150 20 7169 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at work when I had to stop by are local police dept. when the dispatcher told me that a plane just flew into the World Trade Center. I asked him if he was serious, the look on his face was so unreal. I got back into my vehicle and heard on the radio that the other plane had hit. I was blown away it was like total shock. I just couldn't believe that anyone would have such little regard to anyone elses life. I was in New York for my first time in July of 2001 and to this day I can't even imagine the pain the families and heros felt. When I got back to work we tried contacting our 2 stores in New York and we where just fearing the worst. I seriosly pray that nothing like this ever happens again. I've been through a lot of sorrow in my life but my God nothing compares to the depression I was feeling for everyone effected by this tragic event. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4635.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.185.226.183 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 10, 2002 - - - My name is Marc Safley. I work for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, at its headquarters office in Washington, D.C. My office is in the South Agriculture Building at the corner of Independence Avenue and 12th Street S.W. The days leading to September 11, 2001, had been exceptionally wonderful --- clear, blue skies with warm dry air. The days were almost too bright. September 11 was to be the day of our picnic lunch at work. Everyone of us had brought something to share and we were excited to be able to have a bit of food and fun together during the midday meal. Everyone was feeling lighthearted. That morning, I was working at my desk when I heard the first report on the radio of a plane striking the World Trade Center. My first thoughts were remembering stories of a plane striking the Empire State Building decades ago. I thought this must be the same sort of thing. I clicked to CNN on the web and already there were photos posted of the tower on fire and the fact that observers reported it was an airliner not a small plane. Details were sketchy at that time, but as this was so unusual so I walked across the hall to an office with a television to find out more?.just in time to see pictures of the second plane hitting the other tower. I remember a hollow feeling. I also remember a sense of surrealism?I wanted to doubt what I was seeing but it was too, too real. Persons walking down the hall saw me and stopped to ask what was going on. A small crowd soon gathered. We watched in silent horror as first one building fell then the other. We knew it to be terrorism. Someone asked if what we were feeling was what our parents felt when they learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Someone noted that the date was appropriate, after all, didn?t one dial 911 when an emergency or disaster happened? We wondered what we should do? I went back to my desk. It was then that I heard the booming echo that we later knew to be the sound of Flight 77 striking the Pentagon just across the Potomac River! Events were a blur after that. Word was received that non-essential employees were to go home. Many left immediately, others (including me) lingered because our past experience told us that traffic jams that would happen as everyone was released at once. The phone was useless as circuits were flooded by call volume. I was able to get email messages out to my home, to our daughter in Florida, and to my wife?s school address before the flood of communications made that means impossible, too. On toward noon we decided to have what lunch we could from the picnic items people had left behind. As we spread the food on the table in our Division Director?s office, we found that our new Under Secretary and his staff had come to our agency Chief?s office to set up a makeshift command center. Word of our food spread and we found that we had a crowd of 35 or so who gathered for lunch. We had enough salad, condiments, hot dogs and buns, and soft drinks for all. By the time our carpool left at 1:30PM traffic was nonexistent. As we passed by the Pentagon on I395 we could see the firefighters directing water onto the flames. It was too real, too close. I said the first of many prayers that day for those who died and those who were trying to help. It was so good to see my wife and son that afternoon!! We hugged and hugged! Our church was full that night. It seemed the right thing to do. We gathered to find support and strength. It was a profoundly sad day. I felt burning grief that I had not felt since the death of my mother in 1992. That feeling was not to go away for several weeks. It still comes back when I think of the day?such as now as I type this recollection. Over the past year I have also realized that I feel a profound sadness for the mindless passion that was manipulated with evil and malicious intent to wreak this upon our country. I have asked myself if I am angry. I admit that I am angry at times. I am also filled with resolve to carry on. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2202.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.128.218.116 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My windows on the 18th Fl. face South with a direct view, over the SOHO and TRIBECA areas, of the downtown complex. I would go to sleep at night and on my side looking over my window sill the WTC towers loomed skyward. From these same windows I watched the towers being erected slowly to their completion. As an architect, I was the Project Manager for the installation of a new Manufacturer Trust Branch Bank on the 44th Fl. Sky Lobby of the North tower. These recollections in addition to many enjoyable evenings in the restaurant and lounge facilities in the 'sky' areas established for me a personal and familiar bond with the twins. On the morning of 9/11, my Son, who was watching TV and aware of my view called me while I was faxing a document and asked me if I was seeing what was going on at the WTC. I merely turned my head to the left and saw the gaping hole in the North tower and loudly exclaimed something I will not mention now. At this point we only knew that a plane had hit the tower. Shortly afterwards, the South tower burst into flames being struck from the South side by another plane which I did not see. There was a constant flow of phone calls between my wife, at her office, and another Son who lives in Tarrytown NY. they reporting the TV coverage and I the actual event. Because of the intense heat which was, obviously, being generated by the fire, I knew that the steel framing would be compromised, simply put, dissolve, and that the tower would collapse. Even if the steel had been protected with masonry or concrete fireproofing, instead of the inferior spray on materials, the impact would have caused the material to spall off exposing the steel to the un-supportable high temperature and, while it may have taken longer, the building would have, nonetheless, collapsed. I told my Son that this was going to happen; that the steel columns would lose their strength and cause the upper floors to fall and impact upon those below which would not be able to sustain the additional loading. After expressing a considerable bit of doubt, he, on a following phone call said, "you called it." Throughout all this time I was frantically putting film in my camera and changing lenses hoping to capture some of this horrible event. By the time I was able to take some photos the South tower had collapsed and I did shoot the ensuing disaster of the North tower and later on the 7 WTC Building failure. If someone in a position of authority had realized as I did that the buildings would fail and prevented life saving personnel from, futilely, entering the towers, perhaps their lives may have been spared. