The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

By Maria Zattler Staff Writer Rentrewâ€" While some New Yorkers struggled to come to grips with the hor- ror of the terrorist destruction of the World Trade Centre, others rebounded more quickly from the initial shock. Among the former was Catt-in Beck- W ton Townshi and was educated Week-Glasgow, the daughter of Reinhold and Hedwig Beck, now 1251 es in est go, New Jersey, about 15 miles “as the crow flies” from Manhattan. “But i can see the Manhattan skyline from where I live," Ms. Beck-Glasgow said last week. Her husband, Mark Alexis Glasgow. is a computer technician working for None] in New York. Hisjob emails installation and maintenance of computer systems, and he works during the night when of- fices are closed. Much of his work is in Manhattan. “He had worked in the vicinity of the 1 World Trade Centre Monday night, and finished work about 5 am. Tuesday," said Ms. Beck-Glasgow. “He was asleep at about 9 3m. Tuesday when his sistcrcalled from Brooklyn and lefi a message saying she wanted to know if he was okay," said Ms. Beck-Glasgow. “He couldn‘t figure out why she would wonder if he was okay, and tried to call her back but couldn't get through." Ms. Beck-Glasgow, a clothing designer, is in the process of launching her own business and works out of her home. Puz- zled by her husband’s inability to com- plete the call, she called the operator. “I asked why we can’t get through to Brooklyn,” she said. “The operator just said ‘turn on your TV.’ We turned it on just before the second attack. “We were just stunned." she said. “We didn't move from the TV all day." It was 3 pm. before they were success- ful in contacting her sister-in-law to reasâ€" sure her. On Wednesday moming, Mr. Glasgow was called to go to work. “They picked him anda couple of other people up to go to work in the Verizon Building, right next to the World Trade ‘ ‘ Centre," she said. “Phones were still down in the southern part of the island, and they were going in to work to restore com- munications." She explained that the World Trade Centre and some of the surrounding buildings are a hub of communications "Nonnally Alexis works with a much larger crew." she said. “But they wanted only a few of the most experienced peo- ple in there. They issued them gas masks and protective clothing, and took them in with a police escort, because access was restricted to the public. He took a change of clothes, because they told him he could be there ovemight." She was concerned about his safety. “I hope the buildings have been checked, and they let them go in there i only if theyare safe," she said. "The glass has been blown out of the windows in some of the buildings near the World Trade Centre, partly because of the heat and also because of the concussion when the buildings fell. It was like an earth» quake.” As it turned out, by Monday Mr. Glas- gow still hadn’t had the Opportunity to do any work to restore the damage. “He goes there every day, but he hasn‘t been allowed in yet because the build- ings are very unstable," she said on Mon- day. “He’s just on standbyâ€" sitting there waiting. He’s getting very frustrated i understand the Verizon building has a huge hole in it on the ninth floor where all the switches are. Now they’re think- ing of going to another site and install- ing all new switches.“ Conditions in general at the scene of the disaster are poor and are deteriorat- ing. “When I was driving Alexis to meet his colleagues, we had to stop in Jersey City l when his beeper went off so he could ; make a phone call,” she said. “Even on the other side of the river. his eyes were ‘ watering from the fumes.“ She said there were also concerns about asbestos in the buildings. “They think there might be long-term repercussions from the asbestos.” she said “The best thing to do is to keep your mouth and nose covered, but for so many of the people running from the buildâ€" ings it was a matter of life and death. and they didn’t take any precautions." Ms. Beck-Glasgow said that in the 24 hours following the attacks, it was diffi- ‘ cult to realize their fill] impact. ‘Nexiskcptsaying ‘I’m waiting forthis l to hit me. I keep feeling as if I’ve just watched a movie like Independence Day.’ I know he was anxious to go in there and be helpful, but a part of him also wanted to go and see it so he could understand it better.” The task facing the rescuers is also get- ting increasingly frustrating and unpleasâ€" _ ant. . _ hated “native recalls horror of last Tuesday SEPT 1/,2 o o I. ' “They haven’t pulled anybody out since Wednesday. so it's very discouragâ€" ing," she said “They’re tunnelling now. looking for pockets," she said. “They've gotten as far as the Path Train. which is the train to New Jersey. People are wonâ€" dering why they don’t go in through the subway, but I‘ve heard that it‘s full of water." She explained that the various subway and train lines converge on the World Trade Centre. She had to drive through Manhattan on Sunday on her way to a friend‘s both day celebration. “Everyone is struggling to get back to normal, but it‘s difiicult." she said. “The traffic‘s not flowing well, and when I went through the police were checking about every third car at the tunnel." She said the mood in the city is “very wier " “You look at those tall buildings and wonder if one of them could come down." she said. “You go in there with a com- pletely different sense of awareness. There’s still that electrical and fuel smell in the air.” Added to that now is the smell of de- composing bodies. “The husband of one of many friends is a policeman.“ she said. "They send so many from each precinct in on rotation. He doesn't even want to go in when his turn comes again." She said that during the day of the disâ€" aster shc spoke to few local people. al- though shc had calls from Canada. her i native Germany, where she lived until l the age of 9, and trout colleagues and friends in Spain, Italy, and France. “Everything was shut down. and eveâ€" rybody was inside," she said. "People over here are having so many difi‘erent reactions. They just don‘t know how to compute all of this.“ ‘ She said some people are so distraught that they are physically ill. “A friend of mine doesn‘t know any- i one who is killed or injured or missing. but she is so upset she has been throwing up,” she said. “She has two teenage sons. and is just so worried about what the fu- l ture will hold for her kids." She said the cleanup is not only unpleas» ant, but a painstaking task, because ofthe large timbers of people who are missing. “People have loved ones in there.“ she said. “Theywill have to move every sin» , gle piece of rubble individually." ‘ So much uncertainty remains. 7e-