This article was published in the Butler Eagle on Sept. 8, 2002.

Ron Laconi has recurring visions of Sept. 11, especially because he works just six blocks away from the site of the Twin Towers.

"We could see burning and debris," Laconi said, "and realized it was not debris but people falling."

Laconi, 44, was born and raised in Butler where his mother, Lorraine Laconi, still resides. He left in 1987.

Laconi works as an executive vice president for A.I.G. in New York City, and he witnessed the terrorist attacks with his co-workers.

"It was very difficult," he said, "The vision never will leave."

They could see the towers from their windows and thought it was an accident after the first plane crashed.

But since it was a "picture perfect clear day," they were suspicious.

"Plus, if the pilot was having engine trouble," Laconi recalled thinking, "he would crash into the river, not a building."

Laconi, who has worked in New York City since 1995, called the day's events "surreal."

"It was an eye-opening event as to what goes on around the world that we don't see very much," Laconi said. "Now we have (seen it) in a direct way."

Laconi was on the telephone with Richard Fleischer, operation vice president for A.I.G., who called from his cell phone while the ferry he was on docked. While they were speaking, Fleischer shouted, "Oh my God, there's another plane coming down the river."

The windows in Laconi's office shook from the impact of the second plane and he told Fleischer to get out of there.

The building that houses A.I.G., 175 Water St., was evacuated. Laconi and his co-workers stood outside with the towers in view.

"We had a lot of business partners in the (Twin Towers), especially at Marsh Inc. and Aon Insurance Services," he said. The two firms lost approximately 500 people.

"I was thinking about people I knew and weren't going to see again," he said of watching the towers burn.

"We had no idea the (tower) was coming down," Laconi said. "Then once it fell it took about 10 to 12 seconds for the plume of debris and smoke to reach us."

Laconi and others, who were engulfed in the plume, stampeded toward the river where they could find breathable air.

They eventually walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and were detained at a detox center before boarding a ferry.

"Since we were covered with dust from the plume, they poured water over us, drenching us from head to toe," Laconi said, explaining that officials had been unsure if people were contaminated by chemical agents.

"My suit, shoes, brief case - everything was drenched," he added.

Furthermore, firefighters were stationed at every train stop to drench anyone who had gotten past the detox stations.

Laconi finally arrived home, in Morristown, N.J., to his wife, Sharon, and sons at 10 p.m.

Some people won't go back into the city to work, Laconi said, but he continues to carry out his usual routine, though with a new perspective.

"I'm more aware of what's going on around me," Laconi said. "You do your routine day in and day out, and there's lots of things you don't usually notice, but I'm paying attention to things now."

Laconi hopes that Americans are able to find ways to remember people appropriately on the anniversary and "not forget that it's a dangerous world we live in."

"Whatever innocence was left — which has deteriorated decade by decade — was lost on Sept. 11," Laconi said.

A.I.G. has memorial services planned for the anniversary and "we've also made provisions for employees who don't want to come to work (that day)."

As for Laconi, he plans to go to work and then go home to his wife and children.

"We will sit down as a family and talk about it and reflect on what it means to us a year later," he said. "The best way to deal with it is to talk about it."