BE Ch 9 summary + ?

rich richard.romeo at gmail.com
Thu Dec 16 14:34:09 UTC 2021


yep, I worked there. sadly the woman who hired me died on 9/11
I do have to admit that I cant stand heights. the cafeteria I remember had
an amazing view uptown but man I couldnt go near the windows
I also should mention the elevators. I found them at times to be rather
terrifying since I was on such a high floor. always running that gauntlet
coming back from lunch---that whoosh as you're catapulted into the sky at
god knows what speeds leaving your stomach a few moments to catch up to
your body. fun for everyone

rich

On Wed, Dec 15, 2021 at 5:52 PM Allen Ruch <quail at shipwrecklibrary.com>
wrote:

> I loved the sway! One of my favorite things was to go to the bar at the
> Windows on the World. Sure, the drinks were expensive: but the view! They
> used to have those kind of bubble-out windows, you could step into the
> window and lean out, your whole body suspended 100-odd floors above lower
> Manhattan, it was incredible. The restaurant at the top was reported to
> have one of the most sophisticated wine cellars in New York City. I also
> saw Philip Glass give a performance right between the towers one summer
> day, such a lovely memory.
>
> Rich—you worked there!?! Wow, that's impressive. I never worked in the
> Twin Towers, but I did work in an office in the Empire State Building, 55th
> floor. There were: no screens, no locks, no barriers on the windows. Like,
> you could open the window and just jump if you wanted. It was CRAZY. The
> winds up there....just mind blowing. Like that say, it did rain *up* on
> occasion. We used to open the window and lean out as far as we could,
> hooking our feet into the baseboard radiator-thingie.
>
> Pynchon nails the description there, being in a crow's next.
> Sometimes—this was a tech job I had, BTW—I had to work 24 hours straight.
> And in the morning, the fog covered the city below, you couldn't see
> anything but your brother the Chrysler Building, the only other spire large
> enough to poke up from the mist.
>
> I still do love this city.
>
> —Quail
>
> Great Luna song: "Going Home." (1994). Still makes me cry a little
> whenever I hear it:
>
> "The Chrysler building
> Was talkin' to the Empire State
> The Twin Towers
> Were talkin' to each other...
> Sayin' all is forgivin'
> I love you still
> And we're home, home
> Goin' home..."
>
>
> On 12/15/21, 5:24 PM, "Pynchon-l on behalf of rich" <
> pynchon-l-bounces at waste.org on behalf of richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>     I can attest to that sway, having worked in the South Tower on floors
> north
>     of 90, about 10 yrs before 9/11. felt it particularly in the restrooms
>
>     rich
>
>     On Wed, Dec 15, 2021 at 4:28 PM Joseph Tracy <brook7 at sover.net> wrote:
>
>     >  BE chapter 9 summary
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>     > scene change: Next day Horst takes sons to WTC, which apparently has
> 5
>     > foot sway range, maybe more in storm. “Hey! I’m a day early, you
>     > surprised?” “No and also try to quit leering, Horst? I’ll be out of
> here in
>     > a minute.” Is that a hardon? She has retreated into the shower too
> quick to
>     > tell.  Chapter ends on interesting Note: On days of storm, according
> to
>     > Horst’s co-tenant Jake Pimento, it’s like being in the crow’s nest
> of a
>     > very tall ship, allowing you to look down at helicopters and private
> planes
>     > and neighboring high-rises. “Seems kind of flimsy up here,” to Ziggy.
>     > “Nah,” sez Jake, “built like a battleship.”
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>     > --
>     > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>     >
>     --
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>
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