There’s that shot of Spencer with the flag over his face… It wasn’t like you were out there choking, but the air was definitely thick. All you could smell was fire and demolition. Dust. It wasn’t as bad from Union Square up to Midtown, but once we got to the Westside Highway, it was much worse. You couldn’t escape it.
It was such an intense day… and it’s weird to say, but I do remember us having a good time skating. Like a nervous good time. Because you have to understand that there were still fighter jets flying over the city. No one knew what was going to happen next. You were hearing all of these rumors. There were sirens everywhere… fire trucks, ambulances, State Police. Just constantly flying down Broadway and 2nd Avenue. Every two or three minutes, there’d go another one. But other than that, the streets were completely empty.
The photo of everyone skating down the street, shot from the front, that’s right in the middle of all that chaos. I had a nice, big cruiser board at the time and just happened to find myself in-front of everyone for a second. I looked back and it presented itself, so I snapped off a few. But that was it. That photo is one of only two or three frames.
People always ask me about that day, but honestly, it was truly terrifying. Because you didn’t know what was happening. Is it over? Are those U.S. jets up there? I mean, people had been panicking for 24-hours straight at that point. Is this it? Granted, you have to get on with your life but you can’t help but still be quite nervous about everything.
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