Inez & Stephen Ribustello: Life after Windows | 9/11: We Remember | PBS North Carolina
Вставка
- Опубліковано 6 вер 2021
- In September 2001, she had returned to her hometown of Tarboro for her sister's wedding, or Inez Ribustello would have been working the morning of September 11th at her dream job at Windows on the World on the top floors of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Now, Inez and her husband Stephen remember the colleagues they lost 20 years ago and how it changed their lives forever.
In the new PBS NC special, 9/11: We Remember, North Carolinians share personal accounts of that terrible day. From narrowly escaping the World Trade Center to losing loved ones and colleagues in the collapse, we hear intimate accounts of tragedy, heroism and resilience.
9/11: We Remember premieres Thursday, September 9, 7 PM on PBS NC and streaming online and on the PBS Video app.
Learn more and explore more special programming: www.pbsnc.org/blogs/watch/9-1...
Support more programs like this by becoming a member of PBS North Carolina today.
pbsnc.org/donate
"On September 11th I lost my entire innocence and my rose colored glasses of the world." I would say that perfectly describes how we all felt after that day.
It’s great that they’re best friends with the girlfriend of their coworker who perished. They seem like kind, genuine people.
I worked at Cantor Fitz on 105 from 96-99...we had our Christmas parties at windows...thank you for posting
You must have lost a lot of friends that day
You must have lost many former coworkers
I am sorry for the sorrow that you must feel . 🌸
My heart goes out to you ❤
Thats fascinating. Did you lose any friends who still worked there? Sorry if this seems insensitive
Rip to every single angel who lost their lives that day 😢
I knew Heather Ho, the executive pastry chef at Windows on the World.
we met working at Gramercy Tavern. she was so funny, cool and kind. she was also super talented. we all knew she was destined for big things.
i moved back to LA in 1999. the morning of 9/11 a friend called and told me to turn on the news. we all were in a state of shock.
i knew Heather was working at WOW, but didn’t know if she was there that morning. it was devastating when i later found out she was.
i’m so sorry for her family, friends, coworkers. and all the others who lost their lives that day. RIP 🙏🏻
Thankyou for sharing. It's good to hear about victims that people knew or met. We need to know about them too, honour and remember them.
My mom took her first trip to NYC in July 2001. She visited WOW and showed me all the pics from her trip. On 9/11 she woke me up in the morning to turn on the news, both towers were hit with planes. She was so shaken and upset talking about all the sweet people she met in that restaurant just 2 months before. So devastating.
I was also in NYC for the first time in July 2021 and planned on having drinks at WOW but a coworker told me to go to Rainbow Room instead so we did. The people who have been to WOW it must be strange now
July 2001
I visited the WTC in late August of 2001. It hits us hard every year, doesn't it? 😢
@@srs3572I wonder how many people over the years have taken their own lives over what happened that day?
@@pootypump7440 I read that the suicide rate increased in Europe but not in the USA. I'm not sure what to believe but I know many have survivor guilt 😭
I lost my mom last year. I’ll never forget how thrilled she was the day she and her best friend, Phyllis, who is also gone now, were going for their day at Windows on the World! They had such a wonderful time. Living our entire lives in North Central New Jersey, we thought we would have access to these wonderful buildings for the rest of our lives.💔💔 I am so very happy my mom and her friend took this chance. They so very appreciated it.. especially after 9/11. Bless all the staff here and gone, all their families and loved ones …. thank you for all the wonderful memories you gave so many! 🙏
(((Hugs)))
I have always had a phobia about going into lifts and going into tall buildings from childhood and after 9/11 my fears became worse. I live in UK in a 5 storey building, but thankfully first floor only. My heart still breaks for all those who suffered that terrible day (now 22 years ago, but seems like yesterday) and I make a point of marking the day each year to remember all those who were lost. It is the very least we can do and to be thankful for our lives. It is inconceivable to me that certain human beings can inflict such evil onto completely innocent people who were simply doing their job, looking after their families and doing no harm to anyone else. Pure evil does exist, but it will never defeat pure love.
Well said.
My dad had his prom at Windows of the World. This story was bittersweet.
