96 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 resided in West New York, NJ. My Wife and I lived in a newly constructed building on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. The building itself was 3 stories, and if you were to draw a line towards the New York skyline was roughly directly across from 57th Street. The windows in the master bedroom were focused directly upon the parking-lot for the ferry terminal between NJ & NYC. Our apartment did not have a view of the skyline, it faced inward towards the primary tower within the "Riverbend" community that was 15 stories high. Our view of lower Manhattan was basically kneeing upon the sofa in our living room, pressing our face to the window, and looking to the left...which meant, unlike with other river facing apartments in the complex, we didn't possess a view of Manhattan. My Wife arose at approximately 7:30 AM on 9/11 and began to shower, etc prior to her commute to Wayne New Jersey for work. I slept in a bit, having watched the Giants beat Denver in the first Monday Night Football game of the season the prior evening. I arose at about 8:20 AM, my Wife was in the kitchen about to depart for work, and had the NBC "Today" show on in the living room. We kissed good-bye, and I went directly into the second bathroom in the apartment to shower, etc prior to leaving for work. I knew it was going to be a long-day for me, and decided to drive into the city and park, instead of my normal ritual of taking the ferry. I feared, due to work commitments and a scheduled dinner, that I would have to wait for a lengthy period to take the ferry home at a very late hour, hence my decision to drive into Manhattan. While dressing, I overheard on the "Today" Show that a plane had hit the WTC, but I didn't stop to watch the screen. While readying myself, I listened to a caller to the "Today" Show who stated "It was a really big plane...like a 737...and it just crashed into the building". At this point I rolled my eyes, and turned off the television without glancing at the screen, I am a private-pilot and always had a distaste for initial "eye-witness" accounts of any accident. Looking outside, it was an absolutely pristine day, and I thought to myself that if any aircraft had hit the WTC, it had to have been a Cessna or other very light aircraft. I knew that the traffic pattern into LaGauardia Airport ran along the Hudson River, but that those commercial aircraft were at an altitude of roughly 3,000 feet, so it couldn't have been an Airliner and was most likely a scenery "joy ride" in a Cessna that had gone horribly wrong. Although, given the weather, and no discernable wind, I still couldn't fathom how a pilot could possibly have hit the tower, aside from the outside chance that a mechanical problem had caused the aircraft to veer into the WTC. I left the apartment, and was holding a number of things including a briefcase and several documents, as well as my car keys. By the time I took the elevator down to the lobby level, I had completely purged the "aircraft hitting the WTC" from my mind. I walked outside, and directly towards my car. My car was parked in such a fashion that it was in the first space along a row of cars parked with their right wheels to the curb....in essence the car had a complete unobstructed forward view of the WTC. I got into my car without even gazing upon the WTC, and since I hadn't driven it in awhile, started it and let it idle for a few minutes. A CD was in the radio console and I turned the volume down, but I never looked forward----as I mentioned, I had basically purged the plane-WTC report from my mind, and was placing the assorted documents in my hand into compartments in my briefcase. After roughly one minute, I began to notice an abnormality in that from my peripheral vision I could see several people dashing towards the river edge. I ignored them for a few moments, then rose my head and gazed upon the smoke pluming from the North Tower of the WTC. The smoke was a harsh coloration of black that I had never seen before, it was not industrial looking, just toxic and flowing with such intensity that the entire top of the North Tower was eclipsed. The gash where American Flight 11 had punctured the facade of the North Tower was apparent, and I immediately said to myself "that was no Cessna". I turned my car off, and started to walk towards the shoreline where roughly thirty others were standing. I was unable to truly process what I was seeing, in so much as my knowledge of aviation and being a pilot, didn't reconcile with the possibility of a large Airliner hitting the tower in such incredible Visual Flight Rules conditions. I stood with the others at the shoreline, and noticed that many were on cell phones speaking in heightened voices and relaying what they were witnessing. I found it a bit obtrusive that these fellow observers were so engaged in conversations. Only a few moments passed while standing upon the shoreline, as my thoughts turned to how on earth the Fire Department was going to confront battling a blaze to this degree. In an instant, one of the bystanders pointed towards a rapidly moving dark colored object approaching the WTC. I looked at the object and could discern that it was a proportionately large aircraft, and I immediately figured out what it had to be. It was a forest fighting aircraft that was about to make a fire suppressant dump upon the North Tower. Almost immediately this thought became cognitively "unacceptable" to what I was seeing. I knew the aircraft was traveling too fast, I could also see that it was approximately the size of a 757/767/A300 and knew that only a very few "jet propelled" forest-fire fighting aircraft were in existence, and that they were all based out West. So, I just watched as United 175 plunged into the South Tower, and witnessed the subsequent fireball and fragmentation of debris. In retrospect, I often contemplate that very moment, because it made what was occurring, very obvious, none of what I was witnessing was by nature "accidental", these were coordinated strikes upon the WTC. I continued to watch the smoke, now pouring out of both towers, for roughly four minutes, before I could mouth any words to the other bystanders. I looked at a girl standing next to me upon the rivers edge, she had just gotten off her cell phone with "friends" in Florida, and was feverishly dialing another "friends" number, when I softly said to her "I wouldn't make that call". She gazed upon me with a confounded expression, and I turned my head back towards the flaming towers as she said "What?!?!". I then said to her, "You need not speak, you should just watch and absorb what you are witnessing. This is a monumental event, its akin to seeing Pearl Harbor...this is the sort of event that you need to just quietly watch in order to absorb the full magnitude of the moment, don't disrupt your memory with phone calls", I don't know what happened to her, but she quickly moved away from me, either recognizing the gravity of what we were witnessing or to place a call out of my ear-shot. After approximately five minutes of watching the smoldering towers, I became pensive in that just standing upon the shoreline, provided no information as to what was occurring. I repeatedly kept asking myself "where on earth did those planes come from, and how do you steal a plane that large?". With these thoughts filling my head, I left the grouping and walked back to the entrance way for the lobby. While walking, several of the maintenance crew ran past me yelling that they had relatives who worked in the WTC. I re-entered my apartment, and turned on the television. I was watching the continuation of coverage that was being aired upon an "Extended Edition" of the "Today" show. Footage of the second plane striking the South Tower was played repeatedly as the Reporters fumbled to attempt to explain what was being shown. I continue to think, where on earth did these aircraft come from, and my conjecturing on that topic was all over the board. I fathomed the possibility that they had been stolen from the desert where airlines store aircraft on a regular basis, but couldn't construe how these flights were made across the entire United States, and who could have piloted the aircraft? Upon hearing that the Pentagon had been struck, I began to think this was Armageddon. Again, reports came that the smoke emanating from the Pentagon was a result of an airliner crash. My initial response was that "a probability" existed that the Pentagon aircraft strike, could possibly be a result of pilot error or an earnest accident given the proximity to National Airport. I continued watching the news coverage, and was awe struck as the South Tower of the WTC collapsed. It was an awkward sensation, that instead of sitting upon the couch in the living room, I could exit the building an actually see the smoke plume that was engulfing lower Manhattan. Instead I chose to continue viewing the unfolding events from the confines of the apartment. My wife phoned me at home, and I immediately directed her to return ASAP, which she was in the process of doing, but was bogged down in traffic. Shortly thereafter the North Tower collapsed, and with it went the Television signal for NBC in New York, the screen fading into static. I immediately switched to CNN, which was reporting that a plane had just crashed in Pennsylvania, United Flight 93. I initially assumed that this was a "simple" air crash, given that the middle of Pennsylvania made no sense in terms of an attack. That is all I can write...yes, I knew people who perished....and the vision of United 175 striking the south tower of the WTC, remains embedded in my consciousness. 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 story20756.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. 152.163.100.70 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 was at school when 9/11 took place. I was sitting in the first row, third seat back taking the I-STEP test. No one told us what happened, so when we got home, that's when we found out what had happened that day. It was all over the news and The next day I find out that there was two girls' whose mother was on a flight that had to land in another state and city. They were also worried about why they never told us what happened that day. But also on the 12th, we didn't have to do I-STEP that day, because of what happened on 9/11 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 story11361.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. 