Leslie Murray:

“It took a week for Richard to get home after the towers fell on September 11th. Just enough time for the kids and me to tie yellow ribbon on branches we could reach. Just enough time for Richard to solidify the watered-down story he would tell his family and friends, of where he was and what he saw that morning. He thought he was protecting us.

“He told us he had woken up uncharacteristically early that day. That he’d had breakfast in the Concierge Lounge of the World Trade Center Marriott–a perk for people like Richard who spent more time in the hotel than they did at home. He read the paper at his table by the window, and wondered if he should leave his sport coat behind. It was such a nice day.
“In the story he told, he was at his office blocks away from the World Trade Center when the first plane hit. He recalled the screams that broke the shocked silence in their office as each tower buckled–of the tears and unspoken fears. Of his need to take a shower…
“I don’t know why I didn’t put it together, his shower at the office. Years later, I learned the truth.
“Richard only shared the reality of that morning with two trusted friends who promised to keep the things he told them confidential. He was eating breakfast at his table by the window when the first plane hit the North Tower. He saw, heard, and felt it all: the fluttering papers, the falling concrete and steel, and the people–whos lives ended on the roof of his 22-story hotel, nestled between the two towers. Richard was not watching everything from the safety of his nearby office. He was there. He was one of the nameless people, covered in tears and dust, running from the Twin Towers.

“Richard came home a week later, but he was never the same. The memories of the horrible morning haunted him. Restful sleep eluded him and nightmares plagued him. He was not alone. For countless people, it was the cost of survivorship.
“Richard died three years later. For us, December 23, 2004 was the day the last tower fell.”

its super hard to do that tho

same