The Bowl Company was started in May of 2001 as a part time garage business.  I was working
and commuting to lower Manhattan during that time and was there on that horrible morning. Shortly thereafter, I decided to give our little bowl company a full time effort.  Sometimes bad things do have a way of working out. I thank all our customers for making this possible. 

To the families that have lost a love one because of that day, and to our soldiers, both here and gone who have been faithful in their duties - my heartfelt well wishes to you all.

Below is a journal entry I wrote the day after. 
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From Bob Dumont written on 9/12:

Here is what I saw. I took yesterday morning just writing down my thoughts. I passed this to some people yesterday and they asked if they could send it around. Feel free to share it. For many of you who have offered your kind thoughts, I sincerely appreciate it. I am much better today than yesterday so forgive me if I did not answer your calls as promptly as I should have.

Bob Dumont

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We were all going to work that morning. It was a beautiful September morning and much like any other morning. On all other days, I would climb from the dark subway stairwell and as soon as your eyes hit the light you looked up and saw the North tower of the Trade Center. As each person did this act yesterday, the same words came from their mouths - "Oh my God!!!" One by one, people repeated this ritual, including myself. The North tower was on fire. People filled the street as they came to look at this. I was on the corner of Dey Street and Church Street - about a few hundred yards from the Towers.

We watched it burn. Nobody on the street had seen the plane come in and we were all unsure of what caused this fire. The plane and hole in the building were not evident from this vantage point. I watched and wondered. Fire Engines and Police Vehicles came streaming in. After the first twenty minutes I caught a glimpse of the first jumper. It was from about 70 or 80 stories and you could see him twisting in the air. It is a long way to fall. After the first jumper, a couple of people thought it a good idea to get a bit closer and walked up to the police baracade that closed off the plaza. A second person jumped. This time, he seemed more in control of his body and appeared almost like a sky diver trying to hit a target - torso downward and legs and arms flailing upward. There was a stage directly below the North Tower and above the stage was a tent canopy. Perhaps he thought he could hit it and cushion himself. He didn't. When he hit, I saw something spray upward. I am not sure if it was his remains or the ground that he hit. In any case, the people that went for the closer look turned back, covering their heads, huddling with one another over, perhaps replaying the ghastly sight and mumbling about what they wanted to see and then saw.

The next jumper left. This one did hit the canopy - but fell straight through onto the stage. The sound of the man crashing onto the stage brought a scream from me - and then tears. "What are they doing?" I kept saying over and over. It wasn't evident until later when I heard about the first plane. They were going to work. That is all they did this morning, but the choice that they had to make was not about people or databases, but whether to die by fire or from the jump. The heat, hot enough to melt steel, must have been excruciating. I wept openly. I watched this for the first 20 minutes. Other jumpers came forth. I saw 6 or 8 people fall. I will never forget those images. I wondered where all the emergency people were and what they were doing. What was taking them so long - but they were at least 70 stories high and not enough time to reach them.

I started backing away. I could not watch any more when there was an explosion. The force of it felt against my body. The sound was a low rumble at first and then a blast. The south tower exploded toward everyone. We could not see the plane hit it as the buildings that I was between just permitted a head on view of the east side of the south tower. What I saw was just the force of the tower being pushed out. The glass was coming down - you could see it glistening through the air and everyone started running. I ducked into an archway at first of a building, but still thought it unsafe and then headed for a doorway about 40 feet in front of me. The south Tower was on fire. The police backed everyone away from the scene. They were ordering people to turn off their cell phones as everyone was trying to call someone, but nobody could get a line out due to the heavy usage. I went north for about 2 blocks and saw both towers ablaze. I was sickened by it. The police were ordering everyone to move beyond City Hall, which is a few blocks north and east of the Towers. People kept talking of a plane, but I didn't believe them. Surely I would have seen such a large plane, but from my vantage point it couldn't be seen. Last evening on the news was when I first saw the planes.

