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 In the chaos of the day, she and a retired New York City police
officer-turned-limo driver navigated through the streets of
Manhattan, surrounded by chaos.
Liana said that as she was being driven around Manhattan Island
on that terrible day, she never really felt afraid for her own life.
"I was in a car with someone I trusted. I felt a strange sort of
calm," she said.
She went on to say she believes when one witnesses something so
horrible, the mind and body have a way of shutting down, and that is
what she believes she experienced.
"I did have concerns, though. I didn't know where I was," she
said.
In the bedlam, her driver had taken her away from the scene. Now,
as the second plane tore into the World Trade Center, the bridges and
tunnel were being closed, and Liana felt she was somewhat trapped in
a part of town she'd never seen before.
Adding to her concerns was the fact that at that moment, she and
her driver were on their own. In past trips to New York, and even
this one, her company had provided all of her accommodations, and
she had very little to worry about anything.
Now, she was in a different situation. Thoughts turned to cash,
shelter, gasoline for the limousine and getting out of Manhattan.
Liana recounted that as they drove through the city, she realized
they were indeed on a bridge, even though they perhaps were not
supposed to be.
"Even now, I don't know how he did it, but we got on a bridge and
left Manhattan. By now it was 1 in the afternoon. There were
practically no cars on the bridge, and I remember we stopped and
looked across the river, and it was just devastating."
The two ended up in Sheepshead Bay in the Coney Island district
of Brooklyn. They were lucky enough to find an ATM with cash, and a
gas station to fill the car. Their choices of shelter were not as
desirable as one would have hoped, but Liana said they took it in
stride.
When they checked into the motel, Liana got a room, but the
driver chose to stay in the lobby. She remembers that she did lie
down to rest and fell asleep.
At 3 o'clock the next morning, the driver came knocking on her
door. He had been monitoring the news and had just heard that the
bridges were going to reopen to traffic.
With no air traffic and virtually no rental cars available, Liana
asked the driver to take her to New Jersey, where her company had
corporate offices.
Once she was there, the company found her a place to stay and put
her to work helping with a training seminar they were conducting.
As it turned out, there were several Midwestern attendees at the
training seminar, all in the same predicament, with no way to get
home. After a few days, the company was able to rent some passenger
vans, and the Midwesterners left the East Coast and headed home,
Liana among them.
The main thing she remembers about that trip is that when they
got to her drop-off point in Illinois, Tim was there, in the middle
of the night, waiting for her.
___
Now, one would think that the story ends here, but it really
doesn't. As a matter of fact, it may be just the beginning, because
three years later, Liana became an inhabitant of the greater New
York area.
She was offered a new position with her company, a position that
was too good to pass up, but it meant spending enough time in New
York that it just made sense for her to get a place and live there.
"When I took the job, I didn't know if it would be for a month,
year or 10 years. And, I thought about what people say about
long-distance relationships, but I still called Tim and said, 'I've
been offered a job in New York, and I have to take it.'"
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Liana said she really had no doubts about going, but the events
of Sept. 11, 2001, did have an effect on her.
The greater New York area is laced with natural waterways, all
heading to the coast and the Atlantic Ocean. Because of this,
getting from one borough to another involves crossing water either
via a tunnel or bridge. On Sept. 11, it was one of the greatest
obstacles Liana faced as her driver wove through the city and
finally got them across a bridge.
For that reason, Liana chose to live in Hoboken, N.J.
"I chose to go there because of the bridges and water, because
from there, if anything bad does happen, I can get away."
For Tim, who is still in Lincoln, he says he worries about Liana,
but it is really more about geography than actual danger.
"If I were there with her, I wouldn't be worried at all," Tim
said. "New York is really a very safe city now, and it is a great
place to spend time because there is so much to do."
Tim McCormick has a successful career in Logan County; at the
helm of the Farmers State Bank in Emden. He stays at Hoblit House in
Lincoln, a beautifully kept historic home, and as often as possible
he visits Liana in New York.
Tim said, "I'm always going to worry about her, but my wife is a
survivor. She can do what needs done in order to take care of
herself."
As an example, he also mentioned that Hoboken, where Liana lives
now, was one of the harder hit areas with flooding from Hurricane
Irene.
Liana confirmed that as well. When Irene hit the New Jersey
coast, Hoboken, which sits on the lower side of a river, was
flooded. Liana said there was water to contend with and also the
loss of electricity.
Fortunately one of the McCormicks' two daughters also lives in
Hoboken now. Liana said that while her own apartment building is in
a low spot and was at threat from the flooding, her daughter's home
a few blocks away is on higher ground. When Liana's apartment lost
power and the water started building up, she went to her daughter's
home and stayed there until the worst was over.
Both Tim and Liana still love New York in spite of a few
less-than-pleasant experiences. They both feel that the city is a
safer place than it was 10 years ago, primarily because the events
of Sept. 11, 2001, changed the people of New York in a positive way.
"What came out of this," Liana said, "is that people are much
more neighborly, and they look out for each other more."
In every tragedy, there has to be some good come from it. Long
before he was captured and assassinated, Osama bin Laden lost this
battle, in that he had to watch a nation rally and unite, instead of
crumble and cower in fear.
The lives he took and the destruction he wrought on America is
something that can
never be forgotten, but for millions of people like Tim and Liana
McCormick, it will never rule their lives or give them cause to live
in fear.
[By NILA SMITH]
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