The Second Day

By JILLIAN PARKER

On Sept. 10, 2001, a four year old boy was enjoying his first day at kindergarten at P.S. 150 in Manhattan. On his second day he lived through 9/11, which would change the rest of his life.

Brooke Peters grew up around the men of FDNY. His mom volunteered in Soho since 1997. His first steps were at a firehouse and it was natural for him to constantly be around the guys.

“I’m a single parent,” said his mother, Michelle Peters who lives in Manhattan.

At the firehouse, Peters felt the brotherhood and had male role models.

Brook was 11 when he was walking home from an animation screening with his mom and mentioned the idea of making his own documentary.

“I want to do a documentary, but I don’t know on what,” Brook told his mother.

Michelle encouraged Brook to do it on something was familiar with. P.S. 150 is four blocks north of the World Trade Center.  Now that many years have passed Brook was ready to tell his story.

“The way 9/11 has affected us and teachers needs to be done,” said Brook. “It’s never been done about the teachers.”

Brooke, now 14, and Michelle are still just as involved with volunteering with the FDNY today. Brook is aspiring to be a firefighter and a filmmaker.

“One of the firefighters told me to grow up and be a good man. Take care of your mother, but be a good man. That I will never get out of my mind,” said Brooke.

The Making of The Second Day

Brook began his journey with The Second Day when he was 11 and it was complete three years later at the age of 14.

“It was an incredible learning process,” said Brook. I did a few others with groups, but with this I had to deal with the process of something so close to me.”

Brook did all the interviews with small cameras that he borrowed. After contacting kids from his school, it soon branched out to other schools by word of mouth. He wanted various age levels with at least two students from each school.

“It was key to keep my roller coaster of emotions in check,” said Brook. “My life changed in almost every foreseeable way. I wanted to get the message out there by public speaking. As long as I was helping someone I was happy.”

When it was time to start editing Brook would lay out everything he had on the living room floor and just stare at it.

“He does amazing things. He raises money and goes to the 99 cent store to buy gloves and then gives them out to homeless people,” said Michelle.

The Day of 9/11

That morning of Sept. 11, 2001, more than 5,600 students and 200 teachers evacuated running for their lives. For many, this moment was surreal. Students heard the jet roar over their school followed by a loud explosion.

Michelle was directing firefighters on what post they should go to.

“I did whatever I was told and did whatever they asked me to find,” said Michelle. After the second tower hit I got Brook and put him in the rig. I yelled out to workers, looked up, and saw people jumping. I had never said God be with you before that day.”

Michelle didn’t go to church all the time while growing up and wasn’t practicing, but after 9/11 felt she turned out more religious then she was beforehand.

In the “Rig,” many of the men asked Brook to deliver messages to their loved ones.

“It was so hard, said Brooke. I didn’t understand, these men were invincible in my mind. I felt guilt not remembering what message to give to whom, and it’s one of the reasons I needed therapy.”

P.S. 150 provided optional therapy to all students who were even mildly affected by 9/11.

“The only point I didn’t get was losing a family member, but the FDNY was like a family,” Brook said.

Michelle picked up Brook and started to run after the first tower collapsed.  She put his head into her chest giving him a view of the mayhem.

“It felt like something slashed a knife of open wind,” said Brook. “There were pieces and smoke bellowing out of it. But the people jumping is by far one of the strongest images in my mind today.”

She stopped at Canal Street and started crying. Brook rubbed her back and left her with these encouraging words.

“Mom, you just have to remember all the good times you had with these guys.”

Firefighters were still out looking for friends that hadn’t been found. So, about a month after 9/11 the firefighters threw Brook a birthday party at the fire house.

“They were showing me support that not everyone was gone and that I still had people around. It was a fun and happy time to get away from the darkness that surrounded us.”

Teachers and Students Experience

Hundreds of teachers and principals had to come to a conclusion with one of the most important decisions of their lives; to evacuate or not.  When the second plane hit the school shook. Teachers grabbed the kids and ran to Battery Park.  The ferries were taking some of the older students across to Staten Island.

“I saw the tower fall from there and thought I was going to die,” said Ada Rosario Dolch, Principal for the high school of Leadership and Public Service in the film.

Some kids understood it was an attack while others thought it was a fire drill. However, the stress of students and teachers soon gave the confused kids something to pick up on.

Within weeks students had to learn how to cope and talk about more than what was expected. They couldn’t go back to school for five months. Some students went to school early in the morning and others had to go late at night.

Elementary students were having nightmares; middle school students were nervous, anxious and afraid to ride subways, while high school students were angry, upset and acted out more.

The welcome back ceremony wasn’t a complete relief.

“It looked like walking back into time, said Christine Walford, the school secretary in the film. The white boards still had the words Sept. 11 on them.  Lunchboxes and backpacks were still in their places.  It was weird but nice coming back to our school.”

Teachers and students received gifts from other schools all over showing their condolences. One person who lost a sister in the towers gathered money and built a school in Afghanistan named after her.

“I traveled there four years later and the people that were meant to be hated were some of the most beautiful people that touched my heart forever,” said Ada Rosario Dolch. One woman said God Bless America. In time of need you stop what you’re doing and help others. We got too caught up that we don’t appreciate those things.”

Today Brook helps out with charities such as Care 2, which helps people make the world a better place by connecting them with organizations that are making an impact. Through Brooks’s journey of making this film he started the Show Your Strength Campaign to inspire young people to share universal stories using inner strength to help each other and ourselves.

Brook realized that just one person can make a difference and that his message would carry on to change the world.

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