. Tessa remembers having a strange feeling, though, on the 10th that she couldn't really put her finger on. "I just felt like I didn't want to get on the subway, something felt unsafe in general. So I made us take taxis, but the feeling wouldn't go away." She was about to figure out why.
On the next morning, the 11th, relaxation and fun turning into sudden panic and shock. Just before 9am, Tessa and Casey were awoken in their hotel room by a terrifying explosion. Dazed, and still half asleep, they jumped over to the window where they saw the first World Trade Center tower exploding into flames just across the street. Not having seen the plane fly into it, they weren't sure if it was a bomb or a horrible accident.
Quickly dressing, and hearts pounding, Tessa grabbed her purse as they dashed out of the room and onto an elevator, where only one other person calmly got on with them. Running outside, debris form the explosion rained form the sky all around them like confetti. Chunks of drywall were on the pavement. This seemed slightly dangerous, so they actually went back up to their room, thinking it might be safer inside.
Once their, they looked outside the window again to see the grim reality of the people jumping from fire-emblazoned windows. The terrible sight was too much, and they looked away, feeling sick. They needed to get their wits about them and decide what to do.
Suddenly the next explosion hit the second tower,. They said, "the entire hotel shook. We thought our hotel was coming down!" Since they had turned away from the window, they did not see the second plane hit the building. But they realized now it was no accident. Knowing they were obviously in great danger, they left this time for good, leaving all their belongings -- 16 days worth of clothes, camera, goodies from PETE -- behind except Tessa's purse.
They were stunned that the hotel was not being evacuated. When they got outside, they actually had to push through crowds of people who were simply staring in shock, up at the WTC towers in flames.
Casey recalled, "It seemed no one was moving, we couldn't believe it. They were all just standing there looking. They must have been in shock, as we were, but it still seemed strange that we were nearly the only ones who were leaving the area."
"Fighter jets suddenly screamed over us, " Casey continued, "and we didn't know whether they were American or not! We thought we were going to die. Then we heard the buildings fall. We didn't know exactly what had happened, because we were too far away by then. But we heard them ... these tremendous, slow, loud explosions. We were terrified. We keep thinking about all those people that wouldn't' move with us. Many of them might have been killed, we don't know. It It's awful to think about. We eventually found a bus and jumped on it."
"The bus was crowded. Most people were in silent shock. There were two young women who were quietly crying. One of their boyfriends worked in the Trade Center and the other one had many friends who worked in the towers. There was a lady who was listening to the radio on her walkman and was keeping us all updated on what was going on. That was how we learned that the Pentagon had been hit. There was also one woman who was freaking out and telling everyone that this was only the beginning and that they would probably be dropping bombs all over Manhattan, possibly even a nuclear bomb. The bus grew especially tense as it was stuck in northbound traffic right next to the United Nations Building!"
They finally got off the bus at 85th Street by a friend's relatives place. That was when they learned this was a terrorist attack, and that air space had been shut down all over the country. Their flight wasn't scheduled to leave for a few days anyway, but they knew that it was going to be a mess, with long delays, and didn't want to wait around New York any longer than they had to.
They decided to take a train home, not knowing when a flight would become available. Before they left, they took time to visit Strawberry Fields and Central Park the next day to sit at the Imagine Circle, the memorial tribute to John Lennon across from the Dakota apartments. "We had been walking through Central Park and we thought it would be the perfect place to visit after witnessing such a violent attack on the city --somewhere where we could just sit and make some kind of sense of all we were feeling at the time. It was very peaceful there."
With the credit cards and cash Tessa had in her purse, they were able to buy Amtrak tickets, and got on the train back to Seattle. They spent the rest of the "exciting vacation," three and half long, lumbering days on the train, with no luggage, no change of clothing, nothing. It was not exactly an enjoyable ride - but they were grateful to finally get home safely. Tessa remarked, "Of course there were a gazillion messages on our machine when we got home. Everybody was worried about us." And as if they hadn't been in enough harm's way, they discovered their Espresso shop had been vandalized in their absence!
And what happened to Paul and Heather, we were all asking? Their plane had been on the tarmac, about to return to England, when the disaster occurred. They were luckily stopped in time, and stayed in Long Island, where Paul made plans for the tribute concert at Madison Square Garden held on October 20.
Tessa and Casey have recovered well, emotionally, since they have returned home, and for the time being are going to stay put in Seattle. They have contacted the hotel, who promised to send their things back -- someday. They have also learned that the hotel suffered a great deal more damage after they fled. "Metal and concrete reached our hotel at some point, probably when the towers collapsed, because many of the hotel windows were broken out, and the lobby was filled with debris. Luckily we were gone by then and have only seen the destruction on TV."
But the horror they witnessed, and the trauma they experienced, not to mention the sense of overwhelm and fatigue, was still evident on their faces and in their eyes a week after returning home. It made me realize that their first hand story was important to share. It was part of America's vow to "never forget" what happened that day,k and how much it has already changed the way we live.
This is certainly an account we will remember. Tessa and Casey's live have been changed forever by what they experienced, and we are grateful for their willingness to let us print their story.
I asked her how they felt now, about fate or luck, how this event has affected their views on life. Tessa said, "WE haven't fully processed it yet. I don't think. But we do have a weird feeling we were meant to be there. We know now that you can't take anything for granted. You have to take each day as it comes, instead of saying 'oh, we'll do that tomorrow' or something. We're very aware now that life is , well, ha, I guess, like John said, 'life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans'. I guess it's true, very true.