2005-04-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.250.133.198 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My name is Rich Wodka I am 17 years old and I attend school at Barker Central School in Barker New York. Before the September 11th tragedy, I would have thought nothing like that would ever happen. The morning that I woke I up I was just thinking it was going to be another boring day in my life. At the beginning of 3rd period which would be 9:28 a.m. I began getting ready for gym. When I got into the gym I saw on the T.V. what looked like to me a movie, but it was real the 1st world trade center had been hit by a plane. Not thinking anything of it I just went on through that period. When I went into the next period everything started to unwind. By that time the 2nd tower was hit and now all the school was starting to get worried. You could see people jumping out of the towers because they couldn't get down the stairs. The plane had hit right in the center of the trade center making it impossible for people to get down. The make of the tower was that it was almost hollow in the center. In the center were the elevator shafts and the stairs. When the planes hit the elevator shafts filled with the jet fuel making like a bomb that would destroy the towers. After the towers fell many parents had called the school to get their kids out because they were afraid that something was going to happen to the school. I myself wasn't worried at the time but after all of it happened it all started to sink into me. A couple of my friend's relatives were supposed to go to see or work at the World Trade Centers that day. One girl's dad was suppose to go there for work that day but he was running late and he didn't make it. Another one of my friend's sister's was suppose to go to the tower and look from the observation deck and look at New York. She was delayed from going because she had prior business to attend to. Some of the other people that meant a lot to me were just there a couple of weeks ago taking pictures from the Towers. The pictures were amazing but to think about it now they really mean nothing because the towers are gone. Everything that had happened that day and the people that were killed will be remembered. The people that went there to help out and died trying to help will always be remembered too. The World Trade Centers are still going to be remembered as one the greatest things that has ever been built. People will know what really happened and the pain that was caused when the terrorists attacked. Nothing that happened that day will ever be forgotten. 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 story83.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. 2002-02-26 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 168.169.8.38 Annotation Annotations to this item. WTC, pre-911 DOMESTIC 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: "As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more" These words kept ringing in my ears as I was watching live the devastation and the tragedy of that sad day. How fleeting one's life can be. Early that morning about 8:30a.m. I was on the road to my supervisor's home for a meeting in a Montreal, Quebec suburb of Lorraine. It was being held there (with two other colleagues) because he had recently had a leg infection and it was difficult for him to get to the office. I vaguely heard about an accident at the WTC on the car radio but had not really been listening. When i got to his house, one of my co-workers said something serious was happening in NYC. We turned on the television about 9:00 am to be greeted with the unbelievable scenes of destruction and repeats of the first plane hitting the tower. It was so surreal. But then we were witnessing LIVE the second plane hitting a few minutes later....we all couldn:t fathom the images....Too much to absorb. We all went silent....We remained glued to the set the full morning and again saw LIVE the falling of both towers....the Pentagon being hit and the downed plane in Pennsylvania. We were witnesses to history. It felt like a movie just as it was in 1963 when, as a 15 year old, I saw Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald live on national TV. The horror and sadness were overwhelming. Especially when the initial estimate of lost lives was being estimated at 10,000 or more....I wondered where God was that day. Was this an omen of what the new Millenium had in store for mankind ? A period of upheaval, destruction and pure evil ? I was numb for a long time afterwards.... 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 story1915.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. 2002-09-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.10.91.86 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 Wonder How We Can Live in Such a World I read about these men and women who died for reasons out of their control I still have the memory of watching two buildings in my own country crashing down My mind cannot fathom how outsiders came into my country and killed my people Crying, I wonder how we can live in such a world I cannot even begin to understand the pain of those who lost loved ones on that tragic day All I can do is pray that they can once again find normalcy in their everyday lives And that their lost loved ones are now in a much better place Crying, I wonder how we can live in such a world I am astonished, thinking about how people came into my country with the intent to kill How they could commit such an act without an ounce of guilt or remorse And how they could do all of this and walk away without any punishment Crying, I wonder how we can live in such a world I hear the tales of the numerous people who lost those most important to them I cannot believe how well they cope with their unbelievable losses And go on living with such immeasurable strength Crying, I wonder how we can live in such a world September 11th is a day forever emblazoned in our hearts and minds Terrorists took over our airplanes and crashed into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon Thousands of loved ones and fellow Americans died tragically and unforgettably Crying, I wonder how we can live in such a world 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 story1534.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. 2002-08-29 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 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's 8a.m. here on that bright Tuesday morning. I look after my grandkids while my daughter works: one was 12, the other 4. They're both yapping away like kids do. I had stayed overnight, so I'm just on my first cup of coffee and not really awake yet. My daughter suddenly says "Shhh!". Next thing I know she's heading for the living room, to watch TV. Shortly thereafter she comes back to the kitchen where I'm on my 2nd cup of coffee, still in a fog, and tells me a plane has crashed into the world trade center. I'm like "No way!" She goes back to the TV, and again comes back: "Another plane has crashed into the other tower at the world trade center. Dear God in heaven, what is going on?! Then, a plane has crashed into the Pentagon, and another in a field in Pennsylvania? Now I'm awake, and I'm closely watching developments on TV. My daughter goes to work, and I send my granddaughter out to play, but my mind is on all the people who were trapped in those towers. I've never been in the army, but the school I had attended as a kid had made us march and stand like soldiers. At 11 am I'm on my feet in front of the TV, at ease, military style, my head bowed. And like so many others, nothing is getting done, because this has more priority than anything else. It's two years since that hellish day, and whenever a plane flies overhead here, as they've been doing for years, I look up, and watch it carefully. Will it happen here? Terrorists can strike anywhere. They'd have no problem with causing a distraction, while pulling off something big elsewhere. I watched the multifaith conference that was held in memorium after, and grieved along with those whose lives were so cruelly disrupted. My heart is still with them 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 story10079.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. 2003-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.78.161.78 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 remember it like it was yesterday. It was a fine day till that horrible tragedy occurred. I was sitting in Mrs. Messer?s class she was my science teacher. The hour after science I had U.S. history so we watched history happen right before our very eyes. It was unbelievable, like something out of a movie. No one wanted to do any work or anything every teacher in the building just cancelled the assignments and we watched the trade centers all day. We watched the tragedy unfold before our very eyes. Each teacher I talked to would say something like "how could this happen" or "everyone will remember this like the day Kennedy was shot where you were what you were wearing and everything about that horrifying day." I think it is a horrible thing that happened on that day but many more Americans have developed a better sense of nationalism sense that day. There is nothing good about what happened on Sept. 11 even though I had some good effect of some people, which may sound wrong but it is the truth. Some people had bad attitudes towards the U.S. now those people had sympathy and compassion towards the United States citizens. 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 story9221.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. 2003-04-25 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 172.135.66.24 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 11,2001 i was at my old friends birthday party. Then my grandma just came and picked me up from his house and brought me home. She was like glued to the tv with my mom my uncle my aunt and my sister but i was too young to understand what went on and why it happened. Now that im older i understand a little more about it. I dont feel as safe as I did before it happened cause i live by a really big chemical plant and my grandmother said it is one of the biggest in Louisiana. Beofre it happened i wanted to ride in a plane but now im kinda scared that i would be on the plane wit some more people like them on those planes. 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 story20457.