The Sights, Sounds and Smells Of The 9/11 Attacks

“I just remember the chaos,” said Traci Parker of Grayslake, a former CBS news producer who was already at work in midtown Manhattan, about 1.5 miles from the location of the attacks on the Twin Towers on Sept. 11. Her job was to distribute the satellite video feeds to news stations throughout the country.

“I saw everything as it happened,” she said. “It was terrifying.”

After the attacks, Parker recalled how eerily quiet the city was, the lingering burning smell from the planes bursting into fire upon impact and the awful sound of people jumping from the World Trade Center buildings.

Parker said the event caused people to be more connected to one another. But she said it was the final straw for her – she was through with living in New York. She and her family moved to Illinois a few years later.

The events on 9/11 changed her priorities, Parker said. She now stays home with her two sons, Ben, 13, and Thomas, 8, and appreciates every day with her family. “You realize you cannot take anything for granted,” she said.

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