Time, Family Help Heal Wounds of Sept. 11 for Alum
Board Member Greg Trevor Focuses on Positive Parts of His Life After Narrow Escape From Tower One

By GREG TREVOR
College Topics Staff Writer

It took a bike ride with my son—on vacation hundreds of miles from Ground Zero—to fully realize how much the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center still affected me emotionally.

We were camping in southwestern Pennsylvania in July, our first family vacation after I escaped from One World Trade Center the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

It was a perfect summer day at Ohiopyle State Park— warm, bright and breezy. Our 2½-year-old son, Lucas, was strapped into the bike’s safety seat.

Sunlight sifted through the trees, waterfalls crackled in the distance, and the wind whipped our faces as I pedaled along the smooth limestone path.

Lucas shouted, “Daddy, this is a cool bike ride.”

For the first time since Sept. 11, I felt pure joy.

Then it hit me: It’s OK to feel good again.

For 10 months, I hadn’t allowed myself to feel happy, because I was afraid to feel sad about the thousands who died in the attacks.

I particularly think about my 75 friends and coworkers at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who perished that day. Most gave their lives helping me and thousands more escape the Twin Towers.

Memories of their faces and voices wash over me when I return to Ground Zero. As I stare into that open wound in Lower Manhattan, I think about how full of life the World Trade Center used to be—the 40,000 people who worked there, the tens of thousands of commuters, the busy stores and restaurants, the outdoor concerts.

And it’s been stressful dealing with the never-ending media questions about Sept. 11 and its aftermath, which intensified as the first anniversary approached.

Coming to terms with this trauma has been painful. But I’ve had lots of help—from friends, a great therapist and a loving family.

They’ve enabled me to focus on the positive parts of my life—especially the small, simple changes since Sept. 11 that add up to a profound transformation.

I don’t hug people as much as I did right after Sept. 11. But I hug more than I did before that terrible day.

I’m taking better care of myself. I’m eating better, exercising more, trying to get more sleep.

But I’m also trying to treat myself and my family more. If I want a milkshake or my kids want a new toy, I don’t worry as much about calories or cost.

And I’m trying to memorize every detail about our lives together—both the experiences and the emotions.

Most important, I’m trying to maximize my time with my family—my wife, Allison, and our sons, Lucas and 6-year-old Gabriel.

Allison has been incredibly strong throughout the year—particularly last fall, when I worked up to 16 hours a day for the Port Authority as we recovered from the destruction of our offices.

Allison and I have tried our best to answer the boys’ questions about Sept. 11. But I didn’t know what to say when Lucas asked if an airplane is going to hit his nursery school. And it broke my heart to miss Gabriel’s birthday party on Sept. 12, 2001.

My kids missed me terribly that fall. Now I try to be with them as much as possible—getting up at dawn to build with blocks or play ball in the backyard before I go to work.

People say you never get back the time you lose with your children.

They’re wrong.

Terrorists tried to take it from me. But I was given back that time.

I’m going to make the most of it.

(Greg Trevor is a former editor-in-chief of The Cavalier Daily. He currently sits on the Cavalier Daily Alumni Association Board of Directors and is chairman of the organization’s scholarship committee. His essay was previously published in The Day of New London, Conn.)