9 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 am a School Food Service Manager. I was sitting at my desk doing some paperwork. I didn't have the radio on a station that was a news station. I was listening to music, when one of my employee's came in my office and said turn the radio to the news station, because a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center. I turned on WINS news and heard the same thing. All day we listened while we worked, because the New York City children depend on us to feed them. It was torture for me to not see what had actually taken place. We had co-workers who had family members who worked down there, who they couldn't reach due to phone service being out. People wanted to just leave and be with their family, but they knew we had a job to do. We where told that we had to stay and feed and look after the children who may have parents who wouldn't copme home. I am a parent of one, but on that day I felt like I was a parent to any child who would be in that situation. It was one of the sadest days of my life. It was compaired to the passing of my father, even though I didn't know anyone who perished. I cried like a bay when I got home and saw the planes hit and the towers come down. 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 story4905.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. 66.19.12.124 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: Where was I on September 11th? Unknown to me that morning, for the last time I would be able to step on the plane with minutes to spare. I settled in aboard the 6:00am American Airline flight from Minneapolis to Dallas (and ultimately on to Houston). I had taken this flight numerous times over the last year. My children had moved with their mother back to Minnesota, and I had taken on the traveler role. Once a month, for five days with the return flight out of Minneapolis on a Tuesday. The last year …….so much had happened. The falling apart of a marriage, the separation, My wife taking the children back to Minnesota, the divorce, my mothers cancer, the pressures of work. Each day before September 11th was a reminder of what a challenge life had turned out to be for me. Falling asleep, I began the pattern that I knew so well. As I seasoned traveler I had become savvy in the airports, knew my way around delays, and could fall asleep in a heartbeat once sat. As we landed in Dallas, I began to make my way towards my connecting flight on the next concourse. I noted a few people gathered around a television, and approached. The pictures were unclear, the sound was down. My first thought was What building is on fire in Downtown Dallas? Reflecting back on the next few hours is still a bit of a blur for me. So much happening, incomplete information coming to me as I continued to push on towards my gate. I actually still felt like I was going to be flying on to Houston. The cell phone began ringing with the many family and friends that knew I was flying. I settled into a seat in front of my gate and watched as the Pentagon was hit, the towers collapsed, and the airports were shut down. A friend in Dallas was able to help me sift through the mountain of luggage, get out of the airport, and get me one of the last rental cars in Dallas. After contacting my boss, he had let me know that he wanted me to get down to Houston; Get to Houston-you are supposed to work tonight. That pressure, the unknown of what was happening with the attacks, the massive weight of being away from the children again, stayed with me as I pressed on towards Houston. I decided to drive with the radio off, so that I could absorb what was occurring. Making it into town, into the restaurant, and then home sealed what was working in me. I cannot fathom the sadness of the many that lost loved ones that day, suddenly, unknowingly, so violent. I do not know if I ever will be able to. For Me, September 11th crystallized what I knew I had to do. Within 6 months, I had left my job of 10+ years & relocated back Minneapolis to be with my children. I also had the opportunity to be together with my family as my mother passed. September 11th reminded me how much I love those around me, and that I had the energy, power and will to show them that. I continue to feel that as I make further steps forward in life. I look forward to the time I share with my children and loved ones, and bless the time that is shared with them. God Bless 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 story20775.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. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 72.128.209.108 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: When i woke up that morning my dad was on the phone and watching CNN. I was telling him goodbye because i was leaving for school, but it seemed like he didn't hear me. The bus ride was the same except for some 6th graders who had a better understanding of what happened. When i got to school, all the teachers had the news on in their rooms. We watched it for the first half hour of school, then she explained to us what happened. even though i was only 9, i felt scared because i have a lot of family in New York City, and i had just lost my mother less that 2 months before. We never really did get to classwork that day. My friends and I talk about 9/11 some of them almost seem racist to anybody from the middle east, but we know they're not bad people, and we're not perfect either. 9/11 changed the world and now i'm old enough to realize it. 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 story20837.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. 2006-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.237.76.159 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 livng and working in NYC on September 11. My story is not particulalrly interesting or dramatic, but I think its typical of what New Yorkers experienced on that day. At 8:45 am that day, I was voting in the NYC primary election at my polling station, an elemantary school on 82nd street between 1st and 2nd. After that, I got on the downtown Second Avenue bus on the way to my job as an attorney at law firm with an office on 59th and Lexington. On the to work, the driver announced that the bus would terminate at 14th street because of disaster downtown. I recalled that I had seen two fire trucks moving quickly down Second Avenue when I was wating for the bus. I didn't think much of it. My stop was well before 14th Street. As I got off the bus, a young man (or younger than me; he looked to be about 20 and I was then 31) told me that a plane had crashed into the WTC. I noticed that he had walk man and assumed he heard it on the radio. Puzzlingly, he said, "I'm going down there to check it out." I didn't (and still don't) understand the need to gawk. As I walked to the two or three avenues to my office building, I finally noticed the brilliant blue sky that day. It was a sight to behold. There was not a cloud in the sky. It was a blue like the UNC Tar Heals (at team I've always hated because I went to UVA), wear on their road baketball jerseys. It was a magnificent. I stopped to look at it and after a few moments I caught myself wasting time. I was late for work. When I got my office building, I saw two of the secretaries having a smoke break. I asked them if they had heard the news, and one of them, a gruff but sort of lovable woman named Paula said, "two of them crashed into the Trade Center." When I walked into the office, I saw the cute, young receptionist (who insisted that she was really a singer) crying. She had just started at my firm after temping at an office in the WTC. She was hysterical. I told her that a plane once crashed into the Empire State Building and the only thing that was really damaged was the plane. I told her not to worry. Obviously, I've never been so wrong. I went down the hall and down the flight of stairs to my office. Its maybe a hundred paces, but my walk was interrupted four or five different colleages with the latest reports. A car bomb exploded outside the state department, another plan was seen circling Washington, DC, five more planes are off course and unaccounted for. I was curious to see the WTC. I tried to get on the Internet, but the obvious news cites were jammed. No access to CNN, MSNBC, NYT, etc. Then I remembered that I had a New Mexico paper on my favorites list. A few weeks earlier I had bookmarked the site. It was part of a revery of quitting my job and moving west. I clicked on the site and it worked. I guess the west was still asleep. I could not believe it. It was true. Seeing it made it seem less true. Odd, but that's how I felt. The fire ball in the picture looked so extreme that I had a hard time believing it. I wasn't scared. I was too stunned to be scared. I didn't know what to do. I had a brief due later that week and I started to work on it. Days later, I would look back on that decision to start my job that day and wonder. What if I had been in the second building to be hit and been told to stay at my desk. I was something of a workaholic then. I probably would have stayed and worked. Its a scarey thought and one that has not been far from my mind since then. After about fifteen minutes of working, I realized that I should call my mother. She is a world class worrier and I figured she would be scared. I decided to call my father first and make sure he was ok. I wasn't really worried about him. His office was on 44th Street near Grand Central and he rarely had a reason to go downtown. Before I made the call, my dad called me. I don't know how I missed the call, but he was routed to voice mail. His message said that he couldn't get through to my mom, but knew she would be worried. He called me to tell me he was ok. He was at a seminar at the Sheraton in mid-town and planned to finish the class (which was scheduled for all day). I called my mother at her job and told her I was ok. She had access to a television at work and told me it was incredible. I told her about my message from Dad. I insisted that everything would be ok. I still believed it. After the call, I decided to turn on the radio in my office. It was a clunky clock radio