As the horror unfolded in New York and Washington, Cincinnati gathered in churches and huddled around televisions with co-workers Tuesday. As the World Trade Center towers came crashing down, some wept.

        In Kentucky, Crescent Springs Presbyterian's minister, the Rev. Mike Brewer, said people came into the church throughout the day.

        “I've had strangers come to the church and ask if they could pray awhile.”

        For some, there was a sense that the government had failed to protect the nation. “The United States — they let down somewhere. This wasn't supposed to happen. That's not right at all. The terrorists took over four planes. How could they take over the planes?” asked Robert Gray, 51, of Roselawn.

        Others shared their feelings at vigils and in front of televisions and radios. Some tried to figure out how to explain what this means to their children.

        Six-year-old Coleman Lacy sat on his father's lap at an evening prayer vigil at Crescent Springs. He looked right into the eyes of a reporter: “A lot of people died today.”

        Dennis Milner, 49, Bellevue, said he was terrified.

        “I'm afraid what could happen with this. If the Middle Eastern nations get together, this could lead to a world war. I have two sons in their 20s and I worry about what could happen to them. It just scares me.”

        In Crestview Hills, Jeff and Ann Wissman tried to explain to their children what adults were still struggling to comprehend. Mr. Wissman said he wanted his children to be aware but not to feel “that sense of pain.”

        He let 8-year-old Michelle watch televised coverage briefly and then asked if she had any questions about the day's events.

        “She wanted to know, "Why would somebody fly into a building when they know they're going to die?'” he said. “I told her, "They want to make a point.'”

        At Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church, about 100 people gathered Tuesday night for a service to pray and read the Bible together. The mood was somber: People walked into the church silent, with their heads down.

        Laura Giesel, Mount Washington, said there seems to be nothing else to do but pray. Dorothy Zuckerberg, Hyde Park, said the attacks were devastating.

        “People all over the country need our prayer,” Ms. Zuckerberg said.

        And a city hoped it could sleep peacefully after a day that terrorized this country as no day had since the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.

        “It's horrible,” said Shelia Desanpis of West Chester Township, who cried as she watched the tragedy unfold on television. “I don't know if there is any amount of security the U.S. can implement to combat this.”

        Said Wendell Judd of Fairfield, a retired asphalt paving contractor: “I can't talk. It's got me so tore up. It's making me cry sitting here watching this. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! This is the most horrible tragic thing I've ever seen in my life, and I'm 65 years old. This makes Pearl Harbor look minuscule. ... Where does it end?”

        Those with family and friends in the targeted areas flocked to their phones or computers to find out if they were all right.

        The Rev. Gregory J. Lockwood e-mailed the Enquirer trying to locate his nephew, Kevin O'Keefe, who worked on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center.

        “Our family cannot reach him,” wrote Father Lockwood, “and we do not know if he was there or traveling, which he does frequently.”

        Later, Father Lockwood wrote another e-mail saying, “We just got word that Kevin is in Nebraska on a business trip.”

        Patrick Barnett, 29, of New York City was among a group of people gathered around TVs outside of the Fifth Third building in downtown Cincinnati watching the news Tuesday morning. He tried to call his Midtown Manhattan office, but his calls would not go through.

        “I work in New York and am here for a job interview,” Mr. Barnett said. “I have friends who work near the World Trade Center; one is two blocks away. I have friends who probably died.”

        Tyrone K. Davis Sr., who worked in the World Trade Center for a telecommunications company from 1992 to 1994, now works as an account executive at Nuvox Communications, a downtown Cincinnati telecommunications firm. He was not working the day of the 1993 bombing. When he left seven years ago, he told friends he worried about their safety, saying the tower could be the target of another attack.

        “My worst nightmare has now come to pass,” Mr. Davis said. “It was so traumatizing back in 1993, I cannot imagine the tragedy today.”
       

Trying to help

        In Cincinnati, people tried to fight the feeling of helplessness. Some flocked to blood centers to donate blood to the injured in New York; the Hoxworth Blood Center reported brisk traffic at its locations.

        “There's a feeling that there is just nothing you can do,” said Mona Dobbins, a receptionist at a counseling office in Cincinnati.

        With so many businesses, schools and events closing early or canceled, people were left to think and to mourn — and to worry about their own safety.

        “I work in Mason, and I am downtown for meetings,” said Mitch Mahoney, 26, of Liberty Township. “My director just called me and said we are done for today.

        “I am a little afraid of going into the parking garage to get my car.”

        Enquirer reporters John Eckberg, Dan Sewell, Janice Morse, Randy Tucker, Steve Kemme, Cindy Schroeder, Earnest Winston, Ray Schaefer and Sue Kiesewetter contributed.

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