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story650.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-18 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.237.221.53 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at work at 7 WTC on 9/11/01. My office window directly faced the two towers. I was on the phone when the first tower hit. I thought there was some sort of truck accident. Then, from the corner of my eye I saw tons of papers and debris falling from my office window. Still on the phone, I looked up and saw a huge whole in one of the towers. I started screaming someone call 911. I got of the phone and tried to call 911 myself. I wasn?t able to get through to 911 because the line was busy. By that time, a few people had gathered in my office to find out what the problem was. It was all happening so fast. About 10 minutes later, I realized that people were falling (or in some cases) jumping out the windows of the towers. At first they looked like part of the debris. Then I realized that those were people. The people where so light falling out the windows, they looked like raggedy Ann dolls. I was so close to them I wanted to catch them, help them somehow. I realized that all the people flying out the window were men. I could see the color of their pants, shirts and ties. It was horrible. I was crying hysterically. No one in the office knew what to do. There were no announcements of any kind. Then? the second tower hits. I didn?t see the plane go in, I saw a burst of flames come out the other end. That?s when I knew to leave the building. I (and coworkers) get on the elevator and there is a huge crowd in the lobby of 7 WTC. People had left their pocketbooks and wallets because we all assumed we where coming back that day or the next. We had no idea that this was a terrorist attack. We sill thought it was an accident. While outside, I could still see people falling to their deaths. You could see people hanging from the window, contemplating jumping or maybe praying before they fell to their deaths. I will never forget those images. I walked uptown to catch a train home. Everyone (stores, cabs) had the radio up to the max and that?s when I found out it was a terrorist attack. As I?m walking uptown, the first tower collapsed. I could see the smoke cloud behind me. I finally made it uptown and that time they had just closed Penn Station and there were no trains leaving or coming in. I waited at the nearest TGIF restaurant and went home once the trains started running again. While on the train, someone was listening to the radio and announced that 7 WTC had collapsed as well. I was flabbergasted. I was numb. I was shocked. So much changed for me that day. I will never ever forget those tragic events. They are part of me and make up who I am today. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6503.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 208.10.54.21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: HI,MY NAME IS KRISTEN AND I AM 14 YEARS OLD.IM HERE TO TELL MY STORY ABOUT SEPTEMBER 11th THE DAY BEFORE THE ATTACKS MY SISTER,MOM AND I WERE SITTING AT HOME MY SISTER WAZ SICK SO I WAZ HELPING MY MOM WATCH HER. I WENT TO CHECK ON HER WEN I NOTICED SHE WASN'T DOING RIGHT SO I CALLED MY MOM AND SHE CALLED 911 WHEN THE AMBOLANCE GOT HERE THEY TOOK MY SISTER TO THE HOSPITAL WE FOUND OUT THAT SH EWAZ GOING TO BE OK BUT SH EHAD TO STAY A COUPLE F DAYS THE NEXT DAY MY DAD AND I HAD CAME UP TO SEE MY SISTER AND EVERY ONE WAS WATCHING THE NEWS AND THEY WERE TELING US THAT THE TWIN TOWERE HAD BEEN HIT AND WE STARTED WATCHING IT I DIDNT NO WUT TO THINK SEEING PEOPLE FALLING OUT OF BUILDINGS AND CALLS TELLING FAMILY THEIR FINAL GOODBUYS,I WAS REALLY FRIGHTNED BY THIS. ALL I COULD THINK IS I HPE GOD TOUCHES EVERYONE AND GETS THEM OUT AND SAFE.THATS MY STORY ON HOW I FELT ABOUT SEPTEMBER 11th. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story10664.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-06-22 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.69.13.102 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11th, 2001 was a day of great distrease, especially for my mom who turned 40 on that day. "My birthday came in with a bang." she said, trying to keep everyone else calm. She works at a school with children that are in preschool through 6th grade. She was trying not to cry inbetween classes but listen to everything that was going on that day. I know it was hard for her. Meanwhile my sister and I were at school not knowing what was going on. Our teachers wouldn't let us watch the t.v.'s. They said it was too awful. People always say that when something bad happens you will never forget that momment. I didn't know how true that was until until 9-11. After school my sister took her out for her birthday at Appelbees and she was trying to enjoy her time there but then the people that worked there came to sing happy birthday. they didn't relize that there verson was the sound off (army tune) but she sure did. I will never forget how they changed us. God has a reason for everything. I beleive that this reason is to bring us together more and let me tell you, it worked. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3085.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 156.63.41.73 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: AT ABOUT 4:30 A.M. OF THE MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 11th I AWOKE GASPING. I COULD NOT CATCH MY BREATH SO I RAN TO MY BED ROOM WINDOW BUT THERE WAS NO BREEZE SO I RAN OUT TO THE HALL OF MY APARTMENT BUILDING. AFTER ABOUT WHAT SEEM LIKE 3MINUTES I WAS ABLE TO CATCH MY BREATH. IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS ORDEAL I REMEMBER THINKING THAT SOMETHING TERRRIBLE WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. THAT I WAS GOING TO DIE OF SUFFACATION. AS ALL THE COMMOTTION HAD AWAKENED MY FAMILY MEMBERS I RELATED TO THEM WHAT I FELT. ALL THAT MORNING I HAD BEEN RUNNING ON INSTINCT MODE SO WHEN I ARRIVED AT WORK ABOUT 7:45 A.M. I WAS PRETTY AWEAR. AT ABOUT 8:15 AM WE STARTED WHAT WE CALL MORNING MEETING. DURING THE COURSE OF THAT MEETING AT ABOUT 8:40 A.M. I HEARD WHAT SOUNDED LIKE "WHOOUMP". I ASKED MY COUSIN AND CO-WORKER WHO WAS SITING DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM ME DID HE HEAR THAT. HE RESPONDED "HEAR WHAT?" I SAID THAT SOUND "WHOOUMP". HE SAID HE DID NOT. THE MORNING MEETING CONTINUED UNTIL WE STARTED SEEING BURNED PAPERS FLOATING. AT THIS TIME MY MIND WAS RACING TRYING TO FIGURE WHERE THE PAPER WAS COMING FROM. JUST AS I CANCELED OUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT IT WAS SOME KIND OF PROBLEM WITH INCINERATERATION MY MANAGER COMMENTED "OH LOOK THEIR HAVING A TICKER TAPE PARADE". I DID'NT BUY THAT AND TOLD HIM "OH YEAH! THEN WHY IS ALL THE PAPER BURNT AND SMOKING". HE RESPONDED HE DID NOT KNOW. JUST THEN, TO OUR ASTONISHMENT, ABOUT 8:47 A.M. IT WENT ON THE AIR THAT A PLANE HAD CRASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. JUST THEN OUR COMPANY V.P. WALKED ONTO THE TRADE FLOOR AND UPON SEEING THE FIRE EXCLAIMED "OH SH#*" AT THAT THE WHOLE OFFICE STIRED. NO ONE KNEW WHAT THEY SHOULD BE DOING OR WAS CONVINCED THAT THIS WAS REAL. JUST THEN THE SECOND TOWER BURST INTO FLAMES.I HAD NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT THIS WAS REAL THAT I HAD TO GET OUT OF THERE AS WHAT I FEARED WOULD COME TO PASS. MY INSTINCT SAID GET OUT, SO AFTER SEEING THE FIRE FROM THE NORTH SIDE OF THE OFFICE ME, MY COUSIN AND A FEW CO-WORKERS LEFT THE BUILDING. ON THE STREET THERE WAS PURE KAOS PEOPLE WERE STARTING TO PANIC. AT THE SIGHT OF THIS MY COUSIN AND I DECIDED TO GO HOME. FOR WHATEVER REASON WE WENT BACK IN THE BUILDING TO GET OUR PERSONAL BELONGING'S. ONCE BACK