MY DAYS OF FEAR ARE OVER
Office move takes Lorraine back day after anniversary
For almost 15 years – since the day that ripped her life apart – Lorraine Gilmartin Blevins avoided all mention of 9/11.
Every day since she escaped from the 60th floor of the World Trade Centre’s South Tower, she has hidden from the real ity of the world’s worst terrorist atrocity. But that will all change tomorrow. The New Jersey- based mum of two will return to the centre of Manhattan the day after the 15th anniversary.
The Scots finance expert has agreed to relocate with her company Morgan Stanley to new offices in Times Square.
Bang in the middle of one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world, at the hub of the business district and only a stone’s throw from where the Twin Towers stood, the 47-year-old is gearing up to confront everything she has dreaded.
Although convinced that another terrorist attack will hit New York, she is refusing to back down and live her life in fear.
Supported by husband John, 45, and kids Sean, nine, and Brooke, seven, the soccer mom is ready to return to the spot where 2753 people died – carnage that remains so vivid in her memories.
“I don’t know how I feel about going back there,” said Lorraine, who is vice president in f ixed income sales at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
“For a long time, it’s been nice to drive in my car every day and feel safe working in New Jersey.
“But being in a crowded place, I’ll be more vigilant.
“Before 9/11, I would have never thought about things l ike that but everything has changed.
“I do believe another terrorist attack will happen in my lifetime around the same area.
“The Twin Towers weren’t just targeted on 9/11, that site was bombed a few years prior and the area will always be a target.
“I’m definitely more sure than other people that more terrorist attacks will happen in New York.
“I can recall other times with my kids and husband when I’ve pointed out that something could happen.
“Just because you have l ived through something like that, you believe it can happen again any time.
“I’m not a nervous person and I do not avoid places but I’ll be the most vigilant person in Times Square. “But I’m not intimidated.” People around the world will pause today to remember the anniversary of the al- Qaeda attack which signalled the beginning of a war on western ideology which has continued ever since. The attacks heralded an era of increased security in the US and Europe and led to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
They prompted the start of an international manhunt for Osama bin Laden, the terrorist mastermind behind the attack.
That only ended in 2011 when he was killed by US special forces during a raid on his lair in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Since heading to the US from Glasgow in 1982, Lorraine has been a confident, poised professional in the ultra-competitive world of international finance.
Living in Kearny, New Jersey, she had led a perfectly normal life until that fateful day.
Lorraine was sitting at her desk in the South Tower when the first hijacked passenger jet flew into the North Tower.
When an announcement sounded over a
Tannoy telling workers to stay where they were, Lorraine and colleagues ignored it.
They had made it down to the 44th floor when a second jet was deliberately crashed into their building.
Feeling the floor beneath her shake, Lorraine escaped down a stairwell on to the streets.
Minutes later, first one tower and then the other crumpled.
Books, documentaries and blockbuster Hollywood movies have been made about that day, when the world stopped to stare in awe-struck horror. But Lorraine didn’t want to ever think about it again.
Ahead of tomorrow’s move to Times Square, she chose to watch a documentary about the Freedom Tower, the building that rose from the ashes of Ground Zero. She said: “When I watched d that show, it was thehe f i rst t ime I knew a museum and memorial rial existed there for 9/11.
“I only watched the show because an old FBI man was on it and talking about how safe the Freedom Tower is.
“I feel bad for the employees of companies that have to go work there.
“You could see the exact view I had from my office – the Statue of Liberty and helicopters flying below you.
“It feels like it was just yesterday and I had no idea it was the 15th anniversary until I was contacted for this interview.
“I don’t keep track of it, I don’t want to talk about it and I don’t really want to watch anything about it. The memorial has the names of everyone that died. That could easily be my name there and it’s difficult to accept that.
“I think I’m a strong person but things like that can happen which are beyond your control.
“It’s 15 years on but dreams still pop up where it’s raining fire or something like that.
“I may only get a dream like that once every six months but the memories are still there.
“For the first five years after the attack, I was extremely jumpy beyond my control and the dreams were much more frequent.
“When I drive on top of George Washington Bridge every day, to the left is the Manhattan skyline.
“Home and back every day over this bridge I think about terrorism and a plane hitting it or something like that.” With a husband who works on the scoreboards at Major League Soccer side New York Red Bulls, football has played a key role in taking Lorraine’s mind off the attacks. She is also a football coach for son Sean and hish friends. The pitch they play on hahas helped her recovery. Lorraine explained: “Their pitch is calca led Skyline Field and it’s right across the water f rom Freedom Tower. “So although I’ve made a point of saying I would never go back, I can see it every single day of my life. “I look at it every day and there’s no hiding. I might avoid theth immediate area but I’m not burying my head in the sand.” Although 9/111 won’t define her, Lorraine understands that it is a part of her life and that she is a part of history. Her children have been learning about the attacks at school. It’s times like these when it hits home how lucky she was.
She said: “Kids get taught about 9/11 in school and I remember last year Sean asking me about it.
“I don’t want to expose my kids to death, so I say I was there and got out and that I thank God for that because I have them.
“They asked how I got out, I say I took the stairs and leave it at that. “I’ll never forget but I’ll never live in fear. “You just have to get on with life and I have.”
I don’t want to expose my kids to death, so I say I was there and got out