that I had put in my office the previous October to listen to the baseball playoffs when I worked at night. I heard the newscaster describe the collapse of the first tower to fall. What I remember most is that he said, at first, that the front of the top of the building was falling. For a few moments I was oddly relieved that whatever bad was going to happen, this was it and it wasn't so bad. The moment passed and I had never been more wrong. My second extreme miscalculation of the magnitude of the day's events left me numb. The whole building had collapsed. I called my best friend David. He lived in Richmond and I was curious to see if people in other parts of the country understood what was going on. David is a very calm guy, the kind of guy who isn't rattled in a stressful situation and never gets too animated. He described the collapse of first tower to me. He wasn't animated. He just had lots of details in a way that was uncharacteristic of him. To anyone else, he would have seemed calm. But I know this guy very well. The level of detail and the desire to keep repeating the story put me off. I told him I had to go. As I hung up the phone, a few of my co-workers said they were going to look for a TV to see what was happenning. I cannot really describe the feeling of being away from a TV for most of that morning. I felt sort of lost without connection to the world. We walked out of the builing, about five of us. I honestly cannot tell you who they were. I was sort of numb. We didn't know where to go. Someone suggested the TV's outside the CBS studio on 59th and 5th. There's no sound there so we panned that idea. We wound up at the dive bar called the Subway Inn on the corner of 60th and Lexington. Its a bar that is often referred to as a whole. But it was open and a crowd was milling inside. From there, I watched the second building collapse. I realized that the day was over. I've never felt that alone before in my life. There I was, in the middele of a bar with strangers, experiencing this bizarre day. I was unhappy with my career, unsatisfied with my love life, and tired of waiting for something to happen to make my life better. I'd been feeling that way for weeks and after those fleeting moments at the Subway Inn, I didn't address those issues fully in my mind for close to another year. After the second building collapsed, I made eye contact with my colleagues and nodded that I was headed back to the office. Its about a two mimute walk and my mind turned to quickly finishing my brief and leaving early. When I got back to the office, I was stopped by several people with various stories to tell. I guy in the mailroom was headed downtown to look for his mother. The receptionist was able to reach her friends at her old job. Another plane had crashed in Pennsylvania. By this point, time had stopped having meaning. I usually don't wear a watch because I just sort of know the time. A good friend calls me the Rainman of Time. At some point, before noon I think, I was told by someone that our office was closing. I walked around for a while, offerred colleagues the use of my apartment, and finally decided to leave. As I gathered the computer files, papers, and other materials necessary for the completion of my brief at home, a secretary in my office came in my office. She was something of the office lune. She was a busy body and often inflcted colleagues with too much information about her personal life (usually about how broke she was). She was in a panic because she needed to pick up her son at school and the subways were not running, and she had no money. I gave her all of the money in my wallet. 80 bucks. I didn't think much of it at the time. She later told me it was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for her. Before I left, I left a voicemail for my father at his job. I told him my address and that I was going to be there. I suggested he meet me there b/c I had heard that the trains were not running to NJ where he lives with my mother. As I left the office, my mind went blank. I walked along the Avenues to my apartment on the Upper East Side. I was struck by how quiet everything was. People were calmly heading north. I saw long lines at payphones, but no one was arguing. People were talkative, even jovial. There was a spirit of comadarderie. I remember thinking that this is what I've always liked avout being a New Yorker. We're a little gruff, but we're a friendly and kind group. I looked south and saw that the line of people seemed to go on forever. For the first time I noticed the smoke rising from Downtown. I wondered if the smoke had been visible before the buildings collapsed or when I was in line waiting for the bus. I don't remember much else about the walk. I stopped off at a pizza place and bought some food. I thought I might be entertaining my father. Before I made the long climb up the four flights of stairs to my five story walk up, I bought some bottled water. It was a nod to the thought that my water might somehow stop flowing from the taps. I remember thinking that if the water goes, my problems would be so bad that water would be the least of my worries. For the rest of the day I just waited. My father never arrived. My mother kept calling me (somehow she could call me at will, but I could not call her) to ask if I had heard from him. The previous August, my father had had angioplasty. Its a routine surgery if its not your Dad (or you). My mother fretted (in a a way only a Jewish mother with too much time on her hands can do) that he must have had a heart attack. I told her not to worry. Logically I knew that my father was almost certainly safe and sound, but on that day, I no longer trusted my own sense of logic. As the hours passed, I cleaned my apartment in anticipation of my father's arrival. I spoke on the phone to the friends I could get in touch with and generally wondered what the hell was next. I followed President Bush's quixotic dance around the country and thought to myself how the heck is this man going to respond. I was and am a fiercely partisan Democrat and my fears that he was unqualified only exaserbated my own sense that the world was spinning out of control. As the day wore on, I started to worry about my father. It seemed like the kind of thing that might happen. He was then 67 and did have a heart condition. It was awfully hot and sunny that day and my apartment was forty blocks and across town from his seminar. I sat in front of my window overlooking 1st Avenue (between 82 and 83) and watched the endless stream of people heading north. All were calm and dotted among the throngs were a few covered in ash. My dad finally turned up at my parents house around 5:30. My mother called me. He had headed to Penn Station when his class ended (it was not canclled or cut short) and caught a train with no problem. Apparently, the trains were running. I decided that I had been freed from my apartment and started milloing about my neighborhood. tried to give blood, but was turnded away. I met a friend for dinner and watched Bush's speach. I was pleased that everyone in a crowded restarant stopped to listen. I don't remember anything in that spech, but I do remember that everyone seemed calmed by it. I was pleased that the leader of our country was not hiding in a bunker somewhere. He was at the seat of government doing the people's business. This was as it should be I thought. I never got over my sense that he was not ready for the job. (I should note that I thought then, now and in between that the attack and quasi occupation of Afganistan as Bush directed it was exactly the right response). Over the next few days, I fielded phone calls from old friends checkin on my status, dressed down a partner in my office who didn't seem to get that the subways had not been closed just to irritatate him, shrugged when a collague told me that another colleague lost several friends, got really drunk on the Thursday after, and finally finished my brief. An adversary who was usually uncooperative consented to an adjournment of the due date and I got it done (albeit without the use of the internet based resources which were no longer working -- and would not return foro another month or so). I don't remember much about the days after. I seem to recall that there was some sort of wind shift on the Wednesday after and the resulting smell of smoke in my apartment caused me to call a friend who lived near the UN to see if there had been another incident. As the days went by, I decided to switch jobs. I started the new gig on November 14th. I lasted all of seven momths. I thought that switching jobs would solve all of the problems that existed in my life before September 11. It didn't. Instead it made it worse. I went to my ten year college in reunion June and realized that major changes were needed. I need to reasssess a stressful life and find a awy to live with a little time to appreciate a beautiful sky. A friend told me she was moving to Chapel Hill, NC to start her life anew (and enroll in graduate school). I decided, largely on the spur of the moment to join her. Left New York on July 31, 2002. So, here I am, in the midst of all of this Carolina blue. I still cannot look at a cloudless sky and not think of that day. I am not afraid of another attack (although I recognize that another attack is inevitble). But, my life was changed. It took another eight or none months, but I now know that life isn't about getting the next brief done. It has to be about something more. I probably would have figured this out without 9/11, but livign throught that day helped me get to where I am now. 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 story1264.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. 