National Post
· collected 2026-09-11 · by Special to National Post
analysis
Jay Nyandak recounts his experience as a 12-year-old student on September 11, 2001, when he witnessed the World Trade Center being attacked while in class at PS 89 in Tribeca. His mother, who worked nearby, narrowly escaped the disaster by turning back towards her office after receiving a phone call from Jay to sign a permission slip. The article reports that Jay's classroom initially received an announcement about a "minor accident" at the World Trade Center before learning of the full extent of the attack.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On October 8, 2024, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was killed, an event that has become a significant marker for young conservatives in America, akin to September 11, 2001 and the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. The day of his death is now referred to by some as 9/10, symbolizing its impact on political activism among students. Meanwhile, the small Canadian town of Gander played a pivotal role during the September 11 attacks when U.S. airspace was closed, leading to 38 international flights landing there, doubling the population overnight and necessitating an impromptu humanitarian effort by locals to aid around 7,000 stranded passengers and crew members for several days. This act of kindness inspired the Broadway musical "Come From Away," which highlights Gander's generosity and humanity in times of crisis.
Written for “9/11 Anniversary Reflections” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 167 other(s) covering the same event.
My class was supposed to go on a field trip to the Bronx Zoo that morning.
asserted
class → suppose → Zoo
When my humanities teacher, Mrs. Garvey, asked everyone to bring their signed permission slips to the front of the classroom, my stomach sank.
asserted
stomach → ask → classroom
I had forgotten to get my mother’s signature.
asserted
I → forget → signature
I asked to be excused and went downstairs to the school office to call her.
asserted
I → ask → her
My mother, a single parent, worked for American Express at 3 World Financial Center, directly across from the World Trade Center.
asserted
mother → work → Center
I asked her to come over and sign my permission slip.
asserted
I → ask → slip
She said she would.
asserted
she → say → ?
What I didn’t know was that my mother had been heading toward the underground shopping complex beneath the World Trade Center to run an errand before work.
asserted
mother → know → work
My call brought her back toward my school.
asserted
call → bring → school
By the time she left, she decided to skip the errand and head directly to her office at American Express.
asserted
she → leave → Express
On the way, she noticed an airplane flying alarmingly low over Lower Manhattan.
asserted
airplane → notice → Manhattan
She wondered whether a movie was being filmed.
asserted
movie → wonder → ?
Then she watched it strike one of the Twin Towers.
asserted
it → watch → Towers
She initially thought she had witnessed some kind of movie stunt or a horrific accident.
asserted
she → think → stunt
Then she saw a second plane strike the other tower and realized it wasn’t an accident.
asserted
it → see → tower
Inside my classroom, we didn’t know what had happened.
asserted
what → know → classroom
I remember the room shaking and pencils falling from desks.
asserted
pencils → remember → desks
I thought perhaps one of the custodians had dropped a heavy cleaning cart on the floor above us.
asserted
one → think → us
Then we felt another violent shake.
asserted
we → feel → shake
Our classroom windows faced Stuyvesant High School, so we couldn’t see the World Trade Center.
asserted
we → face → Center
Eventually an announcement came over the PA system.
asserted
announcement → come → system
As I remember it, we were told there had been a “minor accident” at the World Trade Center.
asserted
we → remember → Center
Teachers were instructed to take us downstairs to the cafeteria to be picked up by our parents.
asserted
Teachers → instruct → parents
I didn’t go directly to the cafeteria.
asserted
I → go → cafeteria
I was a curious 12-year-old who needed to know what was happening.
asserted
what → need → ?
I slipped away and took another staircase toward the schoolyard.
asserted
I → slip → schoolyard
What I saw outside has remained with me for 25 years.
asserted
saw → see → years
Manhattan had stopped moving.
asserted
Manhattan → stop → ?
Growing up in New York, I had never seen anything like it.
asserted
I → grow → it
People were standing motionless on the sidewalk, staring upward.
asserted
People → stand → sidewalk
For a moment, my 12-year-old mind couldn’t make sense of what could cause an entire street of New Yorkers to stop at once.
uncertain
street → make → Yorkers
I remember wondering if there had been some kind of alien landing.
asserted
I → remember → landing
Then I followed their eyes.
asserted
I → follow → eyes
I saw the World Trade Center burning.
asserted
Center → see → ?
Smoke poured from the tower.
asserted
Smoke → pour → tower
Tiny objects appeared to be falling from high above.
asserted
objects → appear → ?
At that age, I assumed I was watching debris.
asserted
I → assume → debris
Only later did I understand that some of what I saw may not have been debris at all.
uncertain
I → understand → what
I returned to the cafeteria.
asserted
I → return → cafeteria
One of my classmates was crying because she, too, had someone close to her who worked at the World Trade Center.
asserted
who → cry → Center
…and 46 more, not listed.
