It was shocking to say the least to come to the realization that we were literally under attack by terrorists and that monuments so precious to us that were filled with wonderful, innocent people were disappearing and dying right before my eyes. I'm sure you have seen the footage by now on TV. What you haven't seen and heard is the amazing way the people of this city stepped in to help each other in ways that make me so happy and proud to live in this city and in this country and even in this world. The people of New York are an amazing and resilient breed and it was breathtaking to witness the kindness, patience and generosity of each person helping each other do what they needed to do to be safe and to get home. It is now the morning after and there is a strange calm over the city. Virtually everything is closed and people that are out are not talking. They are quiet. The streets are deserted. There is no looting or anything bad going on here right now. There is only people showing up to help, people quietly moving around, still helping each other in every way they can. Many are still in shock, many are looking for a way to help, as am I. If you want to help here, please take time to pray, whatever that looks like for you. Please visualize peace not only here but throughout the world. Please take some time to send love and all your blessings to the people who have lost loved ones. Please send prayers of light and strength to all those who are working around the clock to find survivors and to treat those who made it out alive but were injured. Send them healing energy. And here's a tough one, please send blessings even and especially to those people and countries who have done this. To some of you that may sound crazy but one of the greatest gifts we can give to our world right now is to send love into the hearts of people who harbor hatred. They clearly need it and we have the power to give it. Please find it in your heart to do so. I thank you for all the love and blessings each of you sent my way. I'll keep you posted on things as they occur here. I send you light and love as I know that this experience has affected you as well. I have you in my prayers as well. Blessings.Janice Marie

My Dear Family and Friends..
Thank you once again for your messages, your love and your prayers. It is now Thursday morning and I must share with you that even through such an unspeakable tragedy, there is something truly remarkable happening. Yesterday I made my way back down to Chelsea Piers where I work, not to come to work but because Chelsea Piers was set up as a triage center..a place where those who were seeking missing friends and family members could register and leave photos, information and contact numbers. It was also a trauma center and a morgue. It was also place where people could drop off clothing and food that was then distributed throughout the city and straight to Ground Zero. I started off helping two other women make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and within two hours I somehow found myself somewhat in charge of 30 or so people who showed up to help with receiving food and preparing bagged meals to take in to ground zero. What I witnessed and was so blessed to be a part of yesterday was a truly amazing demonstration of the generosity, love, strength and determination of the human spirit. It was the most efficient, ego-less, self-managed group of people I have ever seen in my life and they showed up in droves bringing with them literally truckloads of food, clothing and a willingness to do anything and everything they could to help. People literally opened their cupboards and emptied everything they had into bags and brought it down to us. They baked trays of food and they literally cleaned out shelves from grocery stores of Gatorade and every type of food and supply that could be used by the medical teams, the firefighters, the police officers, the volunteers and the families who were in pain. The team at the curb stood for hours in the hot sun receiving and sorting clothing, much of it brand new and still in the packages, into enormous garbage bags.divided into socks, t-shirts, underwear, shirts, pants, sweaters .and they worked at a furious pace to keep up with what was being dropped off. By the end of the day there were literally thousands of garbage bags filled with sorted clothing stacked in the roller hockey court on Pier 61. Our group made literally thousands of sandwiches and they orchestrated themselves into a finely tuned 20-foot production line that produced bags of food that also included fruit, chips and treats ..all of which were immediately and constantly being distributed to relief centers around the city and directly to the workers at Ground Zero. I cant remember a point for 9 solid hours that I or anyone there stopped to sit or even leave to go to the restroom. We were singing songs and hugging and bringing each other water and food so that everyone could keep moving and it seemed that we had all been instilled with an endless supply of energy that we knew was making a real difference..as much for ourselves as for those we were caring for. The greatest tragedy of my day was having to turn people away and having to tell them to go find some place else to help. There were so many of us crammed into our small work space and we were tripping over each other but no one would think about stopping or leaving. We made room for everyone we could that wanted to help. I knew I was exactly where I wanted to be. I knew that yesterday when I woke up, I need to work myself into exhaustion, to use the feelings and energy in my body doing something that would make a difference. I know that millions of people woke up feeling the same way. The work and the giving was so incredibly healing for us all and it was so hard to tell others that there was no place we could put them as I knew they needed to give and help for their own healing as well. I pray that they found a place to be of use. When we finally got released, no one wanted to go home. They said the army was coming in so not as many volunteers would be needed from here on. I sat for a long time with a few of my new friends reflecting on the day, feeling such joy through our contemplation and our exhaustion. We were sitting on a bench feeling so in love with all of the people who we had worked with all day and so in love with our great city, our great country and with the power of the human spirit. Wonderfully, as we chatted, we were witnessing one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen as we looked across the water and were reminded that there is still so much beauty in the world in people and in life itself. Ironically, as we were feeling and talking about the amazing wonders of being alive and safe and the great joy we had all experienced throughout the day, I looked to my left and realized that we were sitting next to 40 or so boxes of body bags that had just been delivered on the docks. None of us had noticed them until then. It was a stunning and shocking contrast to what we were feeling at that moment and a stark reminder of what had brought us all together that day. Today the city remains amazingly quiet. Most businesses remain closed. The tunnels are closed, the bridges open only on the out-bound lanes. The subways are operating only down as far as 34th street. The busses are fortunately running over the better part of the city. There are many army trucks painted in camouflage driving around, most delivering doctors and transporting supplies. Crews are working night and day without ceasing cleaning up the mess and more importantly, desperately trying to find anyone who may have survived in the wreckage. Sadly and interestingly, few bodies have been recovered and all the hospitals have seen virtually no activity whatsoever since the incident. People either got away or they didn't. Those that didn't get away, have all but disappeared. There are few bodies as of yet to fill those boxes of bags, only pieces of bodies strewn all around the blocks of our beautiful city and scattered beneath and amongst the wreckage. My eyes have seen a sight I never would have imagined I'd see. My heart and my body have felt feelings I simply can't identify. All of us here are still in shock, we're grieving and doing what there is to heal and move forward. I ask you all to do whatever you can do wherever you can do it. Just because you may not live in a city where something has happened, do not feel that this is far away from you and there is nothing you can do. Many will continue to need food, clothing, money and blood. We all continue to need your prayers. I send you mine. I'll keep you posted as things progress. Love and blessing to us all. God Bless you. God Bless our city. America and God Bless our World. Love..Janice Marie