205.188.195.183 Annotation Annotations to this item. Environmental/Health Impact Internet Politics and politicians 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 am a fourth grade teacher in Bloomfield, NJ. At around 9:30, my principal came and called me to the hall to tell me and a few of my colleagues that a plane had struck one of the Twin Towers, and that it was believed to be an act of terrorism. We were instructed not to tell the students anything at that time until further notice. I instantly thought of my 20 year old daughter. I had dropped her off, as I did every morning, at the bus stop for her bus to work in midtown Manhattan. I knew that my daughter was not in the area of the Twin Towers, but no one knew at that time if the worst was over. Instantly, I went to my computer in the classroom and e-mailed my husband, asking him to contact my daughter via cell phone to tell her to come right home. By the time he and she connected, the second Twin Tower was hit, the Pentagon was hit and the plane in Pennsylvania went down. Shortly after, the Towers collapsed and all access to NYC via tunnels and bridges were closed for security purposes. My daughter was scared, because even though she had friends to stay with, she did not want to stay in NYC. After my husband's initial contact with her, we lost touch with her until 3:30 that afternoon, when, just by the grace of God, I contacted her by cell phone. I relayed my thoughts asking her to consider staying the night with a friend uptown...she was however adamant about coming home that night. Not until 8:15 that night did we hear from her again, saying that she was on a train coming into Newark, and could we please come to get her? We were relieved to hear her voice, and that she was coming home. She had walked to Penn Station in NYC where the Port Authority police were channeling people free of charge to NJ on the path trains. Later that night, our daughter relayed the horrors of the day from someone in a midtown restaurant, seeing the faces of victims walking uptown covered in soot, dust and ashes. Never had she seen NY look so quiet and desolate and eerie. We were among the fortunate ones who did not lose our daughter...many were not so lucky. As days became weeks, we learned of others in our classes and colleagues' families and coworkers who were not as fortunate as we were that day. But just as easily as the planes hit the Towers, they could have hit midtown. We continue to pray for the victims and their families. September 11 is a day we 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 story1513.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. 2002-08-28 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.135 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: Sept 11th didn't really directly affect me, because I live 4 hours north of the attacks and I have no family near the area of the attacks. However, I was deeply sadened by what was going on. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones in the attacks. 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 story4371.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. 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: It was just a regular day like any other. My alarm went off and I really didn't want to get up and go to work. I did though. I stumbled to the bathroom, showered, got dressed, made my lunch and went. I work at Wal-Mart Supercenter in Rome, New York. I work in Jewelry, but at the time I was a cashier. I had to be to work at 8:00am. I usually get there 2 or 3 minutes before I have to punch in. I got on my register still yawning and still wishing that I was in bed sleeping. I had a few customers, not too busy at that time of morning during the week. A guy came up to my line in such a rush. He was fumbling around and mumbling and he looked really nervous and shook up. He asked me to kindly cash him out as fast as I could. I said okay and cashed him out very quickly. I must have had a weird look on my face because he asked me if I heard what had happened. I said no and informed him that I had just gotten to work. He then told me how a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I was very shocked and puzzled and angry. Shocked because how could a plane not see the Trade Center? Puzzled because it didn't make any sense, and angry because I thought this guy must have been joking. Nope, about 5 minutes after I finished with him, all of our tv's turned on to the news channel. I seen the Trade Center on fire, and I was suddenly very confused. What was going on? How did this happen? I'm only 20 years old, so I've never expierienced a war. I only know what I learned in school. Customers and assocoiates in the store were all focused on the tv's. No one said a word. Just shook their heads in silence and shed a tear. When someone finally explained to me that it was terrorists that did this I didn't know what to say or do.I wanted to call my uncle Howard who's in the Navy and works in D.C. I wanted to go home and see my mom and have her tell me that it would be okay.I wanted to call my dad that lives in Texas who I haven't heard from in years. I wanted to get back into bed and hear the annoying sound of my alarm waking me up from a nightmare.Why? Why would anyone do this to us? To all of those innocent people and their families? Why? What did we do that was so worng to have this happen? The rest of the day at work was sad and really slow. Everyone was upset and worrying about relatives that were flying or lived in New York or D.C. No one could believe what happened. When I finally got out of work and into my car every station was talk. Talking about what was going on and the latest news. I got home and hugged my mom and just starting crying. I cried for myself because I was worried. I laid in my room with my boyfriend watching the news. I cried again, but this time it was for all those innocent people. It was a very horrific tragedy. The next day I went out and bought as many flags as I could. I bought red, white and blue candles. On my way home that night I passed by the Fort(Fort Stanwix). I couldn't believe how many people were standing around with lighted candles.It was sad and happy at the same time. It gave me chills to see everyone together. I got home and lit my candles and stood on my front porch with my flag in my handed and prayed. I felt so helpless because there was not much else that I could do. On November 10th I went with my mom on her yearly bus trip to NYC. The company that she works for goes every year around the same time. It was my very first year that I got to go. Our first stop when we got there was to take the subway down to Ground Zero. When we arrived there it was 10 times worse than what it looked like on tv. There was a horrible smell in the air, so horrible I can't even explain how bad it was. There was also a lot of people. We got as close as we could. I stood up on a fence to get a better look. I seen guys still hosing it down and workers trying to get it cleaned up. I didn't really want to go down there, but I did. I felt that it was my way of paying my respects. I was very scared. I don't think that there has ever been a time when I felt the way I did that September 11th. And I think that everyone else in this country can say the same. I just want to say that even though this was the most terrible day it brought us all together and showed everyone how strong we are. My prayers go out to everyone on those planes and in those buldings. My deepest prayers go out to all of the people who did this to us because their going to need it the most. May they suffer for a very, very long time. GOD BLESS THE USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 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 story7960.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. 2002-09-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.66.38.115 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 am from New York, Long Island originally. I remember when I was little my dad took my brother and I to the WTC and we had so much fun. Looking down upon the city of New York, it blew me away. I was at school when it happen. No one told us what happened, in fact I didnt know anything happened until I got home. My mom's best friend's brother Michael Boyle was a firefighter and died. My cousin's uncle died in the towers. It was such a terrible tragedy that affected so many people from so many places. I wish, like so many others, that this never happened. But that isn't going to help. Nothing can. We just have to stand together and help each other and show the terrorists that they cant break America. It's called United We Stand. 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 story11250.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. 2005-01-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.100.135 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 nine years old when the 9/11 happend.It was a mess in New York.When i heard about it i wasn't really worried about it. But know i'm much older and i realize the pain that they had been through.But really they should fault the airlines for not ckecking the suspicous men.Bin Ladin is a very smart man.I think that if you can make some scrafice their life for you like that you can never be caught,by any body.And its five years later ,he will never get caught he is a very smart,intellagent,powerful man to his country. 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 story20470.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. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.186.239.238 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: Q: HOW DID YOU WITNESS HISTORY ON SEPTEMBER 11th? SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE. A: WELL, I WAS DOWN AT THE BOAT YARD AT LITTLE CREEK, AND WE WERE WATCHING THE NEWS; THE TELEVISION WAS ON, JUST AS THE FIRST PLANE HIT THE FIRST BUILDING, AND WE WATCHED IT EXPLODE, AND THEN WE JUST KEPT ON WATCHING UNTIL THE SECOND PLANE HIT LATER ON. Q: HAS YOU'RE LIFE CHANGED BECAUSE OF SEPTEMBER 11th? IF SO, TELL US HOW. A. WELL, I DON'T THINK MY LIFE HAS CHANGED, BUT IT'S MADE ME MORE AWARE OF THE PEOPLE AROUND ME, AND TRYING TO BE MORE CAREFUL OF WHERE I GO AND WHAT I DO WHEN I GET THERE. Q: WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE REMEMBERED ABOUT SEPTEMBER 11th? A: I THINK ALL THE PEOPLE THAT DIED SHOULD BE REMEMBERED, ALL THE POLICEMEN, THE FIREMEN, THE RESCUE WORKERS, AND ALL THE CIVILIANS THAT DIED IN THE COLLAPSE OF THE BUILDINGS. Q:DID YOU FLY A FLAG AFTER THE EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 11th? HAVE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THE AMERICAN FLAG CHANGED AS A RESULT OF SEPTEMBER 11th? A:YEAH, I PUT A FLAGPOLE UP IN THE FRONT YARD RIGHT AFTER THAT, AND I'VE LEFT IT UP EVER SINCE. MY FEELINGS ABOUT THE FLAG HAVE NEVER CHANGED. IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A STRONG FEELING ABOUT AMERICA AND THE FLAG. 