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: September 11th On September 11th, 2001 a terrorists group high jacked two commercial jet planes. One plane crashed into one of the two World Trade towers and it was on fire from the jet fuel that blew up upon impact. Then a second plane crashed into the second World Trade tower and it caught on fire. Firemen, policemen and average people were helping people to get out of the towers. People on the floors above the crash were trapped and many died from jumping out the windows instead of being burned alive. The planes exploded and the towers started to burn because the flames and heat were so hot the steel structure melted. It collapsed to the ground. A lot of smoke and objects were flying all over the place for miles. Alot of firemen and police were in the towers helping those when they were killed during the collapse. There was no structure standing after it had fallen down. There was a large black cloud of smoke covering New York City when it was all down. The Pentagon in Washington DC was also hit before the second World Trade tower collapsed. The Pentagon was hit by a commercial jet plane that a terrorist hijacked. The terrorist drove the jet right into one section of the Pentagon. Many people died. I saw the replay when the 1st tower got hit. I was in Miss Kersh?s Science room at the end of 3rd period it was 10:08. When I saw the second tower get hit live on TV. I never thought this would happen. I never thought that someone would use a commercial jet plane as a bomb and dropped it into the tallest buildings in New York City. When the towers were destroyed I was shocked that they were gone in minutes. Those towers were standing for so many years and it was destroyed. I never thought they would hit our top military base the Pentagon. When the World Trade Towers were destroyed I thought there would be a war. The person who did it is still out there somewhere, but he is going to get stopped sometime. I think they should find the person who did it and punish them badly. 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 story750.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 168.169.8.37 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: WRITTEN ON OCTOBER 5, 2001 by Fredda Weiss ? a born and raised in Manhattan, now living in Los Angeles, California Minor additions and corrections made on October 30th - with many thanks to Richard Masur for his ?fact check?! I feel compelled to record my impressions of my first evening and day in New York (October 3 and 4) ? in order to remember the images, which I cherish, and which are sure to fade with time. I have not watched television since the first days after 9/11 ? preferring to read the eyewitness accounts and emotions emailed to me by friends, which seemed much more immediate and ?real?. To these, I am now adding my own. I realize that my personal reactions are filtered through my five-year experience with the Victims of Pan Am 103 ? perhaps making my emotions more raw ? but I can?t imagine anyone not reacting with deep emotion ? and some concurrent denial ? to an event so overwhelming and awe-full. The ride from JFK to 37th Street and Lexington Ave. (usually a 40-minute drive) took about 20 minutes! The night was clear and warm ? Indian Summer at its best. My driver was a Sikh, and his appreciation at being treated like a human being was palpable. God knows what abuse many NY cab drivers have suffered since 9/11. As we approached the City, the view of the skyline was more disorienting than I had expected. I never loved the architectural ?monotony? of the twin towers, but eventually they must have become the anchors by which I ?constructed? the skyline in my mind. Without that anchor, I found myself searching for older landmarks in order to structure a new orientation. It took some time to assemble the Wrigley Building, then the Chrysler Building, then the Empire State Building ? and after that, all the other smaller landmarks. Still the change in the skyline generates a real sense of loss. The following morning: Murray Hill is a quiet residential part of town, but five blocks north is Grand Central and the busy, commercial area that surrounds it. The streets are crowded, but not as crowded as usual. What really impresses me is the new sense of calm ? a slightly slower pace to everything ? and an almost unearthly quiet, compared to what I expect in New York. The blaring of car horns is gone, for the most part. When an ambulance or a fire engine siren is heard, it literally splits the silence instead of merely raising the decibel level of the existing din. Courtesy is the order of the day. ?Excuse me? is heard everywhere, and people give each other space on the subway and wait patiently for riders to exit, before they enter the cars. Met a friend, Marjorie. for lunch, after which we intended to get as close to Ground Zero as possible. Before I left California, I had no desire to go anywhere near the site. Then - during the drive in from the airport ? for some unknown reason, my attitude flipped, and I decided it was a pilgrimage that I wanted to make. Marjorie had been in touch with Richard, and he had been going down to the Red Cross Respite centers every day ? sometimes taking other celebs ? sometimes alone. We reached him on his cell phone, and he offered to take us down there with him. We met at 14th Street and then took the subway as far as Houston Street (all the stations south of Canal St. have been inoperable, since 9/11). We then hiked downtown (zigzagging our way south west) toward Pier 40 on the Hudson River, where Richard had to make a stop. We began running into barricades many blocks from the pier, but Richard?s credentials and the two OEM (Office of Emergency Management) passes he had given us, got us past each checkpoint. Most of the uniforms we saw, at this point, were NYPD. Later, as we got closer to the Ground Zero, however, the diversity of uniforms increased, and one marvels at how all of these different ?troops? can remain organized in a coherent operation. Pier 40, is the staging area for the New York City Highway Patrol. In charge is a woman named Kathy, who was a store manager for Cohen?s Optical somewhere in Massachusetts. She quit her job on ?day one? and has been a volunteer at this facility ever since. This distribution center is charged with delivering uncredentialed, but ?cleared?, equipment and vehicles to points within the Ground Zero perimeter. It is also responsible for providing ?escort? within the perimeter. Cameras came out all around, and appreciation for our visit got us a lift closer to Ground Zero in a patrol car. The thicket of checkpoints and barricades south of Pier 40 serves to narrow the streets to one lane, and the route towards Ground Zero becomes almost impassable. Water trucks work the streets constantly to keep as much dust out of the air as possible. HazMat (Hazardous Materials) crews with hoses stop every car and truck as they leave the area and wash them down. We were dropped off at the Red Cross ?Respite Center?, (at St. John?s University). A row of hoses lines the walkway leading toward the entrance. Everyone who has been working at, or near, Ground Zero washes down his or her shoes, before entering the building. The Respite Center is a haven where anyone and everyone working in the area can come for ? that?s exactly it ? ?respite?. There is an entire room of donated Lazy Boy chairs, where search & rescue and security personnel can watch TV ? but we see most of them napping. There is another room with cots for sleep-deprived workers. Volunteer massage therapists and chiropractors are on hand, and food is available 24/7. There?s a 24/hour AA meeting available on an upper floor! The atmosphere is super-charged with both energy and exhaustion. Again, the appreciation for the visit was overwhelming. We are still quite a hike from our next destination ? The Spirit of New York ? one of the Dinner Cruise boats, which usually ply the Hudson. It?s docked two blocks from Ground Zero and serves as another Respite Center for the work crews on the southwest side of the site. We are now one block west of Ground Zero, at North Cove -- a large promenade and Plaza that borders the river, where the Spirit of New York is docked. There is only one row of buildings between us and the ?site?, and the ancillary damage to nearby buildings is in clear sight. A structure called the Winter Garden looms over the plaza like a giant transparent jukebox. Its steel structure, which resembles the triangular shapes of a geodesic dome, is completely sheathed in glass. Miraculously, the fa?ade facing the river is unharmed, while the one facing Ground Zero has been blown to smithereens. It is incomprehensible that this structure survived in any part! But the most incredible sight is the glass skyscraper immediately to the north, the right-angle corner of which is impaled by twisted and jagged steel beams - jettisoned from the imploding north tower, as it collapsed. Richard tells us that the largest one of these is (conservatively) estimated to weigh 40 tons, although it appears to be floating weightlessly in air like some beautiful contemporary sculpture. We are now walking along the water toward the two ?shrines? which have appeared spontaneously at the southern edge of the promenade. The first is very small and shielded from the elements by a makeshift tent. It contains mounds of flowers, pictures of fallen firefighters, policemen, and Port Authority personnel, as well as burning candles, badges, copious notes and mementos from police and firefighters from NY and the rest of the nation. The profusion of images is chaotic and forces one to take time to focus on one photo, note or bouquet at a time, before the impact of the personal loss is felt. It is a place of immeasurable sadness. There are two men in uniform crouching to read the notes and view the mementos. Their grief can be read through their backs. We feel our intrusion and round the corner where a very long granite wall backed by a three foot, still-green, hedge has become a more public shrine. Along the wall, and resting in the hedge, is a sea of teddy bears ? most of which have been sent from Oklahoma City. Again, there are bouquets of flowers three and four deep, in various stages of wilt. Pinned to them, and to the wall behind them, are more notes from children of all ages. It is here that the enormity of the human sacrifice and concomitant grief becomes overwhelming. It is a short one-block walk to Ground Zero, and we approach it through one last Marine