Baby girl it wasn’t your time. Glad you have the chance to live. ❤
9/11 had such a profound effect on the world. That moment was almost as profound as most wars involving many nations. In my opinion, one of the reasons why it was so profound was because it literally happened out of nowhere and so so many innocent lives were taken that day in a matter of minutes. The victims had absolutely no part in these wars between nations….they were there just doing jobs like anyone else. Even for many like me whom lived in North Carolina, that just violently ripped away the little bit of innocence that was left for countless kids of the 80’s and early 90’s babies. We felt maybe maybe there was some peace just above the horizon in the world……but it was gone all in a second. It was….it is…….just profound in so many ways.
I feel like the late 90s were the peak for the USA. I was 23 when this event happened. I was going to move to NYC and be an artist. I visited the Met, and was excited about my life. Everything changed that day. I never moved to NYC. It just wasn't the same after that.
I'm slowly beginning to realize the 9/11 events traumatized our generation a lot more than we could imagine, even those who like me saw this only on TV and as far away from NYC as in Europe. Who knows, we may be all suffering from some form a PTSD due to what we all saw live on TV that day...
JUST WHEN I THOUGHT IVE SEEN IT ALL REGARDING 9/11. I went there seven times over the years spending 35 yrs in restaurant business. Would take mini trips with my Buffalo co-workers usually 6 or 7 of us. 1 hour flight, check in New York Hilton, 6pm dinner then a show at 8pm. Got in 2 cabs and took them all to WINDOWS ON THE WORLD, a simply glorious venue. Thank you for this extraordinary reminder of wonderful memories made there late 70s thru mid 80s and once in 1997.
I wish I could’ve seen those buildings in person. Thanks for telling your stories.
They were amazing
@@susannefox8384 They really were. At first, the Twin Towers were quite unpopular - their design called ugly, too uninteresting, unworthy for the Tallest Buildings in the World. Which they were at the time. Over the years, though, their presence grew on people & they became a welcoming sight on the Manhattan skyline. They became as synonymous with NYC as the Empire State Building.
The views from the Observation Deck & the Windows on the World restaurant were such a thrill. At the ground levels of both towers were many shops & eateries. I have warm memories of time spent in the WTC complex.
To me, the Manhattan skyline looks empty without the Towers - despite the addition of the beautiful replacement bldg (One World Trade Center). Even after all of these years, whenever I’m in the area & driving past Manhattan’s skyline, the first thought that comes to mind is: how could the Twin Towers be actually gone? 💝
Ik me too. The moment I learned about this restaurant and the mall I was sad that I would never see this beautiful building ever.
They were simply magnificent
They were okay. Kind of like the Empire State Building. You kind of don’t really think about their grand nature until it’s gone. Yeah it made the skyline nice, but you never went more than that. Know what I mean? Very reminiscing of “you don’t know how good you have it till it’s gone”. People say they were magnificent, and we say that now, but it’s more because we miss them. With that in mind, we should also appreciate what we still have today. Like the Empire State Building and the Chrysler building and the new WTC. They might seem like nothing now, but I’m sure if they were gone tomorrow too, we would all be saying differently. That’s the best way I can explain it.
Especially comments like @jm1657 ‘s as well. Like I get it. Its nostalgia. But there are things NOW to love, too.
“What I believe heaven to be like”
I truly believe when Inez moves on to the next life she will take an express elevator up the north tower to window on the world to be reunited with her friends. You can truly see her heart is still broken.
I remember when driving into Manhattan always seeing the towers and knowing we’re in NY. Can’t believe this happened. It will never make sense
I was living in NYC at the time and working as a flight attendant for UAL during 9/11. I too was in my hometown in Michigan and remember my Dad coming into my room telling me about a plane...but then there was a second plane. Just a horrible horrible day😢😢😢
We will never forget 9-11 and our heroes who sacrificed their lives for us. God bless our heroes 🇺🇸
Inez seems like such a particularly kind and genuine person.
She deserves every success
I was conceived in late July 1968 weeks before tower 1 began it's journey skyward and was born 3 months after tower 2 started going up and grew up with them,
It was 1976 and i was 7 yrs old and off school sick and was watching a documentary on the construction and my mind was blown when i saw them on the screen.
Also i'm autistic and led a lonely childhood and even tho i had a younger estranged brother and sister, i considered the towers my brother and sister and it was my dream to go by the time i'm 30.
I turned 30 in 1999 and wasn't financially stable enough to go, so i made a promise to go in 3 to 5 years, and 2 years later i watched them collapse, i couldn't believe it and my heart sank because no matter how rich or successful i become i'll never ever stand on the top of the world and that makes me so sad.