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 story8831.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. 2002-12-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.54.14.84 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 sitting in school and all I remember was school stopped for a moment of silence. Then after 3 minutes we were told that the U.S.A had an attack. I then went home tearful. i got a call from my friends mother, Tasha , she told when Sarae had gone to the U.S.A she had been killed in the incident along with her aunt and uncle. I then sat in silence for the longest period of time and started sobbing. I wish it had of been me and not her. It gets so close to when these attacks happened it got me thinking I should tell my side of the story. I now know that everyone should always forgive and say the I Love Yous to your parents and everybody and warmth each other with hugs. why was it her? and not me? I need to get this out, I`ve been dying to! A 13 year old girl from London Ontario 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 story9415.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. 2003-08-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.101.94.191 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: It was still dark when I got to work at 6AM:, unusually early due to the start of NY?s Fashion Week. We had photographers covering runway shows and parties, and I had lots of material to get through. Then at approximately 9 o?clock, our tech guy called out and said that the WTC was on fire. I went to his computer and saw the grainy image on CNN?s website. I ran back to my desk and picked up the phone, dialed 775-1035, my sister?s work number. There was no answer. Then I called my mom. No, there was no word from Diane. A few minutes later I heard her scream, ?Oh God, there?s another one.? The last thing I remember her saying was, ?Go find your sister.? I felt sharp needles of anxiety and I craved a cigarette. My boss wasn?t in yet but I just couldn?t sit there. I left my computer on, the screen still filled with happy glamorous faces, along and a cup of cold coffee. I jogged over to 6th Avenue and saw the crowds pointing at the buildings billowing thick clouds of smoke. There were a bunch of construction guys gathered on a 22nd Street, cursing. I spottted a phone across the street and ran to call my boss?s voicemail. With a catch in my throat, I told her that I wasn?t sure if I?d be back. I kept walking south, 21st, 20th, 19th Streets, stopping along the way, listening to newsreports blasting out of car radios. Terrorism? The Pentagon? The White House? It was so fucking unbelievable. The day was utterly gorgeous. Bright blue sky, cool dry temps, reminding me of beautiful New Mexican mornings. My cell phone was dead. People?s faces were twisted with uncertainty. Then the inconceivable. I remember a restaurant awning, a blonde woman, and a guy with a camera pointed in our direction. Everyone stopped. ?Oh, No?Oh, God?Oh, Shit.? I really thought that I would hit the ground too. I refused to believe what my eyes took in. ?Diane, Diane, I kept thinking. Are you there in that pile? Did you get away? Where are you now?? By now, my body was on automatic pilot. I came across a smiling young black woman, a deaf mute, leaning against a community garden fence. I handed her a dollar as she mouthed the words ?God bless you.? She was immune to the horror, but I kept on walking. Soon I found myself in my old Village neighborhood. Seeing Our Lady of Pompeii, the church I used to live right across from, I walked up the steps. I needed a place to regroup, afraid that I would collapse right on the sidewalk. I moved into the left side pew, in front of a statue of the Blessed Mother. I prayed for my sister. I prayed for the dead. I thought of my great-grandmother, remembered all those end-of-the-world dreams. It was a nightmare come to life and I didn?t know where to go or what to do. When I reached 6th Avenue again, a white van screeched to a halt. A young Chinese guy jumped out and I followed his gaze, catching in midstream, the second tower?s collapse. I got as far south as Grand Street and turned back. Days later, I was still numb. Before I had received the message that my sister Diane had survived, I had already known that she was alright. Somehow a deep, deep feeling had quietly reassured me that she was safe. I?m not sure if I?ll ever be able to describe my feelings of that day. But one thing I am convinced of is that I will always love this city with every ounce of my being. 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 story104.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. 2002-02-28 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.255.49.132 Annotation Annotations to this item. Personal connection to someone at site Premonitions/Coincidence/Fate Religion 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 pregnant and my due date was Sept. 11. I did have my son that day at 9:13 that night. My husband and I got the best blessing that day.I saw the news where the attacks had happened while i was at work.After i got to the hospital i watches CNN as long as i could. Although Sept.11 was a sad day for the world we had a very happy day in our life. Kim Holmes 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 story7014.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. 66.175.156.70 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 found out about sep 11 when i was at school. my motherpicked up me and my friend and my two other brothers. then we went home and tryed to call my farther who works next to the pentagon. But all the lines were not working, so we sat and talked and cryed intill 10:00 when my dad walked into the door. 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 story8348.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. 2002-10-03 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.188.37.252 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: Title of Story: No Guidebook for 9-11 There is no guidebook for a tragedy like this. That is what I recently told the employees in all of the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) medical centers and clinics across the network that I manage in New York and New Jersey.. I also told them as we resolved major issues, managed emergent situations, deployed staff and cared for patients, we have been moving forward without the benefit of any previous similar experience. During this, the greatest national tragedy to touch our shores, I noted that it was each of them who are writing the new chapters for this guidebook. As we learn how to deal with the wounded, the distraught, the families, our own staff?s reactions, the media crush, the traffic, the smoke, the dust, our kids, our priorities and our new lives - we are gathering knowledge and skills that will be invaluable to the rest of the nation. The nation will want to know what we have learned and the hurdles we have crossed, and we have crossed many. This tragedy was within extraordinarily close proximity of many of our VA New York City and New Jersey - medical centers and clinics and had a deep impact on the entire Network. We had to lead the Network through this single most violent act of war and terrorism that the country has ever sustained. Most important was to approach the disaster with compassion, determination and great focus. From the moment the crisis occurred I was in Headquarters at a meeting, and had to begin to manage and lead the network from a remote location. While this was extraordinarily frustrating for me I knew I had great people back in New York and New Jersey - ready to meet the challenge. For the first two days I was asked by VHA to remain in the VA Emergency Operations Center and assist in managing the crisis at the national level. However during this time I was setting in motion the Medical Center Directors and VISN staff to manage numerous aspects of this unfolding and ever-changing tragedy. From the VA Emergency Operations Center, and when I returned to the Network, I knew how critical it would be to keep in constant communications with my directors, staff, front line employees and headquarters, utilizing conference calls, e-mail, meetings, and video conferencing. This level of communications and leadership kept the staff moving forward and kept morale and spirits focused on the tasks at hand. We developed a response for the active duty military and National Guard requests for medical assistance, as over 3,000 military descended upon New York City and were in need of day-to-day medical and mental health care as their anxieties worsened. We also had to deal quickly and effectively with a myriad of urgent issues including establishing heightened security at all locations, ensuring adequate supplies and pharmaceuticals (bringing in stock from other VA?s around the nation), working closely with EMSHG and other VA entities, communicating with employees and veterans, keeping a very compromised telecommunications system running throughout the network, protecting network-wide data bases in the event of additional attacks, dealing swiftly and accurately with media queries and planning for the aftermath. In fact, my staff began planning for the fallout almost as soon as the crisis began. I activated the network?s VA Mental Health Executive Team, called in national assistance from the Vet Center leadership and developed a comprehensive approach to reach out to veteran patients and VA staff who were at risk to be affected by this tragedy. The team quickly developed a plan and letters and phone calls went to every patient in the network letting them know of the stressors they may be experiencing and how to get in touch with VA assistance. Counseling availability was arranged at every medical center and