The devastation of the twin towers of the World Trade Center was a disaster that brought back images in my mind from years ago.
I had just started my second carrier with Federal Express when I found my self in Manhattan on the roof of the southern tower of the World Trade Center, standing on the window washer hanging over the edge 110 stories up, having my picture taken. Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty were in the back ground. I found that photo taken in December of 1981 and the memories began flooding back. But, that was just my introduction to New York City.
Several years later I found my self in Manhattan many times. Moving or adding radio systems and dispatch centers from one location to another. I was a radio systems engineer at the time. Before cellular phones were introduced, I was creating radio cells in Manhattan and the NY area to serve the dispatch needs of my employer. Adding new radio systems and reusing frequencies for a rapidly growing mobile voice and data dispatch system for Manhattan, eastern New Jersey, Long Island, White Planes and southern Connecticut.
It was a challenging job and in the process this Memphian began to know and understand the NYC mentality and its diverse personality. As the radio cells grew in number and shrank in coverage area, I found myself designing the most challenging radio cell. One to serve the needs of the foot couriers servicing the Wall Street area of Manhattan. I had to reuse a frequency used in New Jersey, on Long Island, and in Connecticut. The Wall Street radio cell could not interfere with the other systems but had to provide in-building coverage for the foot couriers servicing Wall Street. This system required a different design. One, to my knowledge, never done before in the real world.
So how does this relate to what happened on September 11, 2001 to the Wall Street area in Manhattan? Well it is really very simple. To prove my design I had to get to know the needs of the couriers servicing Wall Street. I had to measure the radio attenuation of the buildings. I walked the cobble stones of the Wall Street area of Manhattan for over a week, measuring radio signal strengths. I ran, not walked, with couriers to see where they had to go. I met and followed, the then four couriers, who served the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the 20+ who worked out of the Water Street address near Battery Park. I got to know the buildings and hustle and bustle of the area.
I worried about the couriers working the World Trade Center and the many others servicing the area. I finally learned all were well and uninjured. I wondered about a very old church just across an intersection south east of the southern World Trade Tower. I can see it in my mind's eye. So seemingly out of place. Yet in the right place. A place of Peace in a frantic, seemingly unfeeling place. But I know better. I hoped this special place survived.
I have since learned that St. Paul's Chapel at Broadway and Fulton Street as well as Trinity Church at Broadway and Wall Street both survived the disaster.
Randall
"Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value." -- Albert Einstein
"Uncertainty that comes from knowledge is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance." -- Issac Asimov
"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." -- Robert A. Heinlein
After High School I volunteered for the United States Marine Corps where I learned allot about aviation, electronics, radar, and myself. I met my wife in Memphis, Tennessee while attending classes and we had our first child before I got out of the Marine Corps.
I did not go to college but I am still enrolled in the school of hard knocks. I consider my self to be a student of life and do not plan to ever stop learning.
I work for FedEx in Strategic Integrated Systems at FedEx Services Corp., Inc.. I have been at FedEx for over 25 challenging years. I am currently working on several Radio Frequency ID (RFID) projects.
ChiliLinks to the hot stuff -
Graeme Caselton's Chile-Head
Page
Cowboy's Chili Cuisine
Corner (this is also a great web page)
My Favorite authors in order are - Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, A. E. Van Vogt, Anne McCaffrey, C.J. Cherryh. There are many more, but these are the ones that come to mind.
For the adult philosophical reader, I heartily recommend Mr. Heinlein's, Stranger in a Strange Land. If nothing more, it will make you think.
These are some of the links to great pictures of the wonderfully awe inspiring expanse that surrounds our tiny solar system.
Astronomy Picture
of the Day
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA)
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Some of the places I have visited.
Yosemite National Park - Tuolumne
Meadows is a must see.
Grand Canyon National Park
Shiloh National Military Park
Switzerland
Other Links
National Park Service
Since Jan 1, 1999
