|
Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back
rather than let it reach its destination (Washington, DC with the U.S.
Capitol or the White House the intended target). So,
why am I writing about this in a domain industry trade magazine today?
These are memories that are painful to revisit, even
if we didn't personally know any of those who were lost in the tragedy -
so why look back? Well, just imagine how much greater the
grief would be for those who lost family members and friends
in the disaster. If you are in the domain industry you likely have
friends that experienced that kind of horrific loss and hearing about it
from them makes it something that becomes personal for you
too. Watching the tragedy play out on TV had a surreal feeling - like
this can't be happening - but when you talk to people with a
direct connection to those events, it becomes all too real and
reinforces the need to never forget what happened that day and do
everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Two people who are
among the most widely known and successful investor/developers in
our industry, brothers Michael and David Castello of Castello
Cities Internet Network, know exactly what it was like to lose
a family member in the 9/11 attack. They also have a familiarity
with the World Trade Center itself that goes well beyond that of
most Americans. So, let's start there. In
1976, Michael and David (who were the subject of a 2006
DNJournal Cover Story), lived in New York City, having
moved there to pursue a music career with their very talented rock
band. That year the renowned Windows on the World
restaurant
(WOTW) opened on the 106th and 107th floors of the World Trade
Center's North Tower (WTC 1). In the picture |
Michael
Castello & David Castello |
|
of the restaurant's
original 1976 cast below, you can see both David (face circled
at left) and Michael (circled at right) who
took jobs at WOTW to help finance their musical ambitions (click on the link
or picture below to see a much larger
version of the photo). |
WOTW was located in the first tower struck at 8:46am (US Eastern
time) on 9/11/2001. 17 minutes later the South Tower (WTC 2) was hit by
another plane. The South Tower would be the first to collapse though,
going down at 9:59am. The North Tower and the restaurant fell at 10:28am
as the world watched in stunned disbelief, especially those like
Michael and David who had helped open WOTW's doors 25 years prior to the
catastrophe. "Windows on the
World was an amazing experience," Michael told us. "I met Joe
Baum, who was the developer and inspiration behind the restaurant. I
had always had a fear of heights, and serving at tables that close
to the edge was part of what made dining there so unique. I soon got over
my phobia because the view was spectacular. My brother and I became
good friends with the wine sommelier, and I was able to drink some fine
wines and develop an appreciation for pairing wine with food early on. The 105th floor (immediately below the restaurant) was completely
empty at the time, and I used to bring dates out there for the view. The
floor space actually looked much smaller than you would imagine. Being
able to gaze out in all four directions was special." 
1976
view from the Windows on the World restaurant
atop the World Trade Center North Tower WOTW
drew the rich and famous from around the globe. David's favorite memory
was serving Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the widow of President John
F. Kennedy. "She was so sweet," David recalled of the encounter.
"The view was incredible too. We were often just above the clouds.
The building would sway a little and it felt like you were on a luxurious
cruise ship." Unfortunately,
the iconic towers where those wonderful memories were made was lost in
just a matter of minutes on 9/11, leaving Michael and
David with a new set of nightmarish memories they never could have
envisioned. "I was
living in Playa del Rey, California," Michael recalled.
"I usually stayed up working until 4am so I was awakened at 10am when
my brother David called. When I answered, he just said, “They’re
gone!” I couldn’t understand. I asked, “What’s gone?”
He said the World Trade Center towers were gone, and I still couldn’t
wrap my head around it. David continued, telling me that both buildings
had collapsed and that I should turn on the TV. I couldn’t believe
what I saw when I turned on the news." 
New
York City firefighters and journalists in the area around Ground Zero
after the collapse of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. (Image
from Bigstock). David,
who was also on the West Coast, got his first inkling of what had
happened in a phone call too. "I was asleep in our Laguna Beach condo. When the phone rang in the office, I
usually never heard it, but
for some reason, I heard it that morning. Our parents were in New
York City for our cousin Christina’s wedding and mom left a message saying a plane had hit the trade center. I assumed she meant a small plane, like a Cessna.
I called her back and she said they were waiting to hear from Christina’s brother,
our cousin Paul Rizza, because he was working on the 90th floor of
the South Tower (WTC 2). She wasn’t making sense and at that moment,
Kate Buckley called on the other line and told me to rush downstairs
and turn on the TV. I ran down and couldn’t believe the magnitude of what I was seeing.
The reality didn’t hit me right away. I still did not think those buildings were going to come down." It
didn't seem the news could possibly get any worse but it did. Soon
after David had called and told him to turn on the TV, Michael saw a
phone message from his mother. "My parents were staying at the
Mayflower Hotel on Central Park West in Manhattan and in the message she
said a plane had hit the World Trade Center but they were both okay. When
I called her back, she told me that Paulie worked in World Trade Center 2
and that they couldn't get in touch with him, so his sister
Christina was trying to find him. I called Paulie's mother, Vivian, and
tried to assure her that he must have gotten out. Later, we found out
that he had not been able to escape before the tower collapsed. We
were fortunate in the fact he was one of the few whose body they were able
to recover." Paul reportedly last contacted his wife,
Elaine, at around 9:56 am, letting her know they had been told to
evacuate. That was just three minutes before the South Tower collapsed.
Paul was found on the 108th floor, most likely trying to get to the roof
in hope of being rescued when time ran out. 
Paul
Rizza and wife Elaine Impressive
memorials have been built to remember and honor 9/11 heroes and
casualties alike, including the 9/11
Museum & Memorial in New York City and the Flight
93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Just
4 minutes after the WTC South Tower that Paul was working went down Flight 93 crashed in the Pennsylvania field.
It had taken off
from Newark, New Jersey en route to San Francisco when hijackers
diverted the flight toward the nation's capital - a destination they would
never reach thanks to the heroic passengers that fought back. To honor Paul,
Michael & David contributed an important artifact to the 9/11
Museum, who in turn lent it to the Flight 93 Museum so it could be
included in an exhibit that is on display there now. It is an original Floor
107 wall plaque from WTC 1 that they had acquired years earlier and
kept in pristine condition. It had been a treasured personal memento from
the years they worked at Windows on the World but after 9/11 they knew it
could serve a higher purpose in the public's collective memory of
9/11, the WTC and their cousin Paul to whom the donation is
dedicated. 
Above
& Below: The exhibit Michael & David contributed to that
can now be seen at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania. 
Much
has been said about 9/11 over the past 25 years. Given the division that
exists in our nation today, it is a good time to remember a quote about
the tragedy that
reminds us what we are capable of when we find common ground that
unites us: “Remember the hours after September 11th when we came together as one
to answer the attack against our homeland. We drew strength when our firefighters ran up stairs and risked their lives so that others might live; when rescuers rushed into smoke and fire at the Pentagon; when the men and women of Flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save our nation’s Capitol; when flags were hanging from front porches all across America, and strangers became friends. It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of
us.” – Former Secretary of State John Kerry |