clinic for staff. We insisted that the VA have a high profile presence at the NYC and NJ Family Assistance Centers. Our outreach at these centers proved to be a model program for the victim?s families, veterans and emergency service workers and has been lauded both locally and nationally. During and after the crisis we had to work with numerous agencies including; CDC, NY and NJ and local Departments of Health, National Guard, Active Duty Military, United States Postal Service, emergency service agencies, FEMA, GAO, U.S. Congress, and all facets of VA Headquarters leadership. Those activities are consuming and ongoing, but have provided an opportunity to raise emergency preparedness in VA to an entirely different level, as well as to enable VISN 3 locally - to significantly improve coordination and collaboration among our other public partners. We also had to deal decisively to keep all of our medical centers operational in the wake of the potential for further attacks and numerous Anthrax reports and white powder incidents. These fears and concerns for every accumulation of white powder in a medical center could have shut the system down - given the hysteria of a hospital worker in NYC dying from exposure and the numerous letters to news media leaders in the city and the fallout from the NYC Morgan Street Postal Center. In New Jersey we were commended by the Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee for quick action to assist with Cipro prophylaxis for up 7,000 postal workers at the Chairman?s request. Working with Headquarters we developed a unique interagency memorandum and had the NJ VA Medical Centers poised to assist in this regard. Since the tragedy has occurred we have ensured that all network staff and the medical center staff that have learned so much from living through such an event, have been open and available to the rest of the nation, the VA and others with advice and assistance. We hosted the VHA National Leadership Board and in short order pulled together a remarkable one-day learning session for all of VHA?s top management. We also hosted Secretary Principi in meetings and tours several times since the attacks, once with Chairman Chris Smith. I was asked to testify before congress on the VA?s Emergency Preparedness and gave lengthy testimony to GAO reviewers. We were asked to review the draft VHA Emergency Preparedness Manual and provide comments and advice, given our recent experience. We were also asked to share lessons learned in writing through an article for VHA Now and VAnguard. The moral of this story is - that as a leader - you need to ensure that you have people that you can rely on in place - before a crisis ever occurs. You have to trust those staff and managers to do a great job and you have to provide them with all the support they need to handle the crisis. Communications is the key to getting through any crisis. Constant and honest communications - moment by moment - kept my staff, VA Central Office, the community and our veterans assured that we were doing all the right things and all the necessary actions to keep moving forward. Finally, keeping our mission to veterans and their families, and caring for the many VA employees in our Network - at the center of all actions - is critical to maintaing credibility and support during any crisis. 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 story2759.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. 205.128.215.120 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: Ground Zero: Sept. 14, Morning Four As a volunteer and under the guise of being a tradesman, I hopped a boat to the wreckage site to unload relief supplies and assist in the cleaning process. It had stormed all night and was still cold and raining. All the dust had turned to mud and the paper detritus was quickly becoming mangled pulp. As we approached the harbor, I was struck first by the gaping hole in the skyline. But gawking and reflection were impossible. Idleness was impossible. There was too much activity surrounding me. Some orchestrated. Some individually innovated. But all for the purpose of erasing the unspeakable damage. After unloading the boat, I grabbed an abandoned snow-shovel and joined a clearing crew. With shovels and buckets we were able to clear an entire plaza of mud and garbage. By 2:00pm a new "shift" arrived to relieve us. It was then that I realized that most of the workers around me were contractors or involved in organizations in New Jersey, upstate New York, or Long Island, not citizen volunteers. Someone asked me if I was in the "iron trade." I said, "Not exactly." Although I had only worked for about 2 1/2 hours on site (I had volunteered at a donation site, Chelsea Piers, since 7:00am that morning with my friend Kate), I took the relief shift as an opportunity to gawk. Actually, to clarify for anyone who might be thinking proud thoughts right now, my motives were not altruistic by any means. When I began in the morning, I did not know that I would have an opportunity to go down to the rubble. Work had been cancelled for the coming week and I was suffering from cabin fever and shock. Volunteering early in the cold rain seemed like just about the best way to exorcise the feelings of helplessness and disbelief. But even organizing food, clothes, and other donations did not make the tragedy palpable. Had the two most prominent features of my skyline really collapsed!?!?? Were those newsreels real? Were there really thousands of fellow citizens vaporized, burned, or buried under an unimaginable ton of wreckage? When we were informed that boats were taking people from our site down to THE site, I quickly prepared myself: rain suit, hard hat, boots, goggles, respirator (all in boxes waiting to be delivered to the workers already clearing), and forced my way onto the next boat. (I was told that credentials of craftsmanship were checked before boarding every boat after mine.) But make no mistake, I was not going to "lend a hand"; I was going to lend a visceral punch to my fatigued and disbelieving imagination. For those unfamiliar with the World Trade Center, it was not simply two shimmering towers. The buildings and plaza that are all part of the complex probably covered 10 acres if not more. The perimeters of Tower One and Two were enormous and certainly the grandest of the buildings, but the towers were flanked by four interconnected buildings of about twenty stories. There were fountains and malls and underground passageways, not to mention the adjacent World Financial Center complex and all the hotels and shorter skyscrapers and on and on. None of this was unaffected by the collapse of these grand monuments. I landed on the western side in the private yacht basin of the World Financial Center (not World Trade Center), now bereft of all private craft and rife with police, fire, and Coast Guard boats. First visible to me (and blocking the majority of the tonnage) was that complex. Not destroyed but looking like an abandoned warehouse, I barely recognized it. Working as a cater-waitor, I had oft stood in the grand glass and marble passageway that connects two of the financial buildings of the WFC, looking out at the Hudson. A grid of steel beams had ripped half of it to dust in their perilous plunge to earth. On the outskirts of the damage, random windows were shattered and the buildings less caked. But the closer I walked to the former towers the more apocalyptic the scene became, window frames empty and the mud and ash facial covering everything. Among the mud at my feet I saw countless invoices and records, pamphlets and promotionals. I couldn't help wondering if the companies who printed these papers existed any more. I stepped over wires and rocks, crumbled facade and structural steel. Metal skeletons of cars and buses lay on top of eachother, ejected from parking garages or lifted by their own explosions. Building faces crumbled from the avalanche of the towers' debris. I walked into a doorless bar two blocks from the former Trade Center and saw a scene from an egregiously dusty western. The floor and tables were covered in soot, and beer bottles left on counters and bars were half dusty, indicating the direction in which the cloud blew through. A colonial-age cemetary sits one block from the World Trade Center. Garbage covered the headstones, and beams had crushed some of the trees shading the lot. It actually was amazing to see how much had been cleared. Most roads leading up to the WTC foundation were completely functional and firetrucks, dozers, cranes, hummers and all their accompanying personnel filled the streets, paving the way to the mountain of destruction. I saw it all, all that anyone could see. I got as close to the smoldering mass as anyone else, save the rescuers who've bravely ventured into or onto the rubble. It dwarfed all the cranes struggling to slowly dismember it. It choked anyone standing in the path of its smoke. Fingers and grids of rod iron and steel snarled and twisted skyward out of the ground. A dispostured portion of the frame of Tower One still stood twenty stories high, resisting collapse but bent toward the pile wherein the missing portion lay. Beams drove their arms deep into the concrete or curled, broke, and bent in various directions from their collective fall. The pile was at once a maze and a mountain - full of knooks and crannies but compacted with pyrotechnic and gravitational might. The appendages of the towers had been torn and corrupted of all structural integrity, their black exteriors tossed variously among the ruins. The silver exterior of the Trade Center was made of aluminum revetment covering the steel infrastructure. Sections of this revetment had flown blocks and blocks during the collapse - through windows, into the sides of buildings - scattering the wreckage and streets with mangled sheets of ornamentation. It was a stunning vision. But I write "vision" purposely because I still have not completely accepted what I've seen. I don't know how to better describe the feeling. I just can't envision that scene of decisive planning and determined deconstruction as a mass grave. I can't imagine the architectural void. I can't compute the transformation from pinnacles of invention and design to compressed, wrestling metal junk piles. I stole down there to awaken my rational faculties, but somehow my tactile experience made it all the more surreal. Abandoned hotels, cavernous alleyways, skeletal cars: that's not New York City. That's not the financial district, capitol of the world economy. What have I seen? What have I learned? What the fuck happened? But even though reality and perception remain unreconciled in my mind, I have realized something. I've realized not only how incredible the rescuers and work force unearthing and removing all the destruction are. I've realized how incredible this country is. I empathize with anyone feeling helpless or distant or vengeful. But I can tell you that we all, every single citizen, help with each step we take forward, refusing to be prisoners in our own homes or targets on our own soil. We become closer and more unified with our trust in the government and intelligence experts to execute decisive, educated action, enlisting our help if necessary. And we most emphatically exact revenge by carrying on in the face of terror and grief, expelling defeat and spiting cowardice. The most demoralizing artillery and the most biting ammunition in our enemies' spirits is the return of Americans to work today; our respect for all humanity; and our patience for righteous defense. In spiritual community with you all, Frank Boudreaux 9-16-'01 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 story24.