I well remember a little before 9/11 when we were holidaying in Boston Massachusetts. We were having breakfast in our hotel and there were a small group of business men, one of whom wished to be excused so he could telephone his daughter who was that morning starting a new job in the World Trade Centre in New York. I often think of that man and wonder if his daughter was a victim of that terrible day.
Ugh. So so heartbreaking. Thank you for sharing this. I can relate to parts of this story - I also took the PATH train late the night before from WTC to Jersey City (Newport) where I lived, WTC towers were right there across the river outside my bedroom window. Slept late as well but actually slept through the whole thing!!! Woke up to sirens and my phone ringing - it was my roommate who told me what was going on. After the initial shock subsided I saw there were several messages on my answering machine which were from my mom, my roommate and my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time. They gave me a play by play of what happened and with each phone call my mom’s voice got shakier and shakier along with some tears - I remember she said “I just want to hear your voice”. I tried calling my parents but there were just busy signals. Eventually got through. What a horrible horrible day that was. Feels just like yesterday too. Never forget.
So did you work in the towers?
@@georgialee6755 No, I worked in midtown on the west side. Took the E train from the WTC to get there.
The world was forever changed by 9/11, even to this day, the ripple effect it had on the world, it dented the world and when I saw those poor souls falling from the twin towers because of the fire, nothing was ever the same for me after seeing that, just like Inez explains, innocence was lost that day for millions
Every time I see a documentary about 9/11 I wonder how these people who worked in these buildings were at so much risk and no one realized it.
Rick Rescorla knew.
September 12 is my birthday too. So glad you both found healing ❤
WOAH... "How do you not feel guilt if you have a soul."
I grew up on Northern NJ, 15 miles from the towers. I was 13 going on 14 on 9/11/01, I mark that day as the end of my childhood and saw for the first time real evil. My favorite photo I have is of my brother and me in June 2001, standing on the NJ side with the towers in the background. I have that picture hanging in my mancave at my home now in Louisville KY.
Great story. Thank you for sharing, although so incredibly sad. 😢 Because the plane hit directly through the center of Tower 1, it destroyed the central core containing all the exit stairs so no one above floor 91 was able to escape. The suffering and pain of all her colleagues must have been absolutely excruciating.
I lived in Tarboro most of my life and knew a lot of kids who worked at the restaurant they owned when they were in high school. I always remember waiting for my friend to get off work, usually late, on the weekends so we could go out and do typical teenager stuff during the early 2000s. I never knew this about the Rubistellos, but this is an amazing story that I will remember every time I go back to tarboro to see family and go to the brewery.
I stood at the bottom as a kid my Dad drove a semi and he said hurry get out check it out we gotta go .I always said I’d come back they the day they fell is hard to explain but everytime I think about it .I get mad then sad then proud so many emotions .
This story made my heart full.
My co-worker and I would fly to NYC monthly to go shopping for work clothes, we’d fly in on Fri night and fly home on Sunday afternoon. We always went to Windows to enjoy their Sunday bunch then we’d head to the airport. The views were amazing and always different…..then fast forward 30 years. I was again back in the area but across the river in NJ when this happened. What a sad, sad day in American history. Windows of the World had the best view, food and people working for them….w❤
I thought I’d was fake. I was 19 when this happened. I know what rose colored glasses are. It changes you forever.
Beautiful story.
Brought tears to my eyes. Love from 🇬🇧
I got goosebumps it wasn't your time god has a plan still for you don't feel guilty
I’m so happy although I deeply respect the other 9/11 stories and have a special place in my heart - this one was different and made my heart smile amongst the sadness also !!!! And I’m sure their co/friend workers that lost their lives are extremely proud of what they are doing with their lives !!! So thank you so much for sharing your story and helping to heal just alittle !!
