180 20 70359 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: One of our managers called back to the office - "Did you hear about a plane hitting the World Trade Center?" Everyone's first reaction was "No, you're kidding" and of course, "