A few of my thoughts on this twenty-year anniversary of September 11th, 2001.

I moved to Hoboken, NJ, in September of 2000. I understood that if I wanted to become a trained actor, I had to leave Houston and go to New York. Something that I never thought I would take so seriously, but I did. It was my only goal. So Erika and I packed up from Houston, and we both decided to go to New York and chase our dreams. me as an actor and her in the world of business.

When we first moved here, we both thought we wanted to live in the east side of Manhattan or maybe Brooklyn, but being so green about what living in New York was like and not finding an apartment that we both liked and that was available, we kept looking. We quickly learned the phrase, “There is no real estate market in New York. There is only a real estate shortage.”

Not being able to find an apartment, a good friend of Erika suggested checking out this small New Jersey town called Hoboken. I thought, New Jersey?!! I want to live in New York, not New Jersey! She said relax. It is right across the river and super easy to get into New York. “You can get to anywhere in the city faster from Hoboken than you can from Brooklyn. Ok, I’ll check it out.

So Erika and I hopped on the Path train and came to Hoboken, and as we walked out, an actor / personal trainer was passing out leaflets for his business -what a coincidence to run into an actor also chasing his dream. I asked him if he thought this was a great place to live as an actor and be able to get into the city. He said without a doubt, and you will love it here! “Go to my realtor, and tell him I sent you, and he’ll hook you up.

So Erika and I did. That day, we found a place on 208 Grand street, right next door to Leo’s. A beautiful and iconic Italian restaurant. Leo’s would become a special place for us and become a memory I will never forget on September 11th.

We found our home, and then I found a gym to work in New York as a personal trainer, New York Health and Racquet Club. The club was in the financial district of the city, right off of Whitehall street.

I loved working and training there—so many amazing and fascinating people. You would meet stockbrokers, lawyers, traders, celebrities, political figures, and people from every walk of life. The gym became like a family. We all mingled early in the morning, talking, laughing, and watching the sunrise come up. As personal trainers, we all got along and enjoyed spending time together. I felt so blessed to work in such a magical place.

Imagine a massive glass Sky Scraper at the bottom tip of Manhattan, right next to the Hudson River. The gym had the first six floors of the building, and the 6th floor overlooked the Hudson River, where it met the Atlantic. These enormous glass windows surrounded it, and the sunrises and sunsets were spectacular - Simply spectacular!

My day would typically start around 6 AM. I would take the Path train into the bottom of the World Trade Towers. Sometimes I would walk up Broadway to the gym or take the N or R subway from Rector Street to Whitehall Street. And if I caught the subway right, I could be at work in twenty-five minutes.

And when I chose to walk, because I had the time or if the weather was right, I’d be at the gym in 35 or 40 minutes, door to door. It was what made Hoboken such a wonderful place to live in. You didn’t have to live in New York to work in New York. You could be right next to the city that never sleeps and not have to sleep there. (Hoboken had one of the highest death rates of New York’s five burrowers when victims of 9/11 were tracked by ZIP code).

And when the weather was right, I would walk with a cup of coffee down Broadway and take in all the magnificent and iconic historic buildings of lower Manhattan—seeing so much history on my way to work, like the Trinity Church or St Pauls Chapel.

On some days, I would walk through the cemetery of Trinity church and read the gravestones of Revolutionary soldiers. It was a time machine into America’s glorious and historical past that I was privileged to take in every day as I went to work. Little did I know that was sowing the seeds that would eventually become “The Amerian Soldier.”

When you would exit out of the Path train at the bottom of the World Trade Centers, you had to take these massive escalators, and I mean giant escalators. When you were on them, it felt like you were taking them up to heaven. You had to take them up to the street level in order to be able to exit into the city. Just imagine every single subway line in the city, both trains from Hoboken and Jersey City and all the ferries from Long Island and Staten Island consistently dumping underneath the Twin Towers. A sea of humanity landing every ten minutes at the bottom of the Towers.

You never bumped into anybody because everyone had a very specific journey that they carved out as they rode the escalators up and out into the city. It all felt as if we were a well-choreographed Army of Ants. And from 7 AM to about 10 AM, it was a sight to see with so many people going to work, moving forward with their lives, and chasing that brass ring.

Another memory encapsulated into 9/11 are the days that I would read or memorize a monologue while sitting in between the Twin Towers outside in front of Barnes & Noble in front of the giant globe. The store was beautiful. It had every book, magazine, play, and newspaper from all over the world. It was a fantastic way to dream while sitting between those two glorious buildings of inspiration.

My journey would be to exit off the Path train, take the escalator up, and buy a cup of coffee and an Oat Muffin from a small coffee stand in the middle of this ocean of humanity. An amazing site that I still see clearly in my mind to this day.

That particular morning, I walked out of the Twin Towers at around 8:25 AM for a 9 AM client. I got to the gym 10 minutes after the first plane struck. I didn’t think much of it as no one else did either. We all thought it was just some freak accident, but after the second plane hit, the entire world knew what had happened. You felt the entire building shake. I will never forget that earthquake.