i worked across the street, from the Towers; and met some friends after work; just for some drinks..🍷🍷@ "Windows of the World" first time I was there...and I remember they put these delicious homemade Potato Chips on the Bar to eat, and other goodies...it was a Beautiful Restaurant, I walked around and looked out the window...and WOW! it was so high up 102 floor, and the lights of the city illuminated, what a view, unforgettable!! I said to my friends; I have to take my Mom here for her Birthday, she will Love it!!...unfortunately it never happened. So many great memories, walking through those Buildings, after getting off the subway, it was so nice, the stores shops, restaurants, and the Best Coffee shop! Miss those days.😔..and so sorry for the loss of all the people who lost their lives. 911 will always be one of the saddest days, for everyone, NYC was never the same. The Freedom Tower, and all the names, what a Beautiful Tribute. 💔💔💔 What a Great story, and memories of her Co-workers, and their dream job; and the horrific death they faced that day. 🙏
I always planned to visit the twin tower in 2001 then terror happened! I regret so much that i could not go there earlier! Very very sad 😢 and RIP to all victims of 911! May you all rest in heaven
they tell me I went in 1999/ 2000 but I don’t even remember cuz I was 7. Wish I would’ve returned once more but it prob would’ve been too late.
Thank you for sharing ❤
its good to hear all the people from around the US converged to this Great city
It’s really sad seeing what’s become of the city now. Sad.
@@amy109 I was 24 yrs old at the time, my friend worked on the 36th floor South tower ... I tried calling him at house in the city to see if he worked that day but the phones were dead . so i ended up taking the train to the city but they blocked off anyone going down below canal street ...few days after I ended up working with a cleaning company a friend of mines owned and we cleaned for 2 months...it was bad I would get headaches everyday on the train ride back home...
@@oochiewally2783- hope you don’t mind me asking, but did your friend on floor 36 make it out?
@@sian2337 hey yes he made it out...but he passed away from an unrelated issue to this Event
Thank you for sharing! What a beautiful couple.
So sorry to those who died
My heart goes out to their loved ones
This is a tragic horrible story
Text in peace to those who died 🤍🕊
Beautiful recollections
My last memory before 9/11 was the Broncos game the night before. The Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey broke his leg and the next day that seemed so insignificant thing.
I had met the singer actress Aaliyah for a second time right before she died. Her death devastated me as a huge fan then a few weeks later 9/11. 2001 is such a fog for me. So much tragedy in that year 😢
sweet sentiments. beautiful couple
Great cover for her book!
That is a beautiful story... Someone upstairs was watching out for that couple...
Oh my gosh 🥺
At least all high rising buildings, parachute facility should be available on all top floors.
You should definitely get the expert opinion and Google Search: "How would 9/11 have turned out if there were parachutes in all hallways and enough for the max capacity?"
Never ate at windows. But in 97 I went to the observation deck in the south tower it was also on the 107 floor. I’m glad I got to see and be in those towers. When we were up there a thunderstorm was passing through the towers and there was lightning. Wish I still had the penny that I put through one of those coin operated machines it pressed the twin towers into it
they opened a restaurant in tarboro NC is an 1:30 minutes from here DURHAM NC where I live I hope one day I can go eat there and see them their experience on 911 is amazing
The very fact that so many innocent victims became eternal legends, is a great comfort to many family members who were left to grieve for their loved ones, as opposed to those devils who will never , ever get a place in the roll of honour, only a list of evil entities who went straight to hell, and not to where they thought they were going, Such is the delusion of these imbeciles.
Nothing is the same. SO many things went completely downhill after 9-11.
This video was sad 😢
The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Oh, you mean the *turd?*
The WTC was an amazing set of buildings, but theres no way I could have ever had enough courage to go inside a building that high up! Iam deathly afraid of heights. I get scared looking out the window of a hotel ten floors high. Oh my, Iam glad for the folks who made wonderful happy memories there, but I really believe its too dangerous to build buildings that high. Theres no way to get people out in time to save them. This tragedy is a dredful event. And I hate the people who ran those planes into the two buildings. 😢 God WILL make them pay the price of their crime with their evil SOULS!!! ✝️❤️🙏🙏 God doesnt let someone shatter innocent lives without severe punishment!
@1:38 the man in the foreground of the photo on the bottoms left looks just like the man who was photographed jumping that day. "The Falling Man" photo. Wonder if that could be him.
As soon as I saw him, I thought the exact same thing 😞🙏🏻
I believe the actual 'Falling Man' is the man above Inez not the one next to her
@@khaledyousef9997 I agree with you. The falling man was tall and slender more like the man behind her.
@@khaledyousef9997 but then again does that man look 43 to you? Because the falling man was 43 years old. His name was Jonathan Briley.
