It has been sometime since my last update. Even, though I am only 20 miles from ground zero, in many ways it is like I am 1,000's of miles away. There is no local news being reported, I can only see the same news the rest of the country sees on CNN and the other networks. Local news is only being passed around by word of mouth.

My family and relatives are safe. Only some friends and casual acquaintances are among the injured and missing. That is, I guess, the best a NYer could hope for.

I wrote previously of my neighbor Jerry, the fireman. I wrote that he had just finished his regular 2 day tour of duty when the disaster struck. He was on his way home and was contacted in route to turn around and go to the site. All of the men in his company got to the site sooner and now are among the missing. Jerry worked another 2 days continuously helping with the rescue. He couldn't go home while his friends were missing. He finally gave into exhaustion and came home. His rest consisted of visiting the families of the missing fireman to console them. Then he went back. This morning I saw that he is again back home, hopefully to finally get some sleep.

I live in the suburban village of Rockville Centre on Long Island, population is about 25,000. We are typically described as yuppies. There are many lawyers and stock market traders in town. I am now learning that the toll to our villagers will be heavy. Again this is only through word of mouth, there is no official news at this point. This is just one village in the NY Metropolitan area that has 1,000's of communities. We are not unique. We may have it bad or we may in fact be lucky. If there were 5,000 lost in the disaster, you can figure that if there are a 1,000 communities in this area, each community lost on average 5 people. Can you imagine how horrible it would be if in one accident 5 people in your community were lost? Now multiple that a 1,000 times.

Today, I learned of another fatality, a cousin of my wife's best friend.

I just got off the phone with an old girlfriend. We are still in touch. She worked on a high floor in the 2nd tower. When the 1st tower was struck by the jet. There was panic. The PA announcement asked everyone in the 2nd tower to remain calm and to stay put that they were not in danger. She thought otherwise and was making her way out with three others. She was on the 72nd floor when the 2nd jet hit. The force of the impact was devastating. She was thrown around and broke her arm and several ribs. Her boss was killed. Another was in shock and wouldn't move. She could not find the fourth person. Her arm was now limp but she made her way down the stairs after the smoke started to clear. She was the only one of the four to make it out. I asked if there wasn't panic trying to get out. She said: "No. So many were killed when the jet struck, there were not that many left alive trying to get out. Anyone who was above the crash certainly perished." She was able to walk out on her own. She was one of last to leave the building alive. She is now in the hospital and recovering after 2 surgeries and is scheduled for another one. I said it is wonderful to hear your voice, she it was wonderful to be able to talk.