The streets were jammed with people and rather than stay with the herd, I moved a couple of blocks south, to Nassau street. I just didn't feel safe around City Hall and I had thought of how many things in NY can so easily be terrorist targets. Nassau street is filled with small stores and several of them had radios outside with the news stations on. People gathered and listed but the crowds around these stores were large and I just kept moving. By now, I was close to John Street - about 2 blocks east of the Trade Center and found myself moving toward the Stock Exchange. Surely that could be bombed so I decided that to keep going in that direction was not the right thing. I could see the tower burning and I made a right turn and walked down the street a bit. I decided it was time to leave the area. I had seen enough and I was on the corner of Broadway and John Street, about a block east and turning north. A police officer had told me that I had to leave the area and I started to take a few steps. What happened next was what everyone thought unthinkable.

The sound was much like the one that I had heard from the plane hitting the south tower. Then the ground shook. My breath shortened. I looked up and it was falling from the sky. The South Tower was crumbling and the officer ran. I looked down John Street (which turns into Dey street - where I originally was) and a grey cloud appeared, turning the corner as if it was seeking out things to envelop. I screamed a few profanities and watched this cloud move closer. I looked up and could see things swirling in the air. I ducked into a phone booth for a few seconds and then looked up again and saw that it was about to start raining things. I was going to die. I knew it. I would be hit by a piece of metal or concrete or something and that was all I could think of. I ran. There was an entrance to a subway station. I knew I could make it and took off. There was a man with a small electronics booth across the street yelling "COME INSIDE, COME INSIDE," waving frantically to people rushing down the street. I was one of the last people in there, perhaps two feet from the door. Windows started to break; I am not sure if it was from debris or people trying to gain some cover. All of this happened in about 15 seconds. It was black. Unseeable. You couldn't breathe. The only thought was death. I'm not a religious person, but I thought of Passover. Surely this was the angel of death sweeping down and I was inside an electronics store with no markings to save me. The air turned black and was like coal dust. You couldn't see anybody. Screams of "WATER" and "IS THERE A BASEMENT" came from inside the small store. I was two feet from the doorway and couldn't see anything. I asked if we were barricaded in. Nobody knew. Once the glass breaking subsided, I pushed against the doorway as if something were there, but there was nothing but the black air. I walked outside for about three or four feet. I held onto the structure of the building as I had no idea where I was. I turned back in. I was scared. The air was heavy now with dust. People were gasping and coughing. I was finding it hard to breathe. A man next to me said, "Let's make a run for it." I told him we can't see anything. But now I was sure I was going to die and I didn't want it to happen there. I had to get out. The people in the store were getting more panicky and the dust was making me sick. You think of scenarios like poison gas or something terrible that you heard about on the news and it just kept getting more and more grim. I left the store. Keeping my hands on the store fronts and windows all down the street, I walked slowly. I dropped a book that I had and couldn't see it down at my feet. My next step I kicked it and then felt for it with my hand and picked it back up again. About half the block down, one of the stores still had its lights on. Up until then, I thought that everything was blacked out. Once I reached the corner I could see images. There was a woman slowly making her way. I asked if she were all right and we just grabbed onto each other. Her name was Delia. It was her first day at a new job at Century 21 - right across the street from the Tower. I told her that I was glad she didn't make it in on time!!! We walked together for about half a block, coughing and spitting and just trying to breathe. A man came from a building saying "WE HAVE WATER - COME INSIDE". At first, I just wanted to head north and get out of the cloud. Delia went in; I kept going but then turned back when I realized that this cloud could go on forever.

The building was full of people, each one covered with grey ash and dust from head to toe. You couldn't make out faces or clothes. My eyes started to burn and my face started to feel heavy and hot. The line for the water was long and I walked over to a urinal and flushed - I let the water go in my hand and then washed my face off several time. I couldn't get the dust off. A person next to me found a hose and managed to turn it on. I sprayed my face with it. We were then ordered to leave the building. Somewhere up the block I ran into Delia again. She was sneezing. I kidded her if she was coming down with a cold. We both smiled.

