Trapped in Downtown NYC Building
A pre-9/11 matter of urgency44 total reviews
Comment from T B Botts
Hello Mary,
I'm sure that was a scary situation to find yourself in. I was glad you gave a little more information about what happened, it cleared up why the elevator didn't arrive. I've never heard of an elevator shutting down before, unless it had to have someone on hand to operate it. I'm glad it all turned out OK for you.
Blessings
Tom
reply by the author on 05-Nov-2021
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Hello Mary,
I'm sure that was a scary situation to find yourself in. I was glad you gave a little more information about what happened, it cleared up why the elevator didn't arrive. I've never heard of an elevator shutting down before, unless it had to have someone on hand to operate it. I'm glad it all turned out OK for you.
Blessings
Tom
Comment Written 03-Nov-2021
reply by the author on 05-Nov-2021
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Thank you, T B Botts, for the good review and your kind remarks. May God bless you, too. - Mary Kay
Comment from BethShelby
I seem to remember you mentioning this once when I wrote about being trapped at the top of the tallest building in New Orleans with my three kids or maybe it was the other time I got locked in a building when everyone went home. People who use temps are very bad about not giving good instructions. I enjoyed the story and the follow up with more details.
Beth
reply by the author on 03-Nov-2021
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I seem to remember you mentioning this once when I wrote about being trapped at the top of the tallest building in New Orleans with my three kids or maybe it was the other time I got locked in a building when everyone went home. People who use temps are very bad about not giving good instructions. I enjoyed the story and the follow up with more details.
Beth
Comment Written 03-Nov-2021
reply by the author on 03-Nov-2021
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Thank you, dear Beth, for this exceptional six-star review, your supportive comments and especially for remembering that I told you this story! I'm glad you enjoyed it, although I wish I had saved it to present as a lengthier piece, rather than flash nonfiction, with the best details in the author notes. But at least I got it out, partly as a result of your encouragement, for which I thank you very much. God bless you, my friend.
Love, Mary Kay xoxo
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Oh, Beth, the story I was responding to, when you were trapped in a building, was the one when you were with three of your children. Yes, you were also in quite a pickle, at the top of a skyscraper, no less!
Comment from Goodadvicechan
I would be scared too. Working alone in a building while there was fire on the 12th floor when you were stuck at the eleven floor.
Thank God, you were safely out of the building.
Thanks for sharing
reply by the author on 05-Nov-2021
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I would be scared too. Working alone in a building while there was fire on the 12th floor when you were stuck at the eleven floor.
Thank God, you were safely out of the building.
Thanks for sharing
Comment Written 03-Nov-2021
reply by the author on 05-Nov-2021
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Thank you, Goodadvicechan, for your excellent review, the five stars and your kind comments. Actually, the Fire Department came because I called 911. I was the person trapped on the 12th floor, but there was never any fire; I didn't mean to imply that there was. I would have had to walk down eleven flights (from the twelfth floor) if I had chosen the fire exit, but as it would have been deserted, that option was too frightening for me.
Once the security guard was notified by the 911 operator that an employee was trapped on the twelfth floor and activated the elevator to come up and get me out, I guess the FDNY still had to respond, just as if there was still someone trapped upstairs. And I suppose the company got a fine, and possibly the building management, for allowing a situation where an employee could get trapped by the elevator bank.
Yes, I thank God that He helped me get out, rather than being stuck there, frightened and uncomfortable until the elevators started working in the morning. Or worse, I could have had a medical emergency, and there would have been no one to help me.
God bless you, my friend.
- Mary Kay
Comment from nancy_e_davis
That would be a very scary situation indeed. Some people know what to do, but they do not understand there are those who do not know. I would have been frightened too. They should have apologized to you. Good story. Nancy:)
reply by the author on 05-Nov-2021
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That would be a very scary situation indeed. Some people know what to do, but they do not understand there are those who do not know. I would have been frightened too. They should have apologized to you. Good story. Nancy:)
Comment Written 03-Nov-2021
reply by the author on 05-Nov-2021
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Thank you, Nancy, for your great review, the five stars and your empathetic comments. Actually, I was quite perplexed, when the elevator didn't work. I didn't know, for a fact, that the phone would, either; but I assumed, optimistically, that most phones would be required to have that capacity, and fortunately, I wasn't disappointed! Yes, they should have apologized to me, instead of being critical. God bless you.
Love, Mary Kay xoxo
Comment from Susan Newell
This is an exceptionally well-written, flash true story. I can imagine how frightening that must have been. When I was about 20 I had to close-up a restaurant at night on my own. It was on a dead-end street and I had to park behind the building in the dark. I was always on full-alert and ready to bolt at the first sign of anything amiss. Great little story.
reply by the author on 05-Nov-2021
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This is an exceptionally well-written, flash true story. I can imagine how frightening that must have been. When I was about 20 I had to close-up a restaurant at night on my own. It was on a dead-end street and I had to park behind the building in the dark. I was always on full-alert and ready to bolt at the first sign of anything amiss. Great little story.
