A beautiful clear afternoon in Union Square, oldsters sitting on shady benches, musing in the clear, warm air, people walking their dogs or feeding the squirrels and pigeons, couples necking on the grass. They are seemingly oblivious to the enormous clouds rising in the sky to the south, the sign of the colossal catastrophe that occurred this morning. How could they be so unaware and uncaring?

I am sitting, depressed, wondering what these people are thinking, feeling. I’m killing an hour while the pictures I took this morning of the catastrophe are developed. This is greatest disaster I’ve witnessed in my life, surpassing the Detroit riots of ‘67.

People always ask me why I wear a belt bag. I answer that it enables me to carry a camera with me on the street. “You never know” I joke “I might witness a murder and record it for posterity”. Today my little joke came true, but rather than self congratulations at my foresight, I feel great sadness at witnessing mass murder.

My story begins on a sunny September Tuesday morning as I prepare for my busiest workday of the week. Three classes at BMCC and FIT from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm, Art History and Multimedia Computing.