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. 2002-01-30 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.165.5.55 Annotation Annotations to this item. Environmental/Health Impact Ground zero- at or about Politics and politicians Rebuilding Rescue/clean-up workers/volunteers Terrorism U.S. retribution WTC, attack WTC, pre-911 WTC, worked in (ever) NY:3 Sep 11- Sep 21, 2001 Feature Notes Notes about this item. move to email? 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: To begin with, I want to pay tribute to all of those who were involved in the 9-11 WTC incident, and also at the Pentagon. The way I view this, and the way someone else might, are completley different. I did not have any friends or relatives that were involved, so it hasn't had the deafening effect on me as it has had on a lot of others. It was the weirdest thing to be sitting in high school ,then all of a sudden, the news pops on and it says that two of the most important buildings in the U.S. have been destroyed by terrorist's, who hijacked two or three airplanes. I've never seen anything (along with everyone else), like that before. It doesn't seem as such a big happening at first, but when you add all the people who were in those buildings, who died, it's really quite overwhelming. A year later, this day, we all can clearly see what it has done, since last year, to bring people together, to help one another, to make sure we all are united. Many people could've just given up, but with the citizen's of the U.S., that's not an option. A lot of aremed forces, police, emergency, and firefighters have risked there lives to save as many people as possible, and I commend them greatly. I don't think that this will stop America through it's oncoming pages in history...I think this was just a test to show us that everyone has to help one another to succeed, and this event has proven so. So, i'm proud to say that I'm a citizen of the United States, and by stating so, I will do my part on making sure what I need to do, is done. Recently, I enlisted into the U.S. ARMY Resreves...there was a frightening feeling that I might have been called in, even though I haven't gone through basic training yet. Now, I/m not afraid anymore. I'm proud to be a defender of the U.S. I hope to God there aren't anymore, but am ready, to pursue any other terrorist attacks, in future with all my pride and dignity given to me from the freedom of America. Thnak you 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 story2375.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. 64.18.33.4 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: Where I grew up, I was used to low flying jets. My town, Far Rockaway, NY, was only a few miles away from Kennedy Airport, so the sound of jets taking off and landing was commonplace and didn?t warrant any particular notice or concern, except when the roar of the engines drowned out a crucial scene during a TV show. I now live in Manhattan and it?s been many years since I heard a jet flying low enough to catch my attention. But one did on September 11, 2001. I was leaving my house to go to work at Two World Trade Center and just as I turned the key in the lock on my front door a very low flying jet went over my house. I remember thinking that the jet was flying way too low for Manhattan as it rumbled loudly overhead. But, like a true New Yorker, I just shook off the experience and proceeded to go to work exiting through the garden in the back of my building. As I stepped into the garden, my first thought was what a beautiful a day it was. The sky was clear and the air was dry -- very nice for a late summer morning. September 11th is my niece Debbie?s birthday and I was thinking about the plans we made to celebrate. I was approaching Second Avenue and 11th Street when I noticed a group of people on the corner talking excitedly. One of them was flailing his arms around and pointing to the sky. I wondered what was going on, but again, like a true New Yorker, I decided to mind my own business and continue on to work. As I stood on the corner and waited for the light to change I heard one member of the group mention the World Trade Center. Hearing that, I turned and asked him what happened and he said that a jet just crashed into the World Trade Center. He described how he watched the troubled plane flying over our neighborhood and that it was bobbing up and down and its wings were tipping from side to side. I couldn?t believe what I just heard so I started walking south on Second Avenue to see if I could see anything and that?s when I saw thick black smoke pouring out of the top of Tower One. For a split second I was torn between going to work or turning around and going home. In the confusion of the moment I didn?t know what to do, so I went into a local deli where the radio was on and the reporter confirmed what my eyes saw but my mind did not want to believe. I started walking back home in tears saying ?Oh, my God? over and over again. Back in my apartment, I put the TV on and began to watch the rest of the horrors of that day play out. I watched as Two World Trade Center exploded. My first thought was that it was related to the first crash. It just seemed logical -- what else could it be? But when it was confirmed that a second plane hit Tower Two, I, like everyone else, knew that we were under attack. I saw that the plane hit above the 80th floor and I was praying that everyone in my office got out in time. I was trying to remember all of our ?early birds? - employees who came to work before 9:15 a.m. After that, I remember thinking that I could never go back into that building again, and that I hoped my firm wouldn?t go back. We had survived the bombing in 1993 and now this. That?s two more attacks than I could stand. Fifty-three minutes later it was a moot point. The building where I spent 10 years of my life began crumbling into dust. As I watched the dust cloud I remember thinking that what I was seeing wasn?t really happening and that when the dust cleared my tower would still be there. The reality of what followed was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. It was gone. And then the other was gone and it was only 10:30 a.m. What took seven years to build was gone in 1 hour and forty-five minutes. The hours and days afterward were followed by frantic phone calls from worried family, friends and co-workers. I was so relieved to learn that all of my co-workers survived and that other friends who worked in the towers also survived. Even so, I think I cried more tears in the past six months than I cried in my entire life and it took weeks before I could fall asleep before the sun came up. Like so many others, I became hyper-vigilant -- getting up and checking the planes flying overhead even when there weren?t any. It?s taking a long time to get over what happened, but what precedent is there for getting over something like this? There isn?t a word to describe that day. There isn?t one word that encompasses horror, grief, fear, anxiety and anger. Someone would have to invent a new word to describe the events of September 11th. But, sometimes simplicity says it all. Within a few days after the attack, someone stenciled something on the sidewalks around my neighborhood. One of the spots where the comment was stenciled was the spot where I had been standing that morning when I heard about the plane crashing into Tower One. It?s still there, but it?s slowly fading away with time. In red, white and blue lettering it says: WTC RIP It?s a small epitaph for skyscrapers that once seemed so indestructible and for the thousands of lives that were lost in them. It?s a simple epitaph - one that says it all - written on the sidewalks of New York because there aren?t enough words to inscribe in stone, or a grave large enough to hold everything that died that day. I?m writing this on the first day of spring, 2002. Everything is starting to bloom again and I usually take great comfort in seeing things come back to life after winter. But we didn?t have much of a winter this year and I wish we had. Somehow I feel that a drastic change of season - one with lots of snow and freezing temperatures would have provided a physical and emotional detachment from what happened. But it?s been relatively mild - deceptively so for winter - like that day that started out so beautifully in September 2001. 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 story9330.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. 