checkpoint ? trying to keep a very low profile. Access is extremely restricted, and we are astounded that we are actually being allowed to approach the site. It appears suddenly ? as if we?ve turned a corner into some huge Italian Piazza. The area is vast (16 acres), and the frenzy of activity is evidenced only by the clouds of dust that rise around the huge cranes and grapplers, which pepper the site, and which dwarf the crews working beside them. They stand precariously on piles of rubble like tinker toys, and the jaws at the end of their huge arms could easily hold two dozen men. At the southwest corner of the destruction, where we are standing, the hugest of the cranes towers over us. This one, we are told, arrived on 42 flatbed trucks. It weighs 1.5 million pounds, can lift 1000 tons (2 million pounds), and took one week to assemble on site! But most amazing of all are the remnants of the World Trade Center that still stand ? steel structures which do not relate to the flat, modern lines of the towers from which they came, but are reminiscent of the gothic arches seen in the medieval cathedrals of Europe. The simile is undeniable, and the result is an eerie spirituality that envelops the sight and leaves one with a deep sense of awe. We stand there speechless. Denial breaks down, and we ?feel? as well as ?know? that we are standing at the edge of a mass grave. No images on television or in print can capture the physical and emotional devastation and the absurd beauty of the complete scene. I long for a camera (forbidden, of course) ? ache to capture those religious arches that stand in two semi-circles, and seem to embrace the rubble-strewn space and the men laboring to clear it. Is there no wide-angle lens that can capture this sight? ? Or has my avoidance of the media frenzy simply ?missed? the best images? Slowly, we become aware of the incongruity of our presence; our standing amidst those who ?belong? there. We turn tail and head back toward the Spirit of New York, where we will await ?The Screamer? ? a high-speed boat that ferries the volunteer shifts between Ground Zero and the Chelsea Pier upstream. We board the ship to save us the long hike out of the area. The ?spines? of the two interior main cabins are long steam tables ? constantly supplied with food, drinks, deserts and candy. Rows of catering tables, at right angles to the windows, have replaced the more elegant ?dining tables?, which usually seat tourists. The weary crew of the shift just ended is quietly eating. At the bottom of the semi-spiral staircase, which ascends to the observation deck, is a sign reading ?Massage and Chiro upstairs?. My mind is so numb that I make no connection between ?Chiro? and ?chiropractor? and have to ask Marjorie what it means! There is very little conversation. The young volunteers manning the catering tables are emptying the chafing dishes in preparation for the re-supply coming with the next shift. For some reason, the Screamer is not arriving, and we decide the ?hike? will get us uptown faster. We are leaving the pier when Richard spots a NYPD Harbor Patrol boat. A moment of ?hi? and shaking hands gets us a lift upriver. The view from the river, minus the twin towers, again grabs at the stomach and boggles the mind! Marjorie finally starts snapping pics. Some of the buildings, which have not been destroyed but have been damaged beyond repair, are marked for demolition with a sheath of red mesh. Another, less damaged, sports a huge American flag, which defiantly faces the river. We are mid-river when Richard asks the three crewmen if they could run us farther upriver than the Chelsea pier. They offer to take us to the 79th Street boat basin. On the way north, we pass two Coast Guard speedboats - each one hardly bigger than a dinghy -- with 50 caliber machine guns mounted on the bows! Lots of pictures accompany the goodbye and thank you at the Boat Basin. We ascend to Riverside Drive along the bucolic paths of Riverside Park , hardly able to believe where we?ve been and what we?ve seen. The emotional and physical exhaustion is indescribable! AFTERTHOUGHTS: I have no recollection of the rest of this day or evening ? none, in fact, until the Weizmann Weekend begins the next morning. I am, of course, tempted to write something profound or witty (or both) as a fitting conclusion to these recollections. But they stand alone in my mind and heart, and I have no cogent explanation for how I feel ? then or now ? about what I saw and felt. I only know that I am glad I got there ? that my empathy lies with the workers at the site who will never ?integrate? the horrendous things they are seeing ? and with the children who lost parents and the parents who lost children. Their grief will be renewed every holiday season for the rest of their lives. This morning I awakened at 4am ? a time without defenses or denial. For one moment the depth and breadth of the tragedy again hits me full force. It is always the same ? the noose around the diaphragm and the sob still unreleased. 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 story688.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-30 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 129.174.27.143 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: How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I first heard the news that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Centers, on the radio while I was getting gas that morning. Honestly, I thought I had heard wrong, because I couldn't imagine a plane flying nto the World Trade Centers. I was going to go help a friend in his store, and so by the time I got to the flower shop, it was on the radio that a second plane had hit. We had turned the radio on and listened to the news reports, and one of the newscasters started using the term "terrorists' attack," which seemed a little unnerving. So, we continued to listen, and then a report said a plane had crashed into the Pentagon. Now it seemed very real, because they attacked Washington D.C. We went next door to the beauty parlor because they had a T.V., and all of us were sitting around watching it when reports of a plane crash in Pennslylvania came on the news. And then, all of the news was so unclear, because we didn't know who was attacking us. Here we are near a military base, and we wondered if we were going to be hit. I wanted to get the kids out of school and bring them home. In the afternoon, when they came home, and we watched all of the reports on T.V. and tried to find an answer to what had happened. After awhile, it was too difficult to watch, because all I was doing was crying watching the scene play over and over again. Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? if so, tell us how. I was always afraid to fly before this happened, and now I am even more afraid to fly. It also made me more leery of strangers. I don't look at America any different now. I was always proud to be an American. I always tell my children to never go to bed angry at someone and always tell those you love that you love them. You never know what can happen to that person. After these attacks, I think they understand. What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? The innocent lives that were lost, who committed the attacks, that no one is untouchable, and that it could happen to any country. We are just as vulnerable as everybody. Also, the brave men and women who risked their lives to save others. The people that helped with the cleanup should be remembered as part of September 11th. It was a day that America stood still, and Americans united together. Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? We have always flown the flag, and my feelings have not changed about it. I always regarded the flag as an emblem of American pride. I feel that all Americans should have been flying the flag, before this tragedy happened. I think it shouldn't have taken a terrorist attack and many lives lost to make everyone pull together and support America strongly. We should have been doing it all along. 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 story8846.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: That morning I saw it on the tv and called my mom on my cell. We talked and watched together. All the sudden we saw the 2nd plane hit. We thought America was under attack. We were right. I went and picked up my 2 boys, 5 and 1. I am a single mom and they are my life. All I wanted to do was hold them. I think of the children the most. It is so unfair to them. We pray together at night for the moms, dads, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, sons and daughters that lost loved ones. I wish I could help them. The most I could do is give blood. I will continue to pray every night for the rest of my life. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3774.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Where were you on July 22, 2002? You may or may not know. Now, what if I asked you where you were on September 11, 2001? Chances are you know exactly where you were and what you were doing on that day. Either you were at work, school, or somewhere else. Everyone can tell you where they were, just like the generation before me knows where they were the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. September 11th was a day that will infamously go down in history as a day of death and destruction, one that none of us, especially me, will ever forget. We all know what happened. Two hijacked planes flew into the World Trade Center Buildings in New York City. Another plane also flew into the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C. And a third plane crashed in the middle of a Pennsylvanian field, its original destination unknown. Thousands of people died from the event and it without a doubt changed America forever. Whenever you go on a plane, you must pass through extra security. You carry a small bit of fear that cannot be escaped, about that fact that it could happen to you this time. Yet because of that fact that America can be harmed, makes us question if we are really safe, even though we have always thought America was not a country that could be attacked. People are more patriotic because they want to support America and remember all of those who lost their lives. The term ?terrorist? has become a household term and may remain that way for a long time. The people who crashed into the Twin Towers did so for only one visible reason: to create a sense of terror in America. They did not