1993 a truck bomb blew out the basement in the same location. Killed six. That could have been a slight warning sign of future attacks. Call me crazy. Lockerbie, Oklahoma - it wasn't new. It was bigger.
Morgan Stanly head security Rick Rescorla and Daniel Hill (expert in Counterterrorism) predicted that the terrorists will be using planes. These guys were the ones who warned the Port Authority... in 1990, Rescorla asked him (Daniel Hill) to visit the World Trade Center to assess its security. When Rescorla asked Hill how he would attack the building were he a terrorist, Hill asked to see the basement, and after the two walked down to the basement parking garage without being stopped by any visible security, Hill pointed to an easily accessible load-bearing column, and said, "This is a soft touch. I’d drive a truck full of explosives in here, walk out, and light it off."[4] That year, Rescorla and Hill wrote a report to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, insisting on the need for more security in the parking garage. Their recommendations, which would have been expensive to implement, were ignored, according to James B. Stewart's biography of Rescorla, Heart of a Soldier.[15] In the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, terrorists would detonate a truck bomb 30 feet from where Rescorla and Hill had predicted. He hired Hill and Hill was instrumental in getting the people behind the 1993 bombning by posing a muslim worshiper in NYC mosque. Watch the YT video: the man who saw it coming: 9/11 hero rick rescorla and also Road to 9/11: Bonus - Special Agent John O'Neill | History
Spot on Sir, John O'Neill knew it wasn't a case of if but when. R.R was of the same view. I didn't know R.R but I have known men like him. Physically and mentally tough, huge reserves of resilience and loyal to the end.
Poor Mr. Jeffrey Alan Coale…read that prior to that horrific day, he’d never worked on Tuesdays. Wonder what he was feeling when he was dying, thinking about how that Tuesday was his first time working there, and yet, because of it, he was paying with his life. He had dreams of opening his own restaurant and was making very little money just to get some experience with the wine aspects of the restaurant business. His sister said he gave up a much higher-paying job and was making $14/hr at Windows On The World. So very, very sad and tragic.
is she related to the Holderness Family? She is from their area and her maiden name is Holderness.
Yes she is cousins with Penn
Is this about windows or their experience?
They worked at Window's on the World but they didn't work on the day of the attacks.
Yah that new tower lacks everything that the twins were !!!
It’s built much stronger.
Starts 5:30 if want event.
Thank you
😊🥲
Sounds like a MS or AL accent.
In heaven there will be all those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. RIP to all employees.
Religion is for weak-minded people who cannot or will not think for themselves. Loser.
A plane hit the building and she talkin bout she just cleaned that office 😒 no damn empathy
All the people who died were sinners, weren't they?
The people that worked at WOW really thought highly of themselves.
Shouldn’t everyone? Think highly of themselves?
As they should.
Michelle Obama earrings…?
That’s a thing?
Heaven will not be with different religions. It will be with believers in Christ.
Whatever your indoctrinated beliefs tell you sweetie.
Amen☺️
@@carolinegallegos_ Bible says so.
stop bringing God into this tragedy
Not a subject to start making jokes about
Anyone who loves heat does not deserve good things in life.
?
What?!?!?!
The only thing 911 was missing was Mel Gibson and Danny Glover
Too bad you're not missing.😁
god rest the souls of every 9/11 victim
All these innocent people who perish are in heaven. The evil demons who did this are burning in hell forever.
It is incredible but that was what was meant to be …. They have to count themselves lucky 🍀
I know it’s sad and they must feel the guilt ….. but it wasn’t their moment to go
🦋🩵🤗
Spoken like someone with no idea
@@nowirehangers2815 what the hell does that mean??? No idea of what??? Are you able to read what I wrote?? Do you comprehend the English language? I very much doubt it … just a keyboard warrior out to hit 👎😤
@@sallygard63I guess you don’t realize how disrespectful this statement is to those who died. I think they would argue just by their suffering it was in fact NOT their time to go.
@@LetThereBeRaineTV are you for real ??? Disrespectful to those who died ?? How was I disrespectful?? Did I say it WAS the moment to go for all the victims by chance??? Of course I didn’t ! My god what a KAREN you are! How dare you! 😡😤
@@sallygard63 I don’t really want to respond but I will. Even you know that by saying it wasn’t their time to go so they didn’t, what are you implying about the people who died? Put simply, you’re implying it was their time to go.