IN THE BUILDING A OVERWELMING SENSE OF DREAD CAME OVER ME. I TOLD MY COUSIN TO WAIT FOR ME AT THE ELEVATOR BANK.BUT I COULD NOT STOP THINKING OF WHAT HAPPENED TO ME THAT MORNING AND DETERMINED THAT I SHOULD GET OUT OF THE FINACIAL DISTRICT AT ONCE. I REMEMBER THINKING THERES NOTHING UP HERE I NEED"I'M OUT OF HERE". WHEN I GOT TO THE ELEVATOR BANK THERE WAS NO SIGN OF MY COUSIN. I THOUGHT HE HAD WENT DOWN STAIRS AS HIS GIRL FRIEND LEFT HER JOB IN THE AREA AND WAS LEAVING THE FINACIAL DISTRICT WITH US. I TOOK THE ELEVATOR DOWN TO THE LOBBY THINGS WERE GETTING MORE KAOTIC, EVERYTHING SEEM SURREAL. WHILE FIRE AND SAFETY WERE ANOUNCING THERE WAS NO NEED TO EVACUATE THE BUILDING THE STREET WAS FILLING WITH SMOKE AND PEOPLE WERE CRYING IN BEWILDERMENT. IN MY MIND I HAD A DEFFINITE PURPOSE AND WAS MOVING WITH PURPOSE. BUT UPON EXITING THE BUILDING I HEARD THE VOICE OF MY COUSINS GIRL FRIEND CALL OUT TO ME. I WAS LIKE WHAT! WHERE IS HE, SHE SAID HE NEVER CAME DOWN I THOUGHT HE WAS WITH YOU. SO WE TURNED AROUND AND WAS HEADED BACK UPSTAIRS TO GET HIM. JUST AS WE GOT TO THE ELEVATOR BANK THERE WAS THIS GOD AWFUL RUMBLING SOUND, THE WHOLE BUILDING STARTED SHAKING,THE LIGHTS WERE FLASHING AND PEOPLE WERE SCREAMING AND PASSING OUT, AT THAT MOMMENT I SAID TO MY COUSIN'S GIRL FRIEND "WE GOT TO GET OUT OF THE BUILDING, WE GOT TO GE OUT THE BUILDING NOW!, AND I MADE MY WAY TO THE FRONT EXIT UPON PASSING THROUGH THE REVOLVING DOORS THE SCENE WAS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE THE STREET WAS DISSAPPEARING IN THE CLOUD OF DUST AND DEBRIS. EVERYTHING AND ANYONE OVERTOOK BY THE CLOUD VANISHED AND I FEARED HAD BEEN DISTROYED OR KILLED. THE CLOUD SEEMED TO BE MOVING VERY FAST. MY ONLY THOUGHT WAS TO NOT LET IT OVER TAKE ME AND KEEP MY EYE'S OPEN FOR FALLING DEBRIS. EVERYONE STARTED RUNNING DOWN WALL STREET TOWARDS SOUTHSTREET SEAPORT.THE DUST DID OVERTAKE ME BUT NOT THE FULL BLAST AS HAD MANY PEOPLE WHO STOOD IN DOORWAYS AND LOBBIES. MY SKIN AND EYES BURNED FROM THE FIBERGLASS, DUST, ASBESTOS, AND GLASS DUST. IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THIS THERE WAS A CONSTRUCTION WORKER UNDER THE FDR HANDING OUT MASKS I GOT ONE AND RAN INTO THE SEAPORT TO GET MY SECOND WIND. UPON CATCHING MY BREATH I STARTED TO SPEED WALK UPTOWN. BY THE TIME I GOT TO THE BACK OF ONE POLICE PLAZA THE SECOND TOWER FELL. THOUGH I WAS OUT OF HARMS WAY IT WAS FRIGHTFUL. BEHIND ME THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE MAKING AN EXODUS OUT OF THE FINACIAL DISTRICT. I JOGGED UNTIL I GOT TO 82nd STREET ON THE WAY NOTEING LAND MARKS THAT GAVE ME A SENSE OF RELIEF. ONE OF THEM WAS JOHN JAY CAMPUS IT JUST SEEM SO FAMILIAR AND REMOVED FROM DANGER TO ME. IT WAS AT THAT TIME I TRIED TO USE MY CELL PHONE BUT IT DID NOT HAVE A SIGNAL. I WALKED TILL I GOT TO 82ND STREET AND BOARDED A BUS TO 149th STREET WERE I CAUGHT THE TRAIN HOME. WHILE ON THE BUS I HAD GOT WORD THAT MY COUSIN AND HIS GIRL FRIEND MADE IT OUT O.K. FOUR DAYS LATER I SEEN MY COUSIN WHEN I ASKED HIM WHY HE LEFT THE ELEVATOR BANK WHEN I TOLD HIM I'LL BE RIGHT BACK HE SWEARS THAT I NEVER SPOKE TO HIM THAT HE WAS NEVER AT THE ELEVATOR BANK AND HE NEVER SAID HE WOULD WAIT FOR ME THERE. SO IVE CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS DEVINE INTERVENTI0N THAT SAVED ME. THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT HAD I WAITED UNTIL THE DUST SETTLED FROM THE FIRST BUILDING COLAPSE I WOULD BE A CASUALTY AS I HAVE CHRONIC ASTHMA AND C.O.P.D. A RESPIRATORY DISEASE WHERE YOUR LUNGS LOOSE ITS ELASTICITY. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story346.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-04-03 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.88.86.243 Annotation Annotations to this item. Environmental/Health Impact Premonitions/Coincidence/Fate Rescue/clean-up workers/volunteers NY:2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Tal vez la distancia y la nacionalidad puede llegar a insidir para que mi historia no entre en estas p?ginas ni en el archivo. Pero quisiera que sepan que a mi me afecto y no solo por tener a mi t?o que trabaja a pocas cuadras de donde sucedi? el hecho sino por la semejante tragedia ocurrida aquel inolvidable 11 de noviembre del 2001. Cuando me llega la informaci?n de las calles que un avi?n se estrell? en una de las torres no pod?a creerlo. Mucho menos cuando apareci? otro avi?n y ya informaban que el primero como este ?ltimo hab?a sido secuestrados. Yo estoy a la distancia pero me afecta la guerra, porque la matanza de inocentes por ideolog?as y creencias extremistas afecta no solo a los protagonistas del lugar donde suceden los hechos sino a todos los seres humanos. Llame enseguida a mi abuelo (el papa de mi t?o) para que se comunicara con ?l, pero por supuesto fue imposible ya que pareciese que en esos momentos EEUU hubiese quedado incomunicado con el resto del mundo. Luego llam? mi t?o para tranquilizarnos y contarnos de que ?l ese d?a no fue a trabajar y se quedo en su departamento de New Jersey. Pero sus palabras fueron "Esto es un caos... pero yo estoy bien" A pesar de dejarnos tranquilos por escuchar su voz, hay muchos que no pudieron recibir esta tranquilidad porque fueron v?ctimas de esta guerra que pareciese no tener l?mites ni fronteras. De alguna forma algunos m?s, otros menos, todos somos responsables de lo que sucede en la sociedad y en el mundo. Y mientras haya alguien que no se haga responsable de la parte que le toca, estas cosas lamentablementes van a seguir sucediendo. Diego Gonzalez. Argentino. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1676.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-03 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 168.226.62.224 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: 09.11.01 14:04 To: Franco, Andy, Craig, Larry, Tom we hadn't left for work yet i had just switched the tv from espn to cnn, something we rarely do in the mornings it was just about 9am i was putting on my shoes we saw the reporter on the top of larry's building (he works at 5 penn plaza, a building that also houses CNN) and the wtc smoking in the distance just as it was registering that there was some sort of fire (we didn't even consider it could be a bomb at that point) the second plane hit i don't even remember seeing the 2nd plane, just the sudden explosion my very first thought was for my best friend, craig who works at the american stock exchange, about 2 blocks away i began frantically dialing, only to encounter the dreaded fast busy at both his cell phone and the main number for the exchange within minutes i told larry there was no way he was going to work we had no idea what the scope was, but i wasn't letting him anywhere nearthe island of manhattan i voiced a concern the buildings might fall, destroying all below but larry said "oh, no worries, they're built to withstand this kind of thing" i called my boss and said i wasn't coming in until i found craig just as reports of a plane hitting the pentagon began to come in i found out that my company was closing down sending people home our company is housed in one of the the tallest buildings in newark and we're owned largely by israelis, there was concern for the safety of the building were we at war? how could this happen? then the first tower went and larry and i began discussing how it was possible that such a symbol of ny could be gone then the second tower more frantic calls, why couldn't i get craig on the phone? surely he had fled the area as soon as this happened "i'm sure he's fine", i think to myself called the parents, in san fran and atlanta sure i'm 10 miles away in nj, but to them, i live in ny e-mails and IMs, people checking in finally, the phone rings, craig is walking up the FDR towards the UN "no no, head inland" i say, still not sure where this was gonna end