We couldn't get out, couldn't find a way out. That was the most devastating thing of all. By the grace of God, I just went down a stairway and found a way to get out and let everybody know how to get out.

I was afraid. But my son called me before I got there to tell me he was okay.

I said, oh Lord, what is the world coming to.

I was trying to go to sleep. Then all of the sudden everything just started crashing and catching on fire and people hollering and running. It was awful.

All of the sudden everything just started crashing and catching on fire and people hollering and running.

The culture that Edith Wharton writes about is very nouveau riche. They don't have the experience or grace of knowing how to be rich, of how to act, or how to treat people. There's a lot of measuring up, a ton of greed. They basically eat each other alive. People are terrified of what might happen to them, because things are changing so incredibly fast. Everyone is very guarded about their money and yet they flaunt it shamelessly. They're consumers, in all senses of the word.