I walked out again. About a block or two away is a hospital (NYU). Walking for a block in that dusty air just made you sick. You couldn't get the chalk taste out of your mouth or nose and you just kept coughing and spitting. I decided I would try to go into the hospital. They were not letting anyone in. It was overcrowded and they just kept yelling "WAIT. YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR A MINUTE". I couldn't wait and just left and started walking toward City Hall. Everyone was gray and you can see that some had tried to clear their faces. I desperately needed a drink and a man next to me was carrying two water bottles. I asked him for a sip. He gave me one of them and I asked God to bless him. I walked with Delia again for a moment and I mumbled, "I can't believe they blew it up," several times. We just spoke about how surreal this all was and shared the bottle of water.

Around City Hall, the dust settled and the air was clear. People were just filing out, some crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on foot and trying to go home. The line was long and people had a long, slow, methodical march about them - as if each footstep was painful. Delia followed them and I waved goodbye. I walked north, climbing over the car divider for the Brooklyn Bridge. A woman was throwing up and the man next to her was doubled over. I offered them what was left of the water that I had. They gladly took it. I kept moving on. I was in shock right about then and feeling a bit lost, I just walked out into the street. A police officer grabbed me, stopped some of the oncoming cars. He looked at me and said to relax - "You gotten through the worst. You're not going to die right here." I started crying.

About a half a block down is the court buildings. There is a fountain in the middle of the street and many people were washing themselves off. The dust didn't seem to come off no matter how much water I put on myself. As the water ran down my face, my eyes burned and I stopped. There was nothing clean to wipe my face with so I just closed my eyes until the burning stopped. A man left his water bottle there - half full. I drank and just kept spitting out all the dust in my mouth. Even this morning it still feels like it is in there. Maybe I will never get rid of it.

As I left the fountain, I found that people became more and more attracted to me. They were pointing and gesturing. At least a dozen people asked me if I was OK. One man walked with me for about a block, just reminding me how lucky I was. I agreed, but I was in a bit of shock and couldn't really speak much. I nodded and just walked slow. He asked me if I wanted to go to a hospital. I told him I just needed to walk and get away from this. He said "Yes - sometimes you just need to walk it off and thank God for all the things you haven't. Bless you my friend," and he walked away. While walking I stopped at about half a dozen stands and stores. All the water in the world seemed to be gone, not a bottle to be found and the dust from my clothes and hair and face just kept going into my nose and mouth. Walk, spit and think of what the hell was in that dust. That was all I did for about 10 blocks. I stepped into an ambulance at that point. I asked him if there is anything I should know about the dust. He gave me oxygen and just checked me out. A man came to the back of the ambulance, his arm bleeding heavily. I took the mask off and let the man sit so that he could be worked on. I kept walking. A few feet after leaving the ambulance a man walked up to me again and asked me if I was OK. I told him I think so and he started crying. He hugged me and I held onto him. He thanked God that I was alive and gave me many blessings. I thanked him and nodded at his affection before he walked away.

Any person that was covered in dust came to me. We would speak for a few steps or a block at most - talking about where we were at the time. The further north I walked the more of a freak show I became. There were no subways to take. No taxis to catch. All anyone could do was walk. Almost anyone that saw me asked me questions. Somewhere in ChinaTown, I finally found a store that was selling water. I bought two big bottles and just started washing myself off. There just never seemed to be enough water. When I was around 14th street, a woman followed me for about 2 blocks. She finally got the nerve to ask me a question. She was a reporter for the local newspaper. I answered some questions and kept walking but before I left, she asked me where all the blood on my shirt was from. I had no idea and hadn't even noticed it yet. A few feet after that a man came at me with a big water bottle. I thanked him and kept moving. I still have no idea of where the blood was from. As I was in that electronics store huddled with other people, we were so close together that I am sure someone must have been bleeding as we just held onto each other.

Somewhere in the 30ish streets I ducked into a restaurant and asked to use the bathroom. I got a good look at myself. I was caked on with ash and a "paste" from the water that I kept dunking on my head. I spent about 15 minutes washing up. Still, my clothes and skin were just full of dust and my shoes, which were brown, were now gray. That is how I got to know some people who were close to the blast, by looking at their gray shoes and streaks of gray in their hair. I think I will just keep my shoes in a bag to remember this occasion. The dust is all that there is of the Trade Center now. All the while that I was watching it burn I remember wanted to buy one of those disposable cameras. Each time I thought of that I also thought that the images I was seeing were ones that I would never forget anyway and let the idea pass.