he reports that they were kept in the exchange because the "powers that be" thought they'd be safer inside, away from possible debris falling from inside the building, they watched on CNN as the 2nd plane hit still, they were told not to leave craig had called me at work, he left a message it doesn't occur to him to call me at home at 9:15 the first tower falls the powers that be changed their mind and told everyone to flee craig exits the building into what he calls a blizzard he can't breathe they walk a block or so and duck into a bank seeking fresh air the second tower falls they see the debris falling outside the bank but fear staying and flee, not looking back until they can see water he finally gets me on the phone, turns inland and continues the long walk home to w71st and broadway craig, one of the crabbiest people i know has a blister by the time he's reached his home but even he knows better than to complain i didn't grow up here, i migrated here i always looked to the twin towers every time i entered the city ALWAYS marveling that these symbols i had only seen on tv or movies as i was growing up were now a part of my daily life in a way, it was kind of comforting because it reminded me of my childhood fantasy ny instead of the blocking the box, everyone for themselves, cold reality of daily ny life Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1388.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-21 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 141.150.15.138 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: HELLO EVERYONE, I REMEMBER EXACTLY WHERE I WAS ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001! I WAS ON DUTY AS MANY OTHER FIREFIGHTERS WERE.MANY THAT WOULD NOT SEE SEPTEMBER 12, 2001.I WAS SITTING THE THE BAY WATCH-ING T.V.I HAD ALREADY HAD BREAKFAST AND DONE OUR MORNING DUTIES.(ON A FEW MINUTES OF DOWN TIME) WOW!!!THE FIRST TOWER HAD ALREADY BEEN HIT SMOKE AND FIRE COMING OUT OF THE BUILDING.I GOT EVERYBODIES ATTENTION IN- SIDE..I TOLD THEM THE WORLD TRADE CENTER HAD BEEN HIT WITH A PLAIN.NO ONE BELIEVED ME UNTIL THEY TURNED ON THE T.V. I IMMEDIATLY CALLED TWO PEOPLE.ONE A POLICEMAN AND MY MOTHER A FEDERAL EMPLOYEE.NEITHER HAD HEARD ABOUT IT.THEN I SAW THE SECOND TOWER GET HIT.THEY EVACUATED MY MOM'S OFFICE. SHE REALLY TOOK IT HARD. THERE ARE BAD THINGS HAPPENING SOMEWHERE EVERYDAY..I KNOW THAT THIS WAS A HORRIBLE THING BUT A POLICE OFFICER IN OUR COUNTY WAS BURRIED A FEW DAYS PRIOR TO THIS.KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY FOR NO REASON EXCEPT IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME SOME WOULD SAY.SOME PEOPLE CARE NOTHING ABOUT HUMAN LIFE..IT IS VERY SAD..THERE ARE ALOT OF MEAN PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.IF THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THERE LIFE,WHY DO WE THINK THEY WILL CARE AHOUT US??? I WENT TO NEW YORK JANUARY OF 2000.I LOVED THE CITY.I GREW UP IN THE SOUTH,DEEP SOUTH.ALL MY LIFE I HAVE BEEN A COUNTRY GIRL BUT WHEN I WENT THERE IT WAS GREAT.WE STAYED RIGHT ON TIME SQUARE.I TALKED TO A FEW POLICE OFFICERS AND FIRE- FIGHTERS THERE.THEY ARE A DIFFERENT BREED BY THEMSELVES!!! A GREAT GROUP OF PEOPLE..THEY TAKE GREAT PRIDE AND LOTS OF ENJOYMENT FROM THE JOB.YOU COULD TELL AND FEEL IT!!!! I WATCHED SOME T.V.ON THE 11TH AND LISTENED TO A FIREFIGHTER THAT HIS TWIN BROTHER GOT KILLED.HIS WORDS, "THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF FIREFIGHTERS,ONE WHO IS A NEW YORK CITY FIREFIGHTER,AND ONE WHO WANTS TO BE."IT MADE ME STOP TO THINK,THERE ARE FIREFIGHTERS EVERYWHERE THAT DO LOVE THERE JOBS AND TAKE THERE JOBS VERY SERIOUS BUT IN REALITY I ALMOST AGREE WITH HIM..IT SEEMS A GROUP OF MEN AND WOMEN WITH A REAL PASSION AND BOND...THAT I WISHED WAS ALL ACROSS THE LAND. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IT THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL ALWAYS. WE FORGET THAT TO OFTEN.WE HAVE TO TRUST AND BELIEVE.GOD BLESS TO ALL FIREFIGHETERS,POLICE OFFICERS, AND E.M.S.WORKERS. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7273.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.3.198.129 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in college and school was about to start, I had slept until early afternoon when I walked out to the living room. My roomate was asleep on the couch and the television was on the one channel that we got. I saw two tall buildings and one was on fire. I was thinking that they were tearing down the buildings. I then read the bottom banner of the screen. Plane Crashes Into Towers... I stopped what I was doing. Turned up the T.V. and just stared totally dumbfounded. I was sure that people would be ok that there must have been warnings and so I had the television on and was on the computer not paying too much attention to the historical happenings on the T.V. screen. I then looked at the television and saw the second plane hit the second tower. I just couldn't handle it,I couldn't understand why or who would do such a thing. My roomate woke up and I told him what was going on and we just watched T.V. all day. It has been one year and I still can't seem to come to grips with what happened. I can't seem to calculate that over three thousand people died and that I watched as they were clinging to life. I was so helpless watching them. I was in Washington State what could I do.. Part of me felt that I shouldn't have to care cause I didn't know anyone in the towers or the planes but then when people started to heal and started to talk about it more then I realized that even though I didn't know anyone personally that some child lost their father, mother, aunt, uncle, grandmother, grandfather, cousin, nephew, neice, friend. I watch the rememberances of 9-11-01 and the more I see the footage the more it pains me and the more I don't understand. I can't even come to understand what people on the plane were thinking or doing when they knew that their fate for then end of the day would be death. Or that those in the buildings doing their job trying to make a respectable life for them and their families were trapped by evil. It is just terrible and scary to think that there are people out there that are just so mean.. I wrote a poem about what I was feeling about after Sept. 11th 2001, it expresses what my feelings are about what American has done. Americans have given me the pride that I needed. So thank you... My poem is called.... That day........... That day many good people died, That day many people cried, That day evil thought it had won, That day many united as one, That day God was weeping with us all, That day many heros answered the call, That day will be remembered foever as the day the nation weeped. My heart goes out to everyone that lost someone they loved. My soul crys for you and aches for you. May God's love for you touch you, and help you to make it one more day. And know that there are millions of people who love and care for you all...... In Gods Arms Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6004.