I remember running outside after the second plane hit and seeing my friend Karen crying. I will never forget Karen’s face. I said to her, what is wrong? Are you ok? All she could say was, “Doug, I just saw someone jumped from the building. I just saw someone jump. I’m scared!” I hugged her and then ran inside to see what the HELL was going on.

I remember so vividly running to the TVs on the first floor of the gym. It was where all the treadmills were, and each treadmill had a TV above it. I will never forget the surreal feeling of seeing everyone standing on the treadmills and looking at the attacks on TV while also realizing that you were only half a mile from what the world was also watching.

The Twin Towers towered over the city, and from lower Manhattan, they felt like they were right next to you. You could see them so clearly from way north in the city. You could see them from Connecticut. They loomed so big over New York that if you were ever lost anywhere, all you had to do was look up and you would immediately know where south was. They were so big that you never even noticed another building in the Manhattan skyline - until they came down on 9/11.

I remember being outside and standing and talking with strangers. Looking up at the sky as every car on Broadway was parked. Broadway had become a parking lot. At some points, you had to hop over the hoods of cars to cross the street.

I remember so many emotions that I saw on people’s faces. Some were crying, some were confused, some were angry, and some were walking around in complete shock. I personally wasn’t scared. I think I was just so confused about what was happening.

And then, the first Tower began to fall. I remember looking at the TV and explicitly thinking, Oh My God! That building is falling right outside. And when the second Tower began to come down. Again, I thought, Oh My God! That is outside next to us. I ran toward the front glass doors and told my friend Benard. “CLOSE THE DOORS! CLOSE THE DOORS, BENARD!

We immediately closed the doors and began putting towels at the bottom, and seconds after doing that, the outside went from a beautiful blue sky to dark grey. It was almost as if someone had brought down a dark curtain down on us, on the city. I will never forget looking at the massive blob of grey smoke come rolling down and covering all of Manhattan instantly.

We stayed huddled in the building and opened the door as people came running in covered in the debris of steel and cement. I will never forget the smell of burned steel. (That smelled lasted for an entire year.) I will never forget an African American woman crying and running inside without her shoes.

Then a fireman stormed inside and began yelling from the top of his lungs! “GET OUT OF THIS BUILDING NOW!” Everyone knew he meant business and knew not to question him. Everyone immediately ran outside. I grabbed two of my clients scheduled to train with me that day at the gym - David and Melania and took them home with me. They will forever be in my memory.

I made Benard get towels from the gym and pass them out to people as we left. My gut instinct told me that the smoke outside was not safe to breathe in. It came from working a few summers of construction in high school and learning about asbestos. Me and Benard stood by the doors and handed out towels until we were all out of towels.

No one knew what to do or where to go. Then someone said to go to the FDR highway and walk up the ramp. They’re taking everyone back over to Hoboken and Jersey City on ferries. Everyone was coming to Hoboken. I remember walking on the FDR highway and thinking this must be how a refuge feels like —scared and confused. No one was talking, except a few people you could hear crying as everyone walked up the ramp on the highway.

The ferries were packed, and everyone was looking at the site where the Twin Towers once stood in complete shock. It was the first time we all could see what had just happened to the city from a distance. And that moment, you noticed the Empire State Building for the very first time. In one day, it became the tallest building in New York City again. I will never see the Manhattan skyline the same again.

I arrived in Hoboken with my clients, where Erika greeted me with a massive hug. I remember her saying, “Doug, I love you so much! Are you ok?” We had only talked once on the phone when the attacks happened because all the phone lines were jammed up, both landlines and cell lines. You could not get through to anyone. “I’m fine, love. I’m hungry. Can we eat something?”

Funny how shock affects everyone in such weird ways. I remember being so hungry. All I could think about was going to Leo’s and getting some food.

My clients left as their families picked them up, and then Erika and I went to Leo’s Italian restaurant to catch our breath, I guess. We walked in and sat at a high-top table near the bar. (Every time I walk by that table, I think of 9/11) And once again, I began watching the attacks on TV. I will never forget Leo’s.

I’ve been in Hoboken for twenty-one years, and Hoboken is forever encapsulated into the date September 11th. I have many beautiful memories of Hoboken as both my children were born here, and I was blessed to raise a family here. But I will never forget how Hoboken is connected to the date of 9/11. I can’t walk down the pier and not remember every detail of that day. I can’t look at the Freedom Tower and not have the memories of 9/11 flash through my mind. They are forever connected together.

View from Hoboken

There are many things to take away from 9/11, but what I take away is how we all stood together on September 12th. I remember the solidarity we all had as Americans. I remember the fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances flying down the west side highway while everyone cheered USA, USA, USA! I fell in love with New York on the days that followed September 11th.

September 11th inspired me to write. To write The American Soldier and tell the story of all those who always chose to stand on the wall and defend our country. To remember their families who have given so much for all of us, and our freedoms.

But what I believe is the most important thing to take away from 9/11 is never to forget that tomorrow is a gift. When you walk out of my home, I have a picture of the Twin Towers next to my elevator door. It serves to reminds my wife and me that tomorrow is not guaranteed.

To cherish and live today to the fullest.

A few of my thoughts on this twenty-year anniversary of September 11th, 2001.