2003-05-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.190.251.132 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: On September 11, when the first plane hit I was in a classroom beginning a math lesson. Another teacher came in to tell me of the plane hitting the trade center. She returned 15 minutes later to tell me about the next plane. My school had an amazing view of the towers. I couldn't look at the view that day. I was new to this school and this teacher had no idea what I was feeling and how many people I was thinking about. My husband is a NYC fire lieutenant and I did not know where he was all day. As luck would have it, I had his car and in his car his gear. He has size 13EEE shoes and was held up from borrowing gear because of this. I thank God today that I was too lazy to pull out my own car in the morning and took his instead. There is much to be said for laziness. He didn't arrive at the scene until much later. It was well after the collapse. My sister-in-law worked in the towers and would have been at work well before the plane hit. She worked in tower two on the eighty-eighth floor. She was spared because she felt ill that morning and took a much later express bus. Unfortunately, my husband's brother, also a fire lieutenant did not make it out alive. Lt. Kenneth J. Phelan was not supposed to be at work. He was called in because he owed a tour. So this is where I was that day. My family will relive that day forever. We will forever remember 9/11. Most of us relive it daily. 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 story7261.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. 24.47.195.109 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 stood on the train platform at Metropark delighting in the sparkling air. This particular September morning was exceptionally clear with the fresh air that comes down from Canada in the fall. The weather was fine and I felt good. I was wearing my newly cleaned blue pinstriped suit, a white shirt and a brand new gold-yellowish tie. The tie made me feel special. It was a unique feeling that I always experienced whenever I wore something new. The commute to the city was uneventful and I arrived at my office on the 19th floor at 55 Broad Street about 7:40 am and began my daily routine. I unlocked the overhead cabinet in my cubical, took out my laptop, plugged it in, turned it on and went for a cup of coffee. When I got back, I logged on and started checking my email. It wasn?t long before I started conversation with one of the guys that worked in my office. We generally talked about sports and today wasn?t any different; the Mets winning streak, Clemens? chances for another Cy Young award. About 8:45 I heard something like a muffled roar. It wasn?t quite like an explosion but then again it wasn?t like any of the usual sounds that you get accustomed to hearing in the city. There was a pause in our conversation. My co-worker heard the sound as well and I remarked that the noise was unusual and I couldn?t recall ever hearing something like it before. He said it was probably a truck and we continued our conversation. It wasn?t long before one of the secretaries, sitting at a desk near a south-facing window, called for us to see all the confetti floating in the air outside. I went and looking outside and saw papers blowing all around the building. I tried to see where they were coming from and when I looked up as high as I could see there were papers floating above all the building around us. Just then my friend got a bulletin on his PC that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. My company occupied the entire floor of the building so it was possible to get a vantage point to see in all directions in lower Manhattan. We hurried to the opposite side of our floor and went onto an outside landing of a stairwell. From there, we were able to look north and see the south side of both the north and south towers of the WTC. Smoke was coming from the north tower but we couldn?t see the north side of the tower where the plane hit. At this time no one knew what kind of plane it was and we all assumed it was a small private plane. I couldn?t imagine how such an incident could happen on an exceptionally clear day and I was skeptical that it was an accident. In any event it looked like it would be a tough fire to put out but I didn?t doubt that it could be done. I went back to my desk and called wife to tell her what happened. She had heard the news and wanted to know if I was going to leave and come home. Based on the little information that I knew at the time, I figured that the worst that could happen would be a harder than usual evening rush hour but there shouldn?t be any problems getting home. I went around to the Broad Street side of our floor, the west side of the building, to where my boss sits and told him about the plane. Even though the WTC was visible from his office, he wasn?t aware of what happened. We went to a corner office on the northwest side of the building when we could see both towers. The fire in the north tower appeared worst then when I originally saw it. While we watched, I caught the flickering image of another plane between the buildings to our west. It was turning and I clearly saw the underside of the plane as it banked a little and crashed into the south tower. I watched in amazement not believing what I just saw. Now I realized that the first crash wasn?t an accident, and neither was the second. The city was under attack and the plane crashes were acts of terrorism. I hurried down the hall anxious to get to the phone and call my wife again when I realized what I just saw. The plane that hit the south tower might have been filled with people and there surely were hundreds of other people occupying the floors that it hit, and I just witnessed their deaths. I got my wife on the phone and told her of the second plane. She wanted me to leave and get home as soon as I could. I told her I would call back when I was leaving. I figured the company would tell us we should leave but an official announcement never came. Everyone in the office including myself procrastinated about leaving and without knowing it at the time our hesitation was probably the best non-decision we could make. A couple of the women that worked in my office arrived. They both were frightened, one was nearly hysterical. She wasn?t far from the WTC when the South tower was struck and as she took refuge in a doorway as she watched papers spotted with blood drifting to the ground. I tried to call my wife again but by this time the call wouldn?t go through on my office phone, and I didn?t have a signal on my cell phone. I turned on a small portable radio that I always carried in my brief case hoping to get some news. I couldn?t pick up any of the NY stations but I did get a station from New Jersey and began to hear about what was going on. A small group of my fellow workers congregated around my $10 radio that was now worth its weight in gold. The news reports that were at first vague began to get sharper. Several other planes were feared hijacked and a plane had crashed into the Pentagon. Then the city shut down, the tunnels and bridges were closed. No trainings were running. Now I couldn?t get home if I wanted to. I tried again to call my wife but I still couldn?t get through. Even though the building?s ventilation system was turned off, our computer network was still running. I took a chance and sent an email to a friend who lives in my town of East Brunswick. I told him that the phones weren?t working and I couldn?t reach my wife. I asked him to call her office and tell her I was still in the office and okay. It worked, only a few minutes passed before he replied that he reached her and she was relieved to get the message. I was still in the office listening to the radio when the first tower collapsed. I heard the moaning sound it made and by the time I got to a window the building was gone. A gray cloud of smoke came billowing past the New York Stock Exchange and down Broad Street. The cloud quickly rose from the ground until it reached our floor and completely engulfed the building. It was suddenly dark outside and I couldn?t see a thing. Now I knew for sure that I couldn?t leave. An announcement came over the building PA that there were two doctors in the building if anybody needed medical help and that all tenants were directed to go to either a large conference area on the 4th floor or to the basement. All of the people in my office opted to go to the basement and reluctantly we took the elevator down to the lobby. Once there, I could see that the front doors were sealed shut with duck tape. Outside the street was dark but I saw a man walking by, almost dragging his brief case. He was completely gray, covered from head to toe in ashes. He reminded me of the ghost of Christmas Past. From the lobby we walked down a flight of stairs to reach the basement which was crowded with people. The area we were led to was actually the office for one of the building?s other tenants. They had a game room where some people were actually playing air-hockey while a few other guys were re-filling empty water cooler bottles with water from the men?s room. The company that occupied the space still had their network running so I used one of their PCs to email my friend again asking him to pass the word to my wife that I was still in the city, in the basement of my building and okay. It wasn't long after we got to the basement when the rumble of the North Tower's collapse vibrated through the floor. The rest of the morning was spent exchanging bits of news with people I never met before and just being anxious to know what was going on. Finally, about noontime, we decided to go back up to the 19th floor. I immediately went to my phone and tried to call my wife again, but I couldn't get through. Surprisingly I had a message on the phone from the gas station were I had left my car the night before. The mechanic?s message was that I only needed a new battery and to call him back to approve the cost. I didn?t think I could get through to him, particularly because the station was only a half mile from my wife's office. But I called anyway and surprisingly he answered the phone. I told him to replace the battery and to call my wife, tell her I was okay and I would soon be leaving for home. The air was clearing