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.52.249.58 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: This was to be a wonderful day to celebrate, not only was it my fourth childs' 22nd birthday, it was also third childs' wedding shower. I was up and showered early, there were things to do to finalize the day like cakes and flowers, appointments with the hairdresser and can't forget those nails. It was only minutes before 9 am, listening to my favorite radio station when I heard the first story at first I thought it was a comedy sketch, then i heard it again. Thoughts raced though my mind, first I called Michele my eldest child to confirm it's authentiscity. Then I thank GOD that my father had passed away last October, and he didn't have to relive what he went through at Pearl Harbour on December 7th. It was the first time I could feel his pain and sorrow. I would not be here today if my father had not survived that attack on Pearl Harbour. My heart was heavy with grief for those victims and their families in New York. I drove to the bank and they only heard about the first plane and were unaware we were under attack. That's when the 3rd plane hit the Pentagon, then in Pennsylvania. I called my children on what to do about the festivities we had plan for the day. We decided to play by ear, the hall had already made most of the food, many of the guest had come from out of town, so we decided to go on, if guests came or not we would be there. The skies were eery no plane or noisies in this normally busy state, as I drove west at approximately 4:00est. in the sky was a lone plane. At first I panicked because I knew all air traffic had stopped many hours before then I realized that it was Airforce 1 and the President, who had been flown to North Dakota devert any attacks on him, then plane made the sharpest turn south and was gone. Surprisngly everyone came to my son wedding shower and even some who at first weren't coming. In away it was a bit of diversion from all the pain and sorrow we all felt, and a chance to be with family, friends and loved ones. Maybe one last chance to hold on to that security blanket one last time. As for my daugther who was born at 9:11 am., 9/11/79 and weighting in at 9lbs 11oz. Today she was not very happy and asked me if this will ever be a happy day for her again. I think for her someday it will, but never for those who families who gave that ultimate sacrafice --their loved ones. Last year I wept, today I cried but tomorrow I will never FORGET!!!!!!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5587.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.41.214.13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: 8:46am, Tuesday, September 11, 2001 I was getting ready to meet my co-workers in the lobby of the Soho Grand Hotel, when I heard the roar of a jet above West Broadway. Then, a horrible crash. I rushed to my window to see people pointing down and the street, screaming, "Oh my God!" Horror in their eyes. I thought that a Cessna or other small plane had crashed into the street. I ran out of my room. Once in the hall, another guest was rushing out of his room. "Did you hear that!?!" We ran into an elevator, wondering what had happened. The other people riding with us were oblivious. "I think a plane crashed in the street." Once in the lobby, the two of us ran into the street. I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a giant hole in the World Trade Center. Like some sick cartoon, the hole was in the shape of a plane. I was about 12 blocks away from the WTC when the world changed. Another producer from my ad agency was also in the street. He was in the lobby when the first plane hit. The doorman came running into the lobby: "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" He headed outside to see what had happened. We were soon joined by the other six people from the San Francisco office. The doorman later recounted to us what he saw. He saw the first plane soar over his head on West Broadway and wondered why it was flying so low. It was headed straight to the World Trade Center. He thought, "I know that's not headed for the building." Seconds later, he ran screaming into the lobby of the Soho Grand Hotel. In a colossal moment of stupidity, I wondered aloud if we should flag a cab to get to our scheduled editing session. My producer thought I was nuts. He knew right away that it was terrorists. I thought it might have been an errant plane, out of control. Fifteen minutes later we watched the second plane hit. From the side we were standing on, we did not see the impact; we only saw the windows blast out. That's when I knew it was terrorist attack... we thought it was a bomb (having not seen the plane impact). Then we knew for certain. My limited knowledge of New York prevented me from knowing it was an attack after the first plane. Had I known the WTC's proximity to water, I would have conjectured that the pilot of a disabled plane would ditch into the harbor. A woman next to me perfectly described the enormity of the events, "this is King Kong!" My copywriter Pat, producer Rob and I huddled around a limo in front of the hotel with it's radio on. We learned of the Pentagon attacks. Fire engines screamed by. News reports had up to eight planes hijacked and unaccounted for. Armageddon. Then at 10am, the first building fell. Rob, an ex-New Yorker, started yelling, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" This was surreal. The way it imploded on itself had me convinced that it was a bomb within the building. I looked at my watch and remarked to Rob and Pat that the next building would collapse at 10:30. I think that was the eeriest half-hour of the entire experience. One building where there had once been two. These were supposed to be the Twin Towers... yet one of them had fallen. That 30 minutes where only one tower stood was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. About twenty minutes later a large crowd came running towards us from the direction of the WTC. We also began to run, thinking we were going to be stampeded. Suddenly, the crowd stopped. Then the second tower fell, and I was the one screaming, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" 10:30... right on schedule. I was convinced a bomb took the building down. As the radio reports kept coming in, earlier reports of more hijackings proved false. Of course, we now know that they were merely diverted when the FAA grounded all flights. As all the cell phones seemed to be down, I went up to the room to assure my wife that I was okay. She wondered what was going on, "I was in the bathroom when your brother called. He wanted to know if you were okay... what's going on?" "World War III." I called another friend to describe to him the day's events. "You know that footage of the Hindenburg exploding? This is that... I witnessed the Hindenburg." After we all made our calls, we went to a cafe down the street and had breakfast; it was clear no work was going to get done that day. In the madness of the day, people were serving us food. Expense report be damned, I tipped the server twenty bucks. In the days following, we continued to work. It was the best way to exorcise the images of horror and terror we witnessed. Besides, what the Hell else were we going to do. Since the neighborhood our hotel was in became restricted to residents only, we had to ask the hotel concierge for a copy of our registration forms. We would need them to get back into the area. Unfortunately, the wind had shifted overnight and Soho smelled like an electrical fire. We trekked up about 20 blocks to 14th Street to catch a cab, wondering if we were inhaling asbestos particles. On our way back, later that evening, we went looking for surgical masks. They were sold out everywhere, so we picked up Ace bandages.We marched back to our hotel with bandages wrapped around our faces. What I wouldn't have given for a camera. Three guys walking down the middle of a normally busy New York street, smoke everywhere, with bandages wrapped around our faces. The other half of our contingent were scared of inhaling the dust from the towers. They hauled their luggage twenty blocks north to a midtown hotel. Throughtout the next few days, we received a flurry of calls from the West Coast. "What's going on with the spots?" Fuck you. "What's going on with the spots!?! Well, the vendor had a bomb threat and had to evacuate their building and when they were cleared to return to building, half the staff didn't return because they were scared for their mother-fucking lives! So you'll just have to wait