destroy our county in the attacks but they strengthened our patriotism and in effect made us stronger. We will never forget September 11th, but we will remember it as a day that we came through for our wounded in the attacks, and as a day that America became a new country. Everybody has a story about that day which they will tell to their children and their grandchildren, a story of how it changed America, and how it changed them personally. My story started early that morning. If you had asked me on September 10th if the next day would be eventful, I would have said very much. I was to skip school and take the subway to downtown Baltimore where I would enjoy a day at the science center with my mom, my brother Eric, and some of Eric?s friends and their parents. It was a home school group and we were all going to meet at the science center for an educational ?field trip?. But I was not home schooled and I was just skipping school for the day. I was with other children who were being taught by their parents in a carefree utopia. That?s how I saw it, anyway. I never would have imagined I would eventually join that utopia. When I got up that morning, I was ready to go. I loved the science center and going would be the highlight of my week, if not the entire month. So we headed out to the subway station in the cool, crisp September morning. I can remember the dew on the grass and a slight mist in the air, cooling my face. When we got to the subway station, we met Eric?s friends and their parents. Then we dropped off our cars and headed into the station. Once we arrived downtown, we walked up the stairs and headed out. The science center in Baltimore is just feet away from a beautiful harbor, the inner harbor, which is one of the best sights in Baltimore. Once inside the building, we began to explore and do things. The exhibits were great and we were all having fun. Then we walked up to the very top of the building for a laser show. I enjoyed that more then anything else in the whole museum so far. After that, we were supposed to go downstairs to see an Imax movie about the ocean, on a five-story screen! I was really excited about that because I had never been to an Imax theater. Still on the upper floor, I noticed that all of the employees were standing around a small television set. Then the parents started looking at it. I began to wonder what could be so important that all the employees were watching TV in the middle of the morning? And then I saw what they were all looking at. Two giant skyscrapers, hundreds of feet tall each, were both billowing with smoke. I began to get scared and I heard some people say thing like ?oh, my God? in a hushed whisper. But I was partially annoyed about it. I did not know what the buildings were, nor did I know why people did not go about their businesses. I simply had no idea why everyone was staring at the buildings, crashing down in front of our eyes. I was told what had happened but I was still anxious to see the rest of the exhibit. I didn?t care what had happened to the thousands of people in the buildings. People die everyday and they don?t get a national memento. I didn?t see why these people were so important. Eventually, we went downstairs toward the big screen theater. But then we turned and left the building. We sat on some benches outside the front gate. I was in shock. How could something hundreds of miles away make us leave a perfectly harmless place? I was almost frightened. Then my mom said we wouldn?t be going back in. That gave me a feeling in the pit of my stomach, something that should have happened when I heard of the disaster. Then across the harbor, I saw something that personally made it all real for me. I saw a building that I knew to be the World Trade Center in Baltimore. There was yellow tape wrapped around the building, the kind that?s used at crime scenes. I also saw policemen standing around the building, preventing people from going in. I saw that it really had affected me, all the way in Baltimore and it was scarier then I could have imagined. Some of the parents in our group went up to the ticketing office of the science center to get some more information. I saw people running around briskly as if they were in a hurry and I heard fragments of thing like ?what?s going to happen now? and ?how could this have happened?? I was then confirmed in my belief that the science center would be closed. I would never see that Imax movie on that large screen like I wanted. But now I suddenly wanted to be in the comfort of my own home, in the safety of my own bedroom and away from this madness. When I was there, the world seemed to melt away. That?s what I needed. I ate my packed lunch and then we left for the subway station. Some people were talking about rumors that the subway was closing but we headed on. I imagined it as a perilous journey that we had to complete before the station closed. If we failed to reach it in time, we?d be trapped in a place that seemed far from home. But when we finally got there, we were all glad to see it was indeed still open. When we boarded, it was so crowded with all the people trying to get home that we all had to stand. One vivid memory I have of the ride was many of the gentlemen giving up their seats for children. This surprisingly continues to be one of the most powerful memories I have to date. But we made it home, and the to my grandmother?s house. I do not know for sure why we went there, but I imagine we did to get emotional support or simply to tell the tale. She and my mother were very close and saw each other often. I remember the days when we took her to the store to go shopping for groceries once a week. At the time I had no idea there would be only a few more. That would be a larger tragedy then five September 11ths combined because it would be a personal tragedy, one that I could relate to. But her dieing the next year would help me eventually begin to imagine the same tragedy that had happened to thousands on that one-day. All those innocent lives, just like my Nana. Over time we found out more. I don?t really remember many of the details about the aftermath. All I know now is that it somehow led us to war. I?m not very connected to that, either. It seems even further away in a far away county called Iraq. It?s funny that I hadn?t even known it was a county before the war. But that?s one of the things I?ve learned from the news. The 6 o?clock news now contains horrible scenes of war and terrorists, some that many will never forget. I always hear about the families of the casualties of war. They are always sad but hopeful. They are hopeful that peace will be brought in the world someday and that the entire endless killing will stop. But that is not what they say. They say that their husbands fought for their county and they did and still do support that cause. Recently, there has been a similar disaster on the islands of the Indian Ocean. These Asian islands have been hit with a tremendous tsunami. It has been called the September 11th of Southeast Asia. And so I have thought about this statement. It has killed many more people then our attacks and many more are dying of the disease and water contamination in the poorer countries. But there is one large difference between this and the attacks on America. Humans carried out the September 11th attacks. Other humans created the disaster, our own people. But the tsunami disaster could not have been helped. It was a force of nature. It also helped bring many wealthy countries together, including America, to aid these people in their own crisis. It has brought us together to help, not harm. A better kind of disaster as many would say. If you ask anyone on the street if September 11th has changed America and the world, they will say yes. They will tell you mainly the same thing. If you ask them if it changed them, they will say yes, but every single story will be different. My story is unique, just like every other person?s story. It is not that I was in a strange place that day. It is that I was in ignorance. I refused to accept the facts. But I have gone over the facts in my head over and over. I feel now that I acted immaturely, even though I was only ten years old. I have made a decision that this experience has personally changed my life for the better. I can share sympathy with the mourners of the attacks. I know what they lost. I lost my grandmother. When I set out to write this piece, I had no idea that I would include her untimely death. I had not realized the connection until I began writing and the experience flowed out of myself and onto the paper, the ultimate goal of all writers. But the immense sorrow I have for her can give me somewhat of an idea of what the families of the attack victims felt. They must have felt extreme rage and anger at the people responsible. All I have to be mad at for my grandmother?s death is the uncontrollable cancer, similar to the seemingly uncontrollable terrorists. She showed me that tragedy in it, and I am somewhat grateful that I fully understand 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 story11260.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. 2005-01-18 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 69.174.158.121 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at home like any other day. I turned on the tv and the channel already on was the 700 Club. As I watched I thaught they were talking about a movie in the theaters. But then I realized the horror of what I was seeing. I remember feeling it was all to much to believe. How can someone do something like this!!! I continued to watch and still wonder what was really happening. Terrorists!!! But these were our own planes. How! Why! Then the next plane strikes and then the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. I feel the need to call my mom and see if she is watching.I want to call my husband at work but know I can't. I could not take my eyes off the tv. Everything repeated over and over again and I know it was all real but I still could not imagin it. Hatered fills me and I cry all day. It is not even anyone I know but I feel for everyone who hurts. These people were Americans and we will never forget and never forgive. It affected all of us in someway, maybe you don't know it. But if you think about what happened and you feel any kind of emotion....it affected you. GOD BLESS AMERICA!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4042.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. 