Comment Written 03-Nov-2021
reply by the author on 05-Nov-2021
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Thank you very much, Susan, for your wonderful review, the five stars and your personal story of dealing with how we, as women, can encounter frightening situations, working alone. I found that generally, my fear while walking alone on the street decreased somewhat as I got older, but I still had some moments when I felt I had to take extraordinary measures to protect myself, even while walking my dog late at night, in my 30s and 40s.
I'm married now, so I'm rarely out late by myself, but I still watch my back, if I'm alone and it's dark.
May God bless you and keep you safe.
Love, Mary Kay xoxo
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You are very welcome. Because of my health, I rarely go out, and I'm never alone. Fortunately, we live in a pretty safe area, so I have general sense of safety from that kind of thing. Thank you for your comcern.
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You're very welcome, Susan. My health could be better, too, but I'm sorry if you're in similar circumstances. I hope things start looking better for both of us!
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Me, too!
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:-)
Comment from Sally Law
Oh my, I had forgotten how scary it it is to work in a building late at night. I did for many years as a telephone operator. I didn't have a car service though, but I did have a security guard for an escort. I'm glad you're safe and well.
Sending you my best today as always, and my very best for the upcoming contest, Sally XOs
reply by the author on 05-Nov-2021
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Oh my, I had forgotten how scary it it is to work in a building late at night. I did for many years as a telephone operator. I didn't have a car service though, but I did have a security guard for an escort. I'm glad you're safe and well.
Sending you my best today as always, and my very best for the upcoming contest, Sally XOs
Comment Written 03-Nov-2021
reply by the author on 05-Nov-2021
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Thank you, dear Sally, for your beautiful review, the five stars and your kind remarks. There were many nights when I wasn't afraid, and I suppose it was because I had made some degree of adjustment to working in semi-deserted conditions. What was worse, was coming home to my basement apartment late at night, which was located at the back of a driveway (although I didn't live there the entire time I worked nights). My brother was alive then, and he would stay on the cellphone with me while I walked down the driveway. But a few times (not necessarily in the middle of the night), he would hide out in the garage, and jump out and scare me. What a rascal! I still miss him.
Blessings and love,
Mary Kay xoxo
Comment from Aussie
Best wishes for your contest entry. It would seem the building owners only cared about rules and regulations that you broke (how ridiculous) human life comes first, apparently in your case, you were a threat. You must have been scared witless. Thank heavens there was a working service phone. And, you shouldn't have been left on your own in a strange building K xx
reply by the author on 04-Nov-2021
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Best wishes for your contest entry. It would seem the building owners only cared about rules and regulations that you broke (how ridiculous) human life comes first, apparently in your case, you were a threat. You must have been scared witless. Thank heavens there was a working service phone. And, you shouldn't have been left on your own in a strange building K xx
Comment Written 03-Nov-2021
reply by the author on 04-Nov-2021
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Thanks very much, Kay, for your wonderful review, the five stars and your empathetic comments. Yes, both the temp agency and the company managers cared about the rules I broke, but not about the ones they broke! The value of human life apparently came last. Having that phone there was about the only thing they did right (although possibly, they regretted it).
May God bless you. Love, Mary Kay xoxo
Comment from Carlos' girl
Sounds like just another day in the life of a New Yorker. It is funny how we remember events and assign meaning to them. In a New York minute you could have been robbed on the way out of the building. But God is good. As for the temp agency? They dont care. You are just a number. And to you? They are just a paycheck.
reply by the author on 04-Nov-2021
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Sounds like just another day in the life of a New Yorker. It is funny how we remember events and assign meaning to them. In a New York minute you could have been robbed on the way out of the building. But God is good. As for the temp agency? They dont care. You are just a number. And to you? They are just a paycheck.
Comment Written 03-Nov-2021
reply by the author on 04-Nov-2021
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Thank you, Carlos' Girl, for a great review, the five stars and your thoughtful comments. Yes, God is good. His love for me was evident, sending help when I called for it. I must admit, I remember that night more than most of the other ones! God bless you, my friend.
Love, Mary Kay xoxo
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I'm glad you were unharmed that night. I know you will always remember, for the sheer fact that you remained unscathed. I always found working as a temp to be very disheartening.
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Yes, you're right! Did you work as a temp in NYC, or outside of it? Days, or nights? I did a lot of shift work for law firms, where the extra pay made it worthwhile -- especially the 2nd and 3rd shifts. But after a while, it did start to get very tiring, and especially being up all night, I would often eat to stay awake, and ended up gaining too much weight (it's taking me years to lose it, but I've taken off over 100 lbs).