until the police and fire department finish checking the neighborhood with their bomb-sniffing dogs before we can add the logo to the end of the fucking commercial!!!" We managed to finish three commercials by Thursday night. Then we had to find a way home. Flights were finally cleared to go by the FAA, but then a goddamned terrorist tried to board a flight at JFK and were fucked again. We were having appetizers in the hotel lobby, all restaurants in Soho were closed. While we sat there waiting for our food, the possibility that it might be days before we made it home hit me. The stress must've been evident on my face. Pat said, "Hey Ron... we're gonna make it home." Our travel department got us a van to Philadelphia on Friday afternoon. From Philly, we were to fly to Cincinatti, then home, onto San Francisco. Our last meal in New York came Friday afternoon. Soho was finally opened to traffic again. Actor Billy Zane and Gap model Molly Sims ate pasta within spitting distance. At 5pm, the van arrived to get us out of town. As we got out of the Lincoln Tunnel, we looked back at Manhattan; downtown still smoldering. CNN reported that the plumes of smoke were so large that they were visible from the International Space Station. Our travel guys put us up in the Ritz-Carlton in Philly. Maybe they felt sorry for us. At least we were out of New York. I slept well for the first time in three days. The flight to Cincinatti was uneventful. They randomly selected me to have my bags hand searched. I didn't mind. Once in Cinci, we discovered our flight to San Francisco was delayed. They had pilots, but no flight crew. After about two hours, they cancelled the flight. We went standby on an 8:55pm flight, Saturday night. We made the list and I was seated in the first row of coach. In the first class section, there were four middle eastern passengers sitting across one row. I became a racist. I watched that row through the curtain for the entire five hours. The thoughts that went through my head: if these guys try anything, I'm going to jump them. At one point, one of them got up to retrieve something from the overhead compartment. I sat up straight and watched intently. They may stab me, I may die, but they are not going to take down another plane without a fight. I figured that even if I was stabbed, the other passengers could overtake any attackers. Then the plane would land and I could get medical attention. Or I could die. Not to suggest that I could be a hero... any heroics would be purely selfish. No one has the power to decide how I'm going to die except me. Of course, my paranoia was unfounded. I admited this bit of racism to a few friends and no one could blame me for this indiscretion. I finally made it home Saturday night after two days of vans and plane hopping, canceled flights and hand-inspected bags. I got home around midnight. When I got came through the door, I dropped my bags on the floor and held my wife for a long time. The following morning, I went to lunch with my wife. People were laughing. I hadn't seen anyone laugh in almost a week. No one in New York is laughing. I could begin to see how veterans feel when they return from a war. People seemed strange and foreign to me. One of my coworkers called to make sure I also made it home (he was on a different flight). He lives in a quiet rural area. He had a similar experience to me. He had to shop for food this morning after being away so long. "Things looked familiar, but somehow felt foreign," he told me. He said he was watering his plants on his patio later this morning when he began to cry. I first cried on that first Thursday night, trying to sleep in my New York hotel room. Lightning flashing outside my window. I thought of the workers, hoping against hope to find survivors. I thought of my wife, who was a country away. I hadn't seen her in three weeks. That's when I began to cry. I think anyone in New York that day will understand this feeling. My heart goes out to everyone who suffered a loss. After we were back, we realized that only four days before the attack, we were shooting a commercial about two blocks from the World Trade Center. A quick look at an aerial photo suggests that the building were shooting in must be covered in debris and dust from the collapses. Ron Lim http://www.ronlim.com/worldarchive/9.11.02.html Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1245.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.221.98.4 Annotation Annotations to this item. Civil Liberties/Discrimination Economic effects Environmental/Health Impact Struggle to get home NY:3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was meeting two business associates from Seattle for a breakfast meeting. There was a TV in the hotel lobby. I had just gotten my cereal and noticed everyone crowded around the TV. They were showing the first tower to be hit and explained an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center. As the shock dissipated and people in the room started talking again the second tower was hit. At first, no one could figure out what happened. Within a few minutes, the reporters confirmed the second tower was hit by another airplane. No one could believe it; no one could imagine the magnitude of what was happening. Let alone fathom WHY?? The senseless loss of humanity, innocent hard working people who lost their lives has affected our nation in more ways than we can even begin to imagine. Needless to say not too many people could finish their breakfast. As the day progressed, some employees had to go home from work to comfort scared family members. It was traumatic as people watched throughout the day in silence and horror as another plane crashed into the pentagon and another in a field as heroic and courageous passengers tried to keep the plane from crashing in a populated area. The towers collapsed and the fires raged on. Many people were frantically trying to phone friends and family that worked in and around the World Trade Center. I was in complete and total shock. I was afraid of what might happen next. Was this the start of the next world war? In the afternoon, we went outside and the eerie silence of no planes flying signified the magnitude of what was going on. Some people carried on with their routine and business as usual. I could not fathom that; just the thought of the horror of what was happening to the people in the Twin Towers and The Pentagon was too much for me. I spent the day talking with others who were upset and trying to comfort those who were scared. I thought of the people who had gone to work at the World Trade Center that day, getting their morning coffee, riding the elevator to their floor worrying about a meeting or deadline or a matter from home. Being there one minute and the next gone... An associate lost several members of his family in the towers my deepest sympathies to all those who lost loved ones. For those who were there and survived may support and love from those around you help heal the trauma you have suffered. It is unimaginable to me to think of all the pain and suffering. Not a day goes by that I do not have some thought of this horrible tragedy. For those who worked to save lives that day and for the long months of cleanup at ground zero putting your lives at risk to save others - you are all heroes. I hope every American has taken a moment of silence today and every day to remember those who were lost. It was heartening to see people come together to support one another today ? one year later. I hope that support and fellowship continues as Americans strive to keep this country going in the aftermath of all that has happened. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5890.