204.42.22.51 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 walked in the door and my partners said, "Hurry and see what just happened in New York!" I was transfixed and could think of little else for days. I cried, I grieved, and then, in meditating on the events of that day over and over again, I was impressed to write a poem and then the lyrics to a song, which helped encapsulate my feelings on the matter. I've included both for your repository: Hear ? the Tolling Bell by George R. Larsgard 9-15-01 While reflecting on the suicidal attacks of radical Muslims on America vis-?-vis, the World Trade Center and Pentagon disasters of Tuesday, 9-11-01 and the portent of the Memorial Service at the National Cathedral on Friday, 9-14-01. There was a poignant moment when, as the service dismissed, a solitary bell tolled slowly, hauntingly, resolutely, resolvedly . . . determinedly. Airplanes smashing Fires flashing Buildings crashing Here ? the icons fell Inconceivable Unbelievable Irretrievable Hear ? the tolling bell So much trying So much dying So much crying Hear the mourning tell Of tragic cost Of loved ones lost Of lifetimes ? tossed Hear ? the tolling bell Even in our wildest dreams Our nightmares weren?t this mad Questing the unquestable? Forcing the unforceable? Robbing the unrobbable? Freedom ? they?ve never had The yearning of the ages, What man has striven for Liberty, unveiled Liberty, prevailed Liberty, unassailed We demand it! Ever more! Remorseless aggression? Regardless suppression? Repentless oppression? Here? You listen well We were born in revolution We have built life up from there Emancipation Equalization Self-determination Hundreds of millions share These Inspirations These Realizations These United Nations Hear ? the tolling bell Freedom you decay Freedom you betray Freedom! You will pay Hear ? the tolling bell Never . . . in Quite the Same Old Way By George R. Larsgard 11-4-01 While noticing an airplane flying overhead and reflecting on the September 11th terrorist attacks on America and all the subsequent threats and heartache since . . . the anxieties, the shattered lives, the maimings, and the deaths. Lyrics for my song written for the victims? families. We will never look at airplanes in quite the same old way Soaring freely through the lofty, azure sky Taking hundreds on their way to destinations near or far Flying to awaiting arms there by and by Hushed to silence in a moment, burned up in the flames These were someone?s loved ones calling out their names For those in pain or suffering; for you who grieve or mourn We all have been affected; our hearts, too, were torn We will never look at buildings in quite the same old way Standing firmly on the ground, through day and night Holding thousands there inside them as they do their daily jobs Working toward their lifetime goals and stars so bright Crushed to silence in a moment, burned up in the flames These were someone?s loved ones calling out their names For those in pain or suffering; for you who grieve or mourn We all have been affected; our hearts, too, were torn No worthwhile cause, idea, or passion promotes the terror we have seen It makes itself a vomit, a putrescence; filth; unclean It declares its own extinction as a cancer to mankind Exterminate a free world? If you preach it ? you will find The free world will excrete you ? your goal is truly blind You should never threaten freedom! It is one united mind! We will never look at nations in quite the same old way For we are a world-wide fam?ly ? by God?s decree Having each our own dimensions; each our qualities Sharing, though, that one desire ? that all mankind be free Rushed to fight or to surrender, or burn up in the flames We are millions, even billions, calling out our names We stand with those in pain or suffering; with you who grieve or mourn You loved ones have not grieved in vain ? our freedom is reborn Renewed and strengthened; broadened; lengthened ? our freedom is reborn To all the voices of expression, may I add mine as one of hope amidst the devastation that we will go on - renewed and strengthened; broadened; lenthened - our freedom is reborn. George R. Larsgard 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 story6212.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11, 2001 Tuesday, September 11, 2001 started off as a typical day for me. As I have done for the past four months, I took the 7:39 AM Metro North express train to Grand Central, arriving at about 8:20 AM. I walked to the Lexington Avenue subway and waited for the Number 4 or 5 to take me to Wall Street. My biggest worry up to that point was how I was going to be able to leave the office by 6 PM to get me home by 7:30 PM for dinner with my parents. For some reason the subway, which usually got me to Wall Street before 8:45 AM was a little slow and I arrived there at about 8:48 AM. I walked the stairs to the street above, and was greeted by heavy smoke, soot and papers flying in every direction. My first thought was that the building over the subway was on fire and I hurried across the street to the corner to get as far away as possible. I asked someone what was going on. A woman pointed to the west and told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Tower minutes before. I looked up and saw Tower One, fire streaming from its windows and a thick black billowing smoke. I realized that the papers I saw whirling around me were memos and graphs from the offices of the Tower. I thought to myself, ?Where are the people that wrote these memos?? I looked down and saw a plane ticket. I was going to pick it up but decided I couldn?t. I could only see faces of people I did not know. At that point I tried my parents on my cell phone. I wanted to let them know I was all right, in case they saw the news on television. Somehow I got through to my father and told him that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. He didn?t believe what I had told him so I told him to turn on the news. While on the phone my eyes strayed to a woman who looked like she was in a daze. I asked her if she was all right and she told me that she had just walked the few blocks from Tower One to where we were standing. She was in the deli across the street from the Trade Center buying her usual cup of coffee before proceeding to her office at Deutch Bank, located across the street from Tower One when she heard a loud boom and felt a tremor. In the panic and confusion of people trying to get out of the deli she fell and was trampled over by people trying to get out. She had hurt her neck but her first concern was getting through to her husband to tell him she was still alive. She asked if she could use my cell phone. We tried it but were unable to get through. I then asked if she wanted to come to my office, a block away, to use my phone and get some water. She agreed and we walked to One Chase Plaza. I am a lawyer and work for a law firm that has its offices in the Chase Building downtown. We arrived at the building and took the elevator up to my office on the 58th floor. I learned that the woman?s name was Francis and that she commuted to New York with her husband from Pennsylvania. She kept repeating her thanks for my being so kind to her. I got her into my office. My office window directly faces the World Trade Center Towers and I commented that we could see first hand what was going on there. Up until that point we all thought that a plane had accidentally gone off course hitting the building. It never dawned on us that we were witnessing the end of two hijackings. I no sooner got the words out of my mouth when I saw a large plane streak down the Hudson River, make a sharp banking turn to the right and head straight toward Tower Two. I heard the plane throttle up moments before it impacted with the Tower. The plane went straight through Tower Two, like a knife through butter, and the nose looked like it came out the other side. A big ball of flames erupted after impact. My first thought was that it was a fighter plane, that?s how fast it came in, but I quickly realized that the plane was too big. I then thought it was a B52 bomber. I learned later that it was the United Flight ---- and the plane was a Boeing 767. My next thought was that we were under attack and that the plane was going to be followed by additional fighter planes or bombers and our building was going to be next. One Chase Plaza is only 60 stories high, but it houses Chase, a financial institution, a natural target for terrorists, if it was terrorists. When I witnessed the impact of the plane there was no doubt in my mind that terrorists were involved. I couldn?t believe the Towers were still standing. I couldn?t believe that the top of Tower Two wasn?t sheered off by the impact. But I also knew that no one could hit that building with the precision that was required at the speed involved but a terrorist. The aim of that plane was dead on and no U.S. pilot would have done that act. I kept thinking that a U.S. pilot would have ditched the plane in the Hudson River before hitting that building. The act was deliberate and caused by a fanatic, no doubt in my mind then. I heard Carol, a secretary at the firm, say ?That?s it. We?ve got to get out of here.? I know I kept repeating ?What was that? What just happened here? Did that really just happen?? I simply couldn?t believe what I had just seen. I still can?t believe what I saw. We quickly got to the stairs and walked the 58 stories down to the plaza level. When we got to the 5th floor the Safety Officer for the building got on the intercom and told people to go back to their offices, the building was secure and safe. I remember thinking, ?They?ve got to be kidding, didn?t they see what just happened?? I saw some people head back upstairs. After what I had just witnessed I just hurried down the last 5 stories -I think it was the longest walk I have taken in my entire life. On the street everyone was looking up toward the Towers, now in flames. I saw what I now know were people dropping from the windows, but to me looked like large pieces of debris or black paper. I cannot shake the image from my mind. Francis and I decided that we were not going to remain on the plaza next to such a tall building (we were afraid the World Trade buildings would collapse and the thought of additional planes attacking Wall Street was another fear) so we proceeded to walk towards the East River and away from the madness. We somehow made it to Fulton Street where I tried my cell phone again, all the while looking up at the Towers, watching