I was running errands all day and not listening to the radio. Mid-afternoon when I got home, my neighbor came over and asked me what I thought about what was going on. I had no idea what she was talking about and then she told me about the planes hitting the Towers. I went to my sister's house (I didn't have TV then) and watched the news the rest of the night.

I found out later that the daughter of my dear friend in Queens was working in Manhattan that day near the Towers. Cilia didn't know if her daughter was dead or alive until late that night when Maria was finally able to get home.