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was lying in bed asleep with my almost 3 year old next to me when the phone rang. I wondered who in the world could be calling me before 7 in the morning!!! I was 8 months pregnant and sleep was very important to me- at the time. I went down stairs so as not to wake Emily up and I listened to the answer machine. My husband was telling me to call him and turn on the t.v. So I did and suddenly was thrust in what I thought was a very bad Bruce Willis Movie!! I watched in horror at the violence unfolding and all I could do was cry!! So much hate to do this to innocent people. Tolerance and living every minute are the few lessons that I have learned from this horrible tragedy. God Bless our Heros- firemen/women, policemen/women, and the everyday person who took the time to help someone and made it out or perished. THEY are the true heros!! God Bless America Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4796.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: An unshakeable, nauseating pain across my belly is my lingering memory from September 11. It is the same vast ache I endure each time someone reports tragic news, such as my grandfather?s death of heart disease in the spring of 2001. A telephone call that Tuesday morning, September 11, caused much internal tension as events occurred that would have significant impacts on me both personally and professionally. The school day had just gotten underway when the phone in my junior high classroom rang. It was my husband. ?Turn on the news,? he said. ?A plane just crashed into the World Trade Tower.? As I announced the news to my eighth grade American History students, I flipped through the channels in search of CNN. We located the channel about the same time the second airliner hit. The class was uncharacteristically quiet as we viewed the horrifying images. Then the questions started to fly. ?Who would do this?? ?Why did they do it?? Almost immediately the media insinuated the responsible parties were Islamic fundamentalists. I felt a fissure of anger at this suggestion. Remember the Oklahoma City bombing? Who was the first to receive blame? Fingers initially pointed at Muslim radicals, while in fact, the culprit was our own homegrown Timothy McVeigh. Who could say with any certainty at 8:15 a.m. CST on September 11 who the perpetrators were? I made this point throughout the day as we continued watching the television coverage during classes. Near the end of the first class period, a student exclaimed, ?Isn?t that the Pentagon?? With my attention diverted elsewhere, I blew off the remark, thinking some politico was issuing a statement from Washington. Imagine my horror when my second hour class was seated and we viewed additional coverage of the Pentagon collision. It was during this class that the plane crashed in western Pennsylvania. A student questioned the terrorists? objective. Before the details were made public, we took down a U.S. map and pondered if Pittsburgh was the intended target. No one had a theory for the purpose of striking Pittsburgh, but I began to wonder if airliners would continue going down in a western march across the country. Would they hit St. Louis? Kansas City? Or would they be interested in plowing into a school or University building, hurting all those inside and pedestrians on their way to their next class? Motherly concern kicked in at that point. I felt a desperate need to dash from my classroom and pull my three-year-old out of preschool. Maybe she would be in less danger at home. There would be little incentive to smash a residence, right? The belly pain I felt on this scary day intensified every time I faced the reality that I could not be with my daughter, to answer her questions, and to reassure her of our safety. As the day wore on for my students, the shock of the morning?s events began to dissipate. Rumors began to fly ? ?We get to go home early? was a favorite. When the last two classes arrived I heard, ?Do we have to watch this again?? in response to the television tuned in to the news network. I attempted to respond to any questions students had, and then we progressed with the day?s intended lesson during the remaining class time. We left the television on, muted, with the directive that if anyone saw anything potentially new on the screen, we would turn up the volume. Although by the end of the school day, it appeared that most of my students were dealing acceptably with the tragedies, I did not have their sense of calmness. Instead of staying at school until my normal ending time of 5:00 p.m., I rushed to leave as soon as possible after the last bell rang. I hoped to find my daughter whole and happy. Unlike many others that fateful day, I did. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4133.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.216.228.27 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: MY HUSBAND WORKED ODD HOURS, AND HAD NOT BEEN HOME TOO LONG, SO I HAD FED HIM, AND HAD JUST DONE THE DISHES, WHEN HE CAME IN THE KITCHEN AREA, AND SAID THAT I HAD BETTER HURRY UP AND FINISH, AND GET TO A T.V. SET, BECAUSE HE THOUGHT WE WERE PROBABLY ABOUT READY TO GO TO WAR, BECAUSE SOMETHING BAD HAD HAPPENED IN NEW YORK. I REPLIED THAT IT WAS PROBABLY THAT BAD MAN "BIN LADEN" THAT I HAD READ ABOUT RECENTLY IN THE SUNDAY PAPER ABOUT TERRORISM. SO, AS I GOT TO THE T.V.,I SAW ANOTHER PLANE GO INTO THE SECOND BUILDING, AND I WAS FROZEN IN TIME. IT WAS LIKE WATCHING A BAD "B" MOVIE, AND I COULD ONLY SIT WITH MY MOUTH OPEN AND SHAKE MY HEAD. MY EYES FILLED WITH TEARS, AND I BEGAN TO PRAY. I KEPT WATCHING, AND THEN SAW THE BUILDINGS CRUMBLE BEFORE MY VERY EYES! BOTH OF THEM, GONE ! WAS I STILL BREATHING? WAS I AWAKE? COULD THIS BE HAPPENING TO THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD? HOW COULD THIS BE? AS WE ALL KNOW, NEWS COVERAGE CONTINUED THE ENTIRE DAY, AND IT ONLY GOT WORSE AND WORSE AS THE DAY WOUND DOWN. REPORTS OF UP TO 5000 PEOPLE SEEMED TO HAVE PERISHED ! I HUGGED MY HUSBAND A LITTLE TIGHTER THAT DAY, AND ALL THE DAYS AFTER THAT. HOW PRECIOUS OUR LIVES ARE, AND WE SEEMED TO HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT. WE GO ABOUT OUR DAILY ROUTINES, AND PROBABLY TAKE MUCH OF WHAT AND WHO WE HAVE FOR GRANTED. LIFE WAS MUCH MORE PRECIOUS AFTER THAT. EACH DAY AFTER 9-11-01, I HAVE REFLECTED ON A LOT OF THINGS, AND KNOW THAT A LOT OF FAMILIES WERE TORN APART BY THE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE THAT HORRIBLE MORNING. A LOT OF CHILDREN DID NOT HAVE A DADDY, OR PERHAPS A MOMMY, OR MAYBE EVEN A GRANDPARENT TO SEE ANY MORE.A LOT OF HUSBANDS LOST THEIR WIVES. A LOT OF WIVES LOST THEIR HUSBANDS. IT WAS NEVER TO BE THE SAME AGAIN. THEN, ON MAY 6TH, 2002 I MYSELF LOST MY HUSBAND UNEXPECTEDLY, AND I CAN RELATE EVEN MORE HOW IT FEELS TO LOSE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE. YOUR OTHER HALF GONE? YOUR SOULMATE......GONE FOREVER? WHAT WAS I TO DO? HOW COULD I EVEN BREATHE NOW? WHAT WAS I TO DO FOR A BEST FRIEND NOW? WHO WOULD UNDERSTAND WHEN I WAS BLUE, AND JUST NEEDED TO TALK? JUST NEEDED A HUG? WELL, IT'S BEEN 4 MONTHS NOW, AND I STILL DO NOT KNOW THOSE ANSWERS. I'M STILL LOOKING FOR HIM TO COME BACK HOME. STILL LISTENING FOR THE KEY TO BE INSERTED IN THE FRONT DOOR, AND THE CAT TO RUN TO THE DOOR, AND ESCORT HIM INTO THE KITCHEN TO SEE ME. STILL LISTENING FOR HIM TO SING TO ME, AS HE DID EACH AND EVERY DAY. STILL WAITING FOR THE NEXT HUG. ON THAT THURSDAY,WE WATCHED A MOVIE TOGETHER, AND MADE VACATION PLANS FOR THE FALL, AND THE NEXT DAY HE WAS IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM, AND THE NEXT DAY, THEY SAID HE PROBABLY WOULD NOT MAKE IT. ON THE FOLLOWING MONDAY, HE DIED. AGE 57, AND HE DIED, WITHOUT TELLING ME GOOD-BYE! SO, YOU SEE, I KNOW HOW MANY OF THOSE FAMILIES MUST BE FEELING. THEY DID NOT GET TO SAY GOOD-BYE. THEY HAD ALREADY PLANNED THEIR EVENINGS, OR MAYBE THEIR NEXT WEEK-ENDS, OR PERHAPS THEIR NEXT VACATION. BUT, IT WAS NOT TO BE. TONIGHT, WE STUDIED REVELATIONS IN MY BIBLE STUDY CLASS, AND A LOT OF WHAT WE READ WAS SIMILAR TO THOSE HORRIBLE MOMENTS. ONE THING IS FOR SURE: WE CAN NOT GET OUT OF THIS WORLD ALIVE, AND WE, AS PEOPLE WHO LOVE GOD, NEED TO BE READY, AND REMEMBER TO SHOW LOVE AT EACH OPPORTUNITY THAT IS GIVEN TO US. TOMORROW JUST MIGHT NOT COME TO US. AND EACH HUG COULD JUST BE THE LAST. WE NEVER KNOW. PRAY FOR PEACE. SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR YOUR FELLOW MAN. BELIEVE IN GOD. THANKS FOR LISTENING. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6027.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: We lived three blocks away from World Trade Center on he morning of 9/11, and we saw he attacks on the Twin Towers first hand. We experienced the fright, the disbelief, the crash of the towers, the shock, and the evauction a cople fo hours later from our home. My wife, daugheter and I left what resembled a war zone, and walked east and then north, towards Brooklyn Bridge, in a cloud of white debris and dust, barely able to breath. And then, barely half a mile north, we walked out into the sun and looked back at Lower Manhattan and our home, now covered in dust and debris and smoke. We kept marching north, and kept looking back in disbelief at what had once been. We kept walking north, where we did not really know, trying to call our friends and family and report that we were ok. We wee back home a week later. Marga, Masha, Klas Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story803.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 146.96.92.54 Annotation Annotations to this item. Struggle to get home WTC, attack NY:2 N-YHS Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My name is Maritza M. Moreno, and I'm a sophomore at Houston Baptist University. Last September, school had started about a week and a half before, and I was an excited freshman in hopes of a successful year. I didn't have any class on the 11th, so I decided to sleep in a bit later than usual. I remember I had planned to relax that day and spend some time with my mom. When I woke up, I turned on the television to see if there was anything worth watching. Little did I know I would be watching a life changing event. I remember seeing the Twin Towers spewing flames and smoke and thought, who would make such a horrible movie? Within a minute or two I realized it wasn't a movie and began to feel very ill. I tried to call my mom, but was paralyzed by the shock. Then I screamed as I heard the news reporter shriek with horror that Tower 2 was crumbling. Within a few seconds it had fallen down completely. Then Tower 1. Then I heard about the Pentagon. I began to just cry and cry while trying to pray for God's protection. I immediately felt that Houston could be in serious danger. All the energy and oil companies and refineries, and NASA's mission control - striking Houston would affect the whole nation's power. Who would do this? Why? I started calling my loved ones. My sister was at work near downtown which was being evacuated and didn't even know about it. My dad and boyfriend were also at work and decided to just stay put. So, my mom and I sat there together praying intensely as we cried and held each other. I couldn't get rid of the images of people jumping from the towers to their death. I tried to imagine what it must be like to have to decide which way you'd rather die. My parent's had lived in NYC for many years. It was where they met, where they married, where my sister was born. My parent's had seen the Twin Towers from the beginning of their construction. It was just a nightmare come true. It was so surreal at the same time. I remember crying for weeks, as I saw the stories of the victims, and the heroes, and the survivors who could not understand their fate, and struggled between feeling lucky and feeling guilty about having survived. Although the WTC victims touched my heart, as did the Pentagon victims, I have to admit that the passengers of flight 93 kept me up for days. They were the only ones who knew their fate that day. The only ones who were able to fight back. They are true heroes. Civilians who acted like soldiers, laying down thier lives in hopes of saving a national landmark and the people who would be affected by another attack. How could they find the strentgh to call their family, tell them what was happening, what they resolved to do and say good-bye, all in the face of death. I felt that they were more than just victims, they were martyrs, as were the firemen and the policemen in New York and Washington DC. Every person became a friend and a loved one to me, and I grieved them the same way I would have if I had known them. I still hurt and try to tear the anger and hate from my heart, so that I do not become like those who hit us where it hurt the most. I didn't really like President Bush when he first got elected, but I learned to respect him and admire him that day, and the days that followed. He was more than just a leader, he was one of us. He didn't show fear, but did express his sorrow openly. He wasn't ashamed to cry or pray in public as most people were. This tragedy not only brought us together, but it actually gave us a greater sense of the meaning of freedom. It set us free from political correctness. We all prayed in our own way without feeling that someone would object, although some did - it didn't matter. Our families became closer, and we made sure to express our feelings openly so that if our fragile lives ever came to a sudden halt, everyone would know the real us. I think our triumph was so much greater than our defeat, and hope that we can stay united and not forget this important lesson. Americans ARE vulnerable, we are not IMMORTAL, our FREEDOM is PRECIOUS. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6009.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.157.128.54 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11 started just like every Tuesday for me for the couple of weeks before that. I had been working late shift at work, from noon to 8PM, 9PM, or even later. So I had a good deal of free time in the morning before going to work that day. At 8:45, I went downstair to the gym and everything was normal as I turned off the TV. But by the time I was downstair and just about to start working out, all the TVs in the gym were tuned to the smokey image of WTC. A bunch of us in the gym just stopped our work out there and then and watched the event unfold before our eyes. We made guesses as to what happened. Was it an accident? It was possible. Those towers were pretty tall after all. How big was the plane? How would they fight the fire? Would the building be ok? But in the back of my mind I knew it was a terrorist attack. Probably because I came from the UK and terrorist attack or warning of attack were not uncommon. My fear was confirmed when we all watched the second plane crashed into the tower, live on TV. The rest of the day (and days) I went through more or less numbed, and glued to my computer and TV as they were the only way I could communicate to the outside world and got news. The most remarkable thing for me was that the night before, Sept. 10, I worked very late and left work around midnight. As I walked towards WTC south tower to get a taxi home, I got this funny feeling inside me and my subconscious told me that 'wasn't it great to work just next to WTC?'. I looked up and enjoyed the majestic view of the south tower for a moment and got into a taxi. That was the last time I phycially saw either of the towers. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1181.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.204.121.27 Annotation Annotations to this item. Terrorism WTC, pre-911 NY:3