and portions of the East River were visible. Many boats were now circling the city, going around the harbor and up the East River. All the people in my office began discussing their plans on where they were going to go and who they were going with while someone cut up a bunch of promotional tee shirts to use as facemasks. I knew that I wouldn?t be coming back to the office for a while so I crammed my laptop into my brief case and grabbed a bottle of water. I took off my new tie and put it into my overhead cabinet. I was afraid that it might get ruined if I wore it outside. The tunnels and bridges were still closed so I planned to go to the South Street seaport and try to get a ferry to the Atlantic Highlands. I didn?t know how I could get home from there but at least I wouldn?t be trapped in the city. When it came time to leave, I left with a co-worker who lives in Clifton. He heard from his daughter that ferryboats were running from Battery Park to New Jersey so I changed my plans and decided to go to Battery Park with him. When we got to the lobby the security guards told us that we had to use the service entrance and once we left the building we would not be allowed to get back in. I covered my mouth with my wet handkerchief and we left the building exiting onto Beaver Street. Everything was coated with dust; papers and debris were everywhere. Heading west we crossed Broad Street going toward Battery Park. The usual sounds of the city were gone, as if it was stunned into silence. It was amazingly quite, so much so that I could hear people talking from blocks away. When we reached Bowling Green I stopped and stood in the middle of the road at One Broadway and looked around. A breeze swirled the ashes around creating little dust devils that danced about. A Japanese photographer was hastily moving from place to place stopping for an instant here and there to snap a picture. I wish I had my camera to take some picture of my own that I could share with my family. I didn't need photos for my sake because the images that I saw on this day are forever burnt into my memory. I looked up the street toward the WTC and somewhere about Liberty Street there was a curtain of black smoke that stretched across Broadway toward Brooklyn cutting us off from the rest of Manhattan. It seemed like a scene from On the Beach We crossed the intersection of Broadway and Battery Place went into Battery Park moving in the direction of Ft. Clinton. To the right of us a line of ambulances circled down West St. to Battery Place and up Greenwich. As they sat there with their siren silent I could hear the grinding of their roof lights as they spun red flashes into the dusty air. They were prepared for a rescue that never happened. Walking up the promenade through the park I was kicking up the dust as I followed someone else's footprints in the ashes. For some strange reason, the quite and footprints reminded be of the serene walks after a new snow fall that I took in my youth. Ahead of us there wasn?t any noticeable activity and I began to wonder it going in this direction was a mistake. But once we got around to harbor side of the fort it was like finding an oasis. Clear air was blowing in from New Jersey and an assortment of EMTs, police and non-uniformed people were actually glad to see us and I was glad to see them. They gave us bottled water and asked if we needed medical attention but best of all, there where boats there taking people to Jersey. A couple small boats were going up the Hudson to Weehawken and a tug prepared to go to Jersey City. With help from policeman I got on the tug still not knowing how I would get home there. I climbed up the front of the boat to the highest place I could until I reached a spot in front of the wheel house. The tug backed away from the bulkhead, turned and headed away from the city. As we plowed our way across the harbor everybody had their eyes glued to the smoke that was coming up from where the WTC once stood some still shaking their heads in disbelief. We pulled up to a pier at Jersey City. The crew got a rope around a piling and the captain revved the engines and turned the rudder in such a way as to keep the tug against the dock, the same technique they use with the boats in Disneyworld. It took a while to get off the tug, there must have been 100 people or more on board. When I finally got onto the dock I did the same thing that everybody who went before me did. I stopped to look back across the river almost hoping that when I looked this time the towers would be there, but they weren?t. A policeman beckoned me to move along and get off the pier. There where more rescue workers at the foot of the pier passing out water and one of the people there told me that phones were available in the lobby of one of the office buildings for our use. I was also given instructions on where to go to get buses that were running from Columbus Place to Penn Station in Newark and Weehawken. It was about 1:30 pm and I hoping to stop at Flamingo?s or the Iron Monkey to get a bite to eat or more importantly a drink, but all the businesses in Exchange Place were closed. It was only a four or five block walk past another string of queued up ambulances to were the busses where stopping. While I waited for the bus I met a couple of guys and we spent the time exchanging stories on the day?s events. One guy had an office at the American Stock Exchange that had the windows blown in. The other told me he was outside watching the fire in the north tower when the south tower was hit. He saw what he believed to be one of the planes engines crash through a walkway above a group of fireman. He didn?t think they could have survived. It was about 45 minutes before a bus arrived and we headed off to Newark on the Bayonne extension of the Turnpike. The road was closed to all but emergency traffic and indeed the only other vehicle I saw was a police car going toward the city. The bus went up the Turnpike, exited onto Route 280, and took us into Newark. When we got to the train station the bus pulled up at an entrance that was closed off with police tape. The driver told us that the door was generally open and he didn?t know why it was closed. We exited the bus anyway and as we did a railroad employee asked us if we were from the city, when we said we were he told us we had to go around the side of the station. Following his directions we were led to an area where EMT personnel gave us triage tags and put us in a line to be washed down with water from a garden hose. I asked if I had to do that and when informed it was optional I skipped the water and headed into the station. The next train south was scheduled to leave in 5 minutes so I quickly found the right platform and got on the train. Newark was the terminus for trains scheduled to go to NYC and consequently the starting point for trains going south. The train was jammed with people and there were barely a few places left to stand. Being packed-in on the train wasn?t unusual but nobody was complaining and that was unusual, in fact it was strangely silence. A few EMTs managed to squeeze onto the train asking if anyone was hurt or needed medical help. I guess they were looking for people who might be in shock. Just before the train started to move, I asked a woman standing next to me how she was. In a quivering voice she said she saw people jumping out of the towers. Her eyes began to tear and she choked back some sobs. She didn?t speak again on the trip and neither did I. The usual exit from the train at Metropark was generally like a cattle stampede with people rushing to the parking deck and the waiting busses. But when the doors of the train opened on this afternoon everybody exited the train without pushing or jockeying for position. The walk down the stairs to the station was quite and orderly, like a grammar school fire drill monitored by a nun. I was relieved to reach my car and looking around the parking deck I couldn?t help but wonder how many cars belonged to owners that wouldn?t be returning. I got home about 3:30. Usually I announced my arrival by calling out, ?what?s for diner?? but not this day. On this afternoon I simply hugged my wife and told her that I loved her. The remainder of my night was spent watching the news and making some calls to family and friends. I worked the remainder of the week in my company?s New Jersey office. I didn?t return to work until Tuesday and as I waited at the train station that morning I was sure that most of the people standing there with me shared the anticipation that I had on returning the city. It was a far different feeling from the one that I had when standing in the same spot 7 days ago. Penn Station in NYC appeared to have the usual amount of traffic but it seemed more orderly now. Armed soldiers were about along with a greater number of police throughout the station. I took the usual subway downtown, got off at the Wall Street station and made my way up the stairs to street level. The air was clouded with a lingering smoke and a foul odor, it smelled like burnt plastic perfume. The area was in shambles, debris still littered the street, phone and power cable were strung through the gutters. I walked towards the stock exchange and then down Broad Street to my office. National guardsmen were stationed at the intersections and barricades blocked traffic from entering Wall Street. There were a few people in my office when I arrived and we shared our greetings with more sincerity then we had in the past. When I got to my desk, I took my laptop out of my brief case and plugged it into our network. When I opened my overhead cabinet, I saw that my carefully folded yellow tie was where I left it, and I was ashamed of myself. I paused and looked around. When I was sure no one was watching, I took the tie and stuffed it into my case. So many innocent people were killed and so many brave people gave up their lives trying to save them, and I was afraid to get my tie dirty. Copyright ? 2003 James F. Matulevich 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 story10886.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. 2004-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.38.65.121