In that restaurant, I sat down for a minute with a man who was wearing a maintenance shirt. He was crying. He said he worked at the Trade Center and believed that all his friends were dead. He cursed at the TV that was on. The few people that were eating didn't even blink at the profanities that he was yelling. I told him to feel better and walked on. After leaving the restaurant I met a fellow gray shoe and we talked about what we do now. "Where do we go?" he asked. I told him I think I'm going to try and walk home. It was only about 70 miles and I could make it by Friday. He laughed. I was a bit serious for the moment and then laughed myself. I told him I was going to Grand Central to try to catch a train. I finally did arrive at Grand Central. It was sealed off. I started to think that almost every place in the city is a potential bomb threat, so I didn't wait for Grand Central to open and just started walking. I walked by 5th Avenue and saw the Empire State Building. I was almost sure that would come down and walked a bit faster. I walked by Times Square, which was sealed off, and again thought about what an easy target it would be. I thought I would go to the Bus Terminal and maybe try to find a car rental place. I found out all the bridges were closed and there was no train service. I began to wonder that if we were to evacuate the City, were we all to just walk out?

Walking down 42nd street they have the big video screens. It was the first time that I actually saw both towers fall. Up until that point, I only felt the rumble of the earth and the dust falling on my head. I had not actually seen what had happened. The dust itself hid almost everything from view for quite a distance. When I saw the second tower fall on the video screen I just sat down on the sidewalk for a minute. I couldn't believe what had happened. I got up after a while and kept walking. I decided it was time to eat - it was about 1 pm.

Somewhere on 9th avenue I ducked into an Italian restaurant. The man was very kind and offered me a seat immediately and then informed me that he only had salad, calamari and pizza. The cook never made it into work today. I smiled and told him anything he had was fine and just sat there. I began to wonder how I was going to get home. A woman came in and said that the ferry was operating but it was a five-hour wait. I decided to give that a try. After eating, I found a cab and told him where I wanted to go. He said he couldn't take me as everything was sealed off and he wouldn't be able to get close to the docks. I walked again. The docks are along the west side highway. Ordinarily from there you could easily see the towers. When I reached the highway, I saw what was left. It was a ragged looking piece of the building that was crooked and looked like it would fall over. The other tower just seemed like a stump or pile of something. It seemed very strange to have the skyline without them. I then looked at the line for the ferry and decided that the line looked more like 10 hours. Several army trucks passed me by loaded with soldiers and officers. Overhead were military jets flying around the city. I didn't recognize where I was for a minute.

I decided I would try to walk to the Bronx. Someone had mentioned there was limited train service in the Bronx, and from there I could get picked up by my wife. I found a cab and just asked him to drive as far north as he could. He refused, saying he couldn't go anywhere. On my second try, the cabbie brought me to 96th street. I walked a few blocks and then got into another cab which took me to 125th street. He could not cross 125th street and I decided to head for the train station. He let me out and I walked from west side to east. It was my first time I had walked entirely through Harlem!! All very interesting and the newness of it kept my legs afloat for some time. It was about 3pm when I finally reached the train station. Shortly after, there was a train that pulled in and headed north. I got on it, met a few more grey shoes. Spoke, cried and then finally got a seat on the crowded train after about a half hour. I slept.

When I finally got off the train, Stacy and the kids were there. I hugged them. They hugged back and a cloud of dust came off of me. I was glad to be home.

Notes:

I missed my earlier train. I normally catch the 6:44 which gets me to the towers at about 8:25 and I catch an 8:35 ferry. Since I missed that train, I caught the 7:06, which gets me out at the towers at about 8:50 and then would have caught a 9:05 ferry. Had I caught the 8:35 ferry, I would have probably been somewhere in the middle of the Hudson river watching this happen.

Harlem has some very broad streets and intersections. It is interminably long at 125th street. While getting close to the train station, a parade of earth moving machines went down one of the avenues (it was the one by the federal building). I could only imagine what they were going to pick up.