them burn. I mostly got a no service message on my phone but after about 10 tries I managed to get my father again. I learned from him that the news reported eight planes were hijacked and four were accounted for ? the two that hit the World Trade Center, one that had just hit the Pentagon and another that went down in Pittsburgh (later it was determined the plane went down outside of Pittsburgh). I also found out that my brother-in-law, a Delta pilot, was not flying that day. My sister, on an American flight bound for Florida, was safely diverted to Atlanta. My sister-in-law, on a subway under Tower One when the first plane hit, made it safely to Brooklyn. I have to admit, my only thought at that moment was that there were more planes out there that were going to strike and that the safest thing was to get as far away as possible. So we started to walk North. We walked through the South Street Seaport, which was eerily deserted. We walked through the courtyard of an apartment complex and up toward the Brooklyn Bridge. People were streaming across the Brooklyn Bridge by foot. Francis saw someone from her building and learned that everyone was evacuated safely. I kept looking over my shoulder the entire time and watched the two towers continue to burn. At some point, and I don?t remember precisely where I was, I saw a thick billowing cloud and thought, ?My God, the Towers just collapsed.? I didn?t know at the time whether that thought was correct or not but we managed to be right ahead of the plume of dust and debris that descended on the area. Had I stayed by the Chase Building I would have been enveloped in the plume that the collapse had generated. Three of my co-workers weren?t as lucky and I later found out that they couldn?t breathe and thought they were going to suffocate to death. Fortunately they did not and have lived to tell the tale. We thought momentarily of staying but decided to continue walking and our trek took us past Centre Street and the Court houses. I thought, ?We need to get away from these buildings. These are another symbol of the United States that could be attacked now.? I just kept walking. Thousands of people joined us along the way. I met a man who had gotten out of the twelfth floor of Tower One. A met a young man who was worried about his father who worked in the area around the Towers. Mostly, though, we walked quietly. When we talked it was to wonder what kind of person could do this act. The silence was eerie when you think about it. Thousands of people walking and not a sound. Ambulances and police cars raced past us to area hospitals. At one point there was an unmarked car with about two feet of soot covering it racing past us. At 40th Street Francis left me to go to the West Side where her husband was. We hugged and I told her when this was all over to remember where my office was so we could meet again in better circumstances. Crazy what you think of it. We never would have met except for what happened that day. I hope she made it home okay. I didn?t even get her phone number. I feel badly that what I had hoped was an act of kindness on my part made her witness the second plane?s impact. I hope she forgives me for that. I continued walking alone to Grand Central only to be told that the terminal was closed. Thousands of people were outside. Because I was still convinced that there was going to be another wave of attacks I decided that I needed to be as far away from any landmarks as soon as possible. I walked a bit down Fifth Avenue, turning off to Madison before I reached Rockefeller Center and Saint Patrick?s Cathedral. I looked to see if I could get an Express Bus to Westchester (Yonkers or White Plains) but all I saw were buses going to Queens, Throgs Neck or Coop City ? and the lines were blocks long. At 82nd Street I took a chance. An Express Bus was at a red light and I knocked on the door. I asked the driver where he was headed and he told me Coop City in the Bronx. I asked if I could get on and he told me yes. I still don?t remember walking most of what I walked. All I could think of was to get out of the City before the next plane hit. I started my life in the Bronx and had lived in the Pelham Bay area until I was a teenager when my family moved to Greenwich. I was never happier to see those familiar surroundings in my life. Miraculously I was able to get through on my cell phone once again to my parents and to a friend. Both were willing to come to pick me up, although my parents finally did. Twenty minutes later I was back in Greenwich. The time was 2:30 PM. I guess I walked half of Manhattan that day. I would have walked all the way home to Greenwich if I had to. I have thought a lot about what happened on Tuesday. How at one moment, the most important thing in your life is getting to work and the next was wondering if you were going to live or die. The vision of the plane impacting with Tower Two keeps repeating before my eyes like a continuous movie. I have described it as a Die Hard movie and Armageddon, only it was real life. I don?t think my brain has come to that realization yet. I am curiously numb and without any feeling. I keep hoping that what I have experienced is a bad nightmare and that I will wake up and it will all be normal again. I have slept maybe three hours each night but I feel strangely relaxed and not tired. I realize now that I witnessed the immediate death of people like me on the airplane. I also realize that I saw the carnage that has contributed to the deaths of thousands more. I know what it is like to be in war. I know you will think it is an understatement when I say that it is not like the movies. I have witnessed evil firsthand. Innocent people died, as they usually do when evil prevails. I don?t understand the type of mind that can do this to another human being. I can?t understand what they hope to accomplish by such senseless acts. I guess that?s why they are called fanatics. I cannot yet picture going back to my office, if we are ever allowed back there, looking out the window and not seeing the two towers of the World Trade Center there. I also lived which I find a miracle in itself. I guess I still have something left to contribute to this world. It wasn?t my time yet to go. I became a lawyer so that I could make a difference in the world and help people. I need to start acting on that. I also will not allow the terrorists to win. I ask that everyone else not to let them do so either. Although I have been watching videos these past two days (I simply cannot bring myself to watch something on television that I experienced firsthand) I went into New York City Thursday night to see The Lion King. I was supposed to be part of a group of 100 people. Only five of us made the trip in. I made the trip by myself when the rest of the group I was going to go with decided not to go. I understand why they didn?t but I am glad I made it there. I feel, as I believe those who were in the theater that night also felt, that I did my little part in defeating what terrorism stands for. We were not cowering at home, afraid to be out. Neither did we forget all those who have perished. At the curtain call there was a moment of silence and the cast asked us to sing God Bless America. There were more than a few tears shed in the theater that night. I don?t know if you can ever understand what I have written on these pages. I am not, after all, a hero. The heroes died in the planes, the Pentagon, the Towers and are seen every day in the faces of the rescue workers. I know that there are still people that are unaccounted for and my thoughts and prayers are with them and their families. But I wanted to share this to let people know that each day is a precious gift. Before you leave the house or your apartment tell someone you know or love that you care about them. Call a friend that you haven?t seen or heard from. Give someone a hug or a kiss. Because you can find yourself one day leaving for work, saying good bye to your family, getting a cup of coffee at the corner deli, going to your office and never seeing them again. 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 story9004.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. 2003-01-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.89.106.254 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 had taken an early walk on the morning of September 11th, 2001. I remember it being such a beautifulday, full of sun, crisp cool air. My son was due to be born any time and I was walking to encourage the birth process along. I had been having contractions off and on for days. I must have come back in to the house sometime after 8:30 and was just resting on a comfortable chair timing my contractions. Suddenly, a relative who lives just across from us walked through the door with a look of panic on his face and said, "I don't guess you've heard..." A feeling of dread overwhelmed me as I scanned over possiblities in my mind of what he could be talking about. Had someone died? "We've been attacked. Two planes have just crashed into the towers in New York." As those words pierced the quietness of the house I don't think either of us could really believe them. We quickly ran back over to his home where the television was still showing footage of what nobody could believe had just happened. We kept asking one another questions. "Don't you think those buildings could fall?" "Is anyone helping those people out?" "What's going to happen next?" Neither of us could comprehend that this could actually be happening. I just watched those towers burning and thought about how there were actually people in there that were facing a horrible death while I sat in my neighbor's home watching. Did they know that the world could see them? The world could see them but no one could do anything. That is unbelievable. And as the day wore on the story grew more and more unbelievable. Another plane crashed into the Pentagon? Another in a field in Pennsylvania? What was happening? I finally drug myself back home almost in a daze. In fact, the rest of that day seems almost like a blur. All I kept seeing were the airplanes crashing. All I could think about was how those people trapped in the buildings must have been so afraid. I asked the Lord to hold them. On September the 12th, my son was born. My mother-in-law wrote this haiku. Manhattan burns, Ira is born, A flower in a field of ashes. 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 story5725.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. 