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Dear Friends and Family
The year 2001 has been turbulent from start to finish for the Hanson-Kleine family. In January, Rich received a severance package from his Austin job. He and Susan decided
to use that opening to move to New York to join the rest of the family there. Little did they realize that their
respective careers would take off in different directions once in the Big Apple - and that their lives would be
forever marked by the events of September 11th.
Rich is now Director of Site Operations, for Charming
Interactive, the e-commerce division of Charming Shoppes, Inc., a multi-billion corporation and leading light in
the plus size fashion business. He enjoys the position immensely. On September 11th, he was commuting to work in
mid-town Manhattan via subway. We later figured out that he was under the World Trade Center when the second plane
hit.
Susan is now store manager for Partners &
Crime, an independent mystery bookstore in Greenwich Village. The position gives her an opportunity to use her
knowledge, gained over 30 years as an avid reader of mysteries, and to meet and interact with customers and authors.
Susan completed her term as the President of the Association of Living History, Farms and Agricultural Museums
[ALHFAM] in June. She remains on the Board and is serving as advisor to its 2003 Conference Committee. Susan is
also developing a museum consulting practice as History Behind the Scenes (www.historybehindthescenes.com). On
September 11th, she was at home alone in Park Slope/ Brooklyn when the planes hit the World Trade Center. Susan
heard the second plane hit while viewing it on television, and watched the blue sky turn gray with smoke and ash.
Andrea continues her career as a performance artist
and choreographer in New York. She recently had a digital short film she made with a colleague accepted by the
Sundance Festival. Andrea will travel to Utah for the Festival. She and Jill still live in Greenwich Village. Jill's
writing career is flourishing. She had several articles in Time Out New York Magazine and continues to write astrology
columns for a variety of publications. Andrea and Jill were at home on September 11th, less than a mile from the
World Trade Center and within viewing range of the disaster.
Hilary, still a resident of New York's Upper West Side, has a new job as clinical
social worker on the Palliative Care Team at New York University Hospital. This fall she worked temporarily for
the Brooklyn Community Service Board, mainly helping members of the Hotel Workers Union who lost their jobs at
the World Trade Center. Hilary was at work, briefly, on September 11th before leaving to be with Seema, who had
alerted her that Jared was at the World Trade Center.
Jared continues to live on Manhattan's Upper East
Side with his girl friend Seema, an art history graduate student. He has completed his undergraduate work and is
considering a variety of graduate school programs. Jared still cultivates a garden on his fire escape. Seema recently
completed her doctoral course work and is preparing for her orals in the spring.
On September 11th, Jared was running 15 minutes late for his temporary job on the 73rd floor of Tower 2. He was
on the concourse of the World Trade Center between the twin towers, when the first plane hit. Jared saw both the
plane hit and the fireball erupt. He took shelter in the now-collapsed Marriott Hotel until after the second plane
hit. Then, he and others ran for their lives. No one in the family knew what had happened to him for 2 hours, and
there was no way to find out. Pay phones and cell phones were dead, or erratic; public transport was shut down.
Confusion was rampant. Finally, Jared turned up safe and uninjured at Andrea and Jill's.
We ran through many raindrops as a family on September 11th, and feel very fortunate to have survived intact and
functioning. We hope that you and yours are all healthy and prospering, and wish you the best for 2002.
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