This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Zionsville man Talks About 9/11 for First Time

Spencer Parness vividly recalls the infamous day and believes he is now more empathetic.

Despite his attempts to not think too much about Sept. 11, Spencer Parness cannot help but have vivid memories as the 10th anniversary approaches. Tuesday was the first time that the Zionsville man has spoken publicly about that infamous day.

At the time, he and his wife, Joan, lived in Astoria, N.Y. Parness worked at the Guardian Life Insurance Co. – he has since retired – just a few blocks from the Twin Towers. His wife worked then at a nursing home in New Rochelle.

He got off the train that day near City Hall, one stop before the Twin Towers. When he got off the train, he was aware of some commotion. A policeman told Parness a small plane had hit one of the towers.

Find out what's happening in Emmauswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

By the time he walked into work, the second plane had hit. Consequently, his co-workers were very emotional upon his arrival, saying things like, “Oh my God, you’re okay! Thank God!”

Once the buildings collapsed, Parness recalled, “It was the blackest black … You could not see beyond the windows.” There were six to seven inches of grey dust on the streets and people were running outside, crying hysterically.

Find out what's happening in Emmauswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Parness used a special phone line to reach someone in his company’s Bethlehem office to ask if a call could be placed to his wife, letting her know he was okay.

Parness initially decided it was safer to stay inside his workplace. But when Mayor Rudy Giuliani asked for an evacuation about 1:30 p.m., Parness put on sunglasses and covered much of his face with a wet towel, and stepped outside.

It was bizarre, Parness said, because he eventually came across an area of the city where people were oblivious to what was going on at the Twin Towers. “It was like nothing had happened,” he said. “Here was life, but behind us was death.”

Parness managed to walk to 34th Street, where he took a train after a 45-minute wait. He eventually made his way to the 59th Street bridge in Queens, and then walked across and took a subway. He lived near the Triboro Bridge in Astoria.

To this day, Parness said, “I try not to think of it.” Even then, he recalled, “It was like the world stopped … the smell, the smoke, it affected us in ways I’m not really sure.”

Parness went to three funerals of people who died on Sept. 11. But then, he said, “I had to stop … I was spent. I was worse being there because I was of no comfort to anybody.”

Before Sept. 11, Parness said, he was more stoic. Now, he finds it more difficult to control his emotions, including his emotions during joyful times such as the birth of a baby. “I’m so overjoyed, I cry,” Parness said. “I’m much more empathetic.”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Emmaus