Students hope for good news from home
By ALLY JAY
News Writer
Tuesday's tragedies left Notre Dame and Saint Mary's students with many questions about missing family members and friends. For some, the questions were answered within hours, while for others, definite answers will most likely take a long time.
For freshman swimmer Georgia Healey, the hours it took to hear from her family in Manhattan still seem surreal.
"When it happened I was at swim practice. I got out of the pool, and the radio was on with eyewitness accounts. It was strange, I couldn't believe it," said Healey. "I got dressed and went up to the coach's office, where I saw the picture — buildings gone and huge smoke— and I realized what had happened. Immediately I tried calling home, but I couldn't get through. Then I started crying because I knew my parents had big meetings near the World Trade Center."
Healey's teammates were supportive, and her captain took her to her house and made breakfast for her and fellow teammates.
"After breakfast I managed to talk to my grandfather and he said my uncle had talked to my dad. He's an early riser because he's a bone cancer doctor. Later I found out that they turned his clinic into an emergency care center," said Healey.
Healey received more positive news regarding her family when she returned to her room at 12:30 p.m. to find an e-mail from her mother saying that everyone in her family was fine.
"I was relieved, and went to the Grotto with my friends," said Healy of receiving the e-mail. "When I got back to my room I had a call from my sister. At first she was fine, but then she started crying and I started crying. I feel so lucky that I have my parents, because so many children don't have their parents, and wives don't have husbands."
After talking to her sister, Healey spoke to her mother, who reported that when she looked down the main avenues, they were filled with black smoke, and that Air Force jets were flying all around. Her mother also told Healey that all the police were out, even those in the police academy, and there were two-hour lines to donate blood. What Healey remembers most about her conversation with her mother is her mother's advice. "My mother said, `Georgia, there are people we know who are going to be dead. Be prepared for that. We just have to pray for them and help them the most we can.'". Since talking to her mother, Healey has learned that a friend's father is still missing.
Other students were also affected.
On hearing the news Tuesday morning, freshman Greg Bosl, from Long Island, New York, began to worry about his brother, who works on the trading floor at the Stock Exchange, about 10 blocks from the WTC. He soon learned that his brother was fine, but later learned that a friend had died in the WTC.
"A guy I've known for six years died. He was in the first building that got hit, and was within eight of the floors where the hit occurred. On the news they said those people were counted as dead, instead of missing. He was my high school basketball coach's best friend. He came to all our games, and I'd coach his kids at camps," recalled Bosl.
Junior Mike Donahue from Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York, like Healey, recalls Tuesday as surreal.
"My mom called me at 8:50 a.m. and told me to turn on the T.V. I didn't understand the full severity of what was happening when I went off to class. When I returned after my 9:30 and saw the buildings fall I tried calling my house, but there was no answer. I called my aunt's cell phone and she was there and knew my mom was OK."
Donahue was still worried about his sister, who works in Midtown Manhattan, two miles away from the WTC.
"She was working in Midtown, and she saw the second plane hit the second building. They started evacuating her building. We knew a lot of people working at the WTC. A close family friend is still missing in action," said Donahue. "I called my sister in the city, and she picked up. She said, "I'm okay", but then she started crying, saying it was like a nightmare, surreal."
Donahue lives next door to a fireman in Rockaway who has been involved in the rescue efforts.
"He told me that Rockaway is one of the hardest-hit areas. About 100 people are still missing, which is a lot for a small town," Donahue states.
Senior Molly Moran, from Brooklyn, New York, woke up to the news of the tragedies.
"I was just worried and my father was at work in the city. I didn't know exactly where the rest of my family was, and what they were going to hit next. I called my mom at the day care center she works at, and she was comforting parents all day who didn't know where their spouses were. I also have had a lot of problems getting through".
Freshman Kate Musica, who is from Washington D.C., was worried about her family there.
"Both my sisters go to school across the river from the Pentagon, but I called and found out that Georgetown, where one of my sisters goes, was shut down. When I talked to my mother, she said that Tuesday and Wednesday night, soldiers were patrolling the city. I was very scared because I couldn't get in touch and couldn't talk to my family until after 11 o'clock when my classes finished."
For those still without answers, Healey offered advice. "Keep praying for families. Even after they rebuild the buildings, this is never going away."
All News Stories for Friday, September 14, 2001