165.247.189.241 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 headed to Portland, OR for work, leaving from Washington DC's National Airport and changing planes in Chicago. My flight was scheduled for 10:00 a.m., but I was able to get on an earlier flight that left at 9:00. I called my husband, so excited about my good fortune because I'd have an hour and a half to switch in Chicago, rather than 30 minutes. We took off on time, and I had two cups of coffee before my row-mate, a retired fire chief, turned to me and said, "The FAA just lost two planes." Very matter-of-fact. He had headphones on, and I couldn't imagine what he was listening to. When he said, "The World Trade Center just collapsed," I thought he was joking. Being from Boston, I pictured a few glass windows falling out of the sides of the building like the John Hancock building. I asked him what he was listening to, and he said the cockpit. I listened in, and I heard the pilots talking to ground control, discussing where to land the plane. Then the pilot got on the intercom and told us that there had been some terrorist activity and the FAA was ordering all planes out of the air. We would be landing in Indianapolis, most likely. He also told us to stay seated and not to open the overhead bins. We were in the air for quite some time before we landed in Cincinnati. We were ushered off the plane and I remember thinking, "There's no one in this airport except a few people on their cell phones. The place was deserted. Someone from United said that they would be bringing us to a hotel and there would be no flights out that day, perhaps the next day as well. Two women from Asia who didn't speak English were on my flight, and they were so confused -- I felt so sorry for them. Many of the passengers were headed to Chicago to take the over-the-pole flight to Asia, and they were stuck. In baggage claim, I tried to get a rental car, but nothing would be available until Thursday. While waiting for the shuttle bus to the hotel, a bunch of us were discussing how to get back to DC. We agreed that if one of us could find a way, we would not leave the others behind. Although the airwaves were jammed with phone calls, I was able to get four calls out. I left a message at my husband's office, at our home, on my boss's machine, and finally got through to my father at work, while we were on-route to the hotel. He assumed that I hadn't left DC. Another passenger asked if my dad would call his wife, and gave him the number. Once we got to the hotel and checked in, I turned on the television. I vaguely saw a plane flying close to the World Trade Center towers, but I was focused on the Yellow Pages. I called the first limosine company that accepted charge cards and was told they had one vehicle left. "I'll take it." One way fare to DC would be $800. Split between five people, that sounded like a bargain. I had 20 minutes to round up the others, get something out of the vending machine, and be in the lobby. I still have the package of trail mix I got from the machine, and I've saved the page I tore out of the Yellow Pages with the number -- Sorry Howard Johnson's! The "limosine" was a burgundy mini-van with a driver named Butch who stated right away that he was not a long-distance driver. At 12:05 p.m., we filled up the gas tank and were off. First stop -- Butch's house to pick up his medicine. Apparently, he wasn't sure how far he was driving, and he thought perhaps he should get his medicine if he was going to be gone overnight. He came out of his house with his medicine in a bag -- and nothing else! No toothbrush, no change of clothes, nothing! After about two hours of riding and listening to the news, Butch started to fall asleep at the wheel. "Butch, I need to use the bathroom. Can we stop at the next rest area?" I asked. From then on, I drove. Three of us had cell phones, and they were passed around for everyone to use. I finally got through to my husband. When his office was sent home, someone gave him misinformation that a United flight out of National (rather than Dulles) had crashed into the Pentagon. For the two hours it took him to get home, he thought my plane had gone down. Once he got to the station closest to our house, a Marine looked at him and said, "You don't look so good. Can I give you a lift?" Once at home, he got my message. It took us 10 1/2 hours to get home. After greeting my husband, I crawled into bed with my sleeping children for a little while. I've never been so determined to get home, and so focused on finding a way to get there. It wasn't until 11:00 at night that I first watched the World Trade Center crumble to the ground. 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 story871.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. 2002-07-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 134.67.6.46 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 the Morning of September 11th, I went to the airport to say goodbye to my boyfriend who was going to San Diego for more Marine training. He had already been through basic training. We said our goodbyes at 6:00am and I went home and took a nap and was awaken by my boyfriends sister asking me where her brother was. I was telling her his flight plan and she told me to get up and turn on the T.V. I did and I couldn't believe what I saw and they were reporting that all flights had been grounded. We had no idea where he was for 4 hours. Being the military, we knew he would have to check in so he was accounted for, but the wait for the phone call was nerve racking. I called all my friends and family and asked them to start praying. Not just for my boyfriend, but for everyone. Jana Bartling Oklahoma City, OK 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 story3434.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. 67.203.112.53 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: That morning I was off work and had not turned on the TV until 10:30am! As I began watching I thought 'mercy how awful, I wonder where in the world that is'; as the, then re-run of the first plane hit.......then the second!!.... I knew it was here and that we were having something really terrible happening in America. I sank into a chair and thought "this is a message to America"! A wake up Call to stop sleeping and thinking we are untouchable!! It was on OUR shores!!!! The Pentegon, the field in PA and the Towers and who knows what else was targeted that day! My first reaction was a sickening feeling, shock and a real feeling of Gods' presence with for our nation. It was so sad and humbling and could have been SO much worse than indeed it was. Then I was mad and the 'Air Force Brat' in me wanted to send in the troops and get the buggers!!! I know without fail that we MUST stand up and fight this evil, that not only wants to kill us, but wants to take over the world with their evil! This is real, this is now and this is nothing to take lightly. We have been more than for-worned and the fight is now and is to be fought to the end, whatever that is!!! This where the true blue get separated from the wishy washy! Where the courageous take the stand and lead!!!! This is not the first, nor will it be the last...do we want to see these type of attacks here? If not, then we had better get that border shut and controled! Wake up to the real reality that we are not in an 'ice cream and cake' life, but that we MUST fight for our freedom, right to believe in God, freedoms of speech and life, the way that American forefathers begain this nation to be! We must UNIT and be for America together, as countrymen and stop all of this bipartisen, politically correct liberlism! Be the true patriots that, deep down, I believe us to be!!! We were blessed by God in this great nation for a reason and for JUST such a time as this!!!!! We have got to be wlling to fight for what we beleive in and stand for!! Not someday, not when there is rain, when there is more money, less money, when it freezes in the tropics or an other rediculous time....IT IS NOW!!!!!!! The border is a sive for terrorists that are flowing in as we eat and breath everyday and are waiting to do us harm....grave harm and we just sleep some more! Our leaders on ALL sides of the fence need to stop the yaking, spending foolishly, thinking stupidly and selfishly, being politically correct, being personally greedy and get off their duffs and get busy taking care of America and its' people! The people that put them in office and can remove them......personally neither party works anymore!! The House, Senate and Congress are full of many greedy, narrow minded, foolish, weak, liberal, or political big heads that just are squandering our well being, our nation, our livlihood, future and freedoms for their selfish power and self fame!!!! Our founding fathers would be so ASHAMED of what has happened to this countries government: the moral, political, and personal slipping of what we stand for and what they forged for us in the beginning!!!!! They would kick the lot out and start fresh....just ask Americans what we really feel and think about what is happening to America! Just ask the families of the soldiers who are fighting for us and our freedoms! Just ask the people who lost loved ones in the Towers, Pentegon, and the field in PA!!!!! Why do think we are becoming MORE than angry that the illegals are here throughing their weight around, when they have NO right to!They do not respect the fact that this is OUR nation and NOT theirs! Their government should be held accountable for them and certainly NOT us here in America! Just who do they think they are anyway? Same with the terrorists that are laying in wait? They do not know who we really are: We are strong, tough, patiriotic AMERICANS who forged a nation for FREEDOM, LIBERTY AND THE HERITAGE THAT WE WERE FOUNDED ON! That, if given the provocation, WILL fight and fight feroceously for freedom, our people, right to worship God, and the United States of America to the death and then some! DO NOT PUSH US TOO FAR because we WILL push back! It is way past time for us all to rally together for our country, our America, the strength we have stood for and show the buggers we mwan business......no matter who doesn't like it or how we do it......LET'S ROLL....LET'S GET HER DONE...NOW!!!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA; UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL!!!! 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 story20800.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. 172.190.67.54