story5396.xml

story5396.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I first heard about the attacks from a co-worker. She came in and said a plane had crashed into one of the Towers of the World Trade Center. We all grabbed our radios and jumped on CNN.com. Information was slow to get. Next we heard a second plane crashed. I called my sister. She was working in downtown Chicago near the Sears Tower. She had no clue what had happened.... Then we heard about the Pentagon being hit... My sister was unable to leave work - so, I left and picked up her children. She lived just minutes away from O'hare Airport and we were afraid of something happening near there. I took them back to my house. On the way - we passed a fountain - My niece and nephew, who were four at the time, kept yelling and pointing. Finally I asked what was wrong. They said "Look at the fountain! Isn't it beautiful?" I just started crying. In the middle of all the chaos, two four year olds found beauty in a fountain. I knew then that I had to protect them and that I had to be strong to help them see the beauty of the world.