I wasn't crazy about temping days for non-legal assignments, especially reception and secretarial work. I really only did secretarial and administrative assistant jobs because I had to sometimes, for the money, because multitasking never agreed with me. At legal word processing centers, I liked it better, because I could focus on one thing at a time. But eventually those jobs changed, and involved a lot of printing from CDs, DVDs and emails-- very boring. And reams and reams of paper!
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Okay Mary, are you sitting down? I worked as a full time paralegal at major law firms in LA and then NYC. Yes lol. I did temp work a few times too. I too liked the focus of one project or assignment. Yep. The long hours. Car service. Ordering in dinner. Lol. The overtime pay was great.
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It sure is a small world! And you are obviously familiar with the whole culture I'm referring to. Amazing! We actually had one WP supervisor who would give us all cars both ways AND dinner, all on the clients' dime. I don't know how he managed it -- that certainly wasn't the norm.
I knew a lot of paralegals -- very hard workers, and very skilled. I'm impressed!
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I worked w the firm Weil, Gotschal & Manges on 59th and 5th. Maybe you knew them?
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I didn't just hear of them, I was there! Of course, I worked at so many different places, I couldn't tell you if I was there once, or a dozen times, but I know they were among the big law firms in NYC, during that same era (and might still be, for all I know). Other places I worked at were Simpson Thacher, Paul Hastings, Rosenman & Colin, Jones Day, Sidley Austin, Debevoise & Plimpton, White & Case, Skadden Arps, Proskauer Rose, Akin Gump, Bryan Cave, Brown & Wood, Cleary Gottlieb, Squadron Ellenoff, Morgan Lewis, Dewey Ballantine, and LeBoeuf Lamb. Some of those, I worked at repeatedly, or long-term; others, it may have only been once, or a few times. I got thrown out of one of them, along with two other coworkers, for a fairly harmless prank (that was actually a "permanent" job). Yes, those were the days!
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Mary! You have named allbthe firms where my friends and colleagues worked. Omg. Did you happen to know an attorney Chris Dowicz at Proskauer?
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That is truly remarkable! Yes, apparently it was a small world, in those days. I stopped in 2006, when I applied for disability.
No, I'm sorry, I don't remember an attorney named Chris Dowicz at Proskauer. It's possible that I did, but I worked for so many over the years, I probably didn't stay there long enough.
I think I worked there on mainly the graveyard shift, and probably at least a dozen times. I think they did some criminal law (whereas most of the firms did non-criminal cases), but also other types. They had a fairly large WP center. I remember doing transcription there, also maybe doing forms on a typewriter. I think they were called UPC forms. Amazing, how this stuff comes back to my mind.
I may have worked individually with some lawyers at Proskauer, but I think I worked mainly in the WP center. I generally preferred working in Midtown, rather than Downtown, because it was a shorter commute to Queens, whether by subway or by car.
The WTC was kind of weird to work in at night -- the towers made the strangest noises in the wind tunnels, by the elevator shaft. I always remembered that later on. I had a friend who also worked in both towers. We talked about it later, how everything we remembered up there was just empty space in the sky. I got rejected for a permanent spot at Brown & Wood -- thank God.
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Mary, do you still live in Queens? I live in NJ now about 25 minutes from.Port Authority. Maybe one day we can meet in the city for lunch in Midtown. That would be fun
Comment from Dolly'sPoems
This must have been a very frightening situation for you Mary and you did what anyone would have done here, glad you were led to safety eventually, love Dolly x
reply by the author on 04-Nov-2021
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This must have been a very frightening situation for you Mary and you did what anyone would have done here, glad you were led to safety eventually, love Dolly x
Comment Written 03-Nov-2021
reply by the author on 04-Nov-2021
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Thank you very much, Dolly, for your nice review, the five stars and your caring remarks. Yes, my first reaction was fear, but I sought a way out, and was blessed and relieved to find it. God bless you, my friend. Love, Mary Kay xoxo
Comment from Janice Canerdy
Your ultra-concise nonfiction piece is very descriptive, reflecting the fear and confusion you experienced as a temp worker. As your notes point out,
God made something good out of it.
reply by the author on 04-Nov-2021
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Your ultra-concise nonfiction piece is very descriptive, reflecting the fear and confusion you experienced as a temp worker. As your notes point out,
God made something good out of it.
Comment Written 02-Nov-2021
reply by the author on 04-Nov-2021
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Thanks very much, Janice, for your thoughtful review, the five stars and your kind remarks. Yes, it's important to remember God's goodness. It helps us get through future times of uncertainty and hardship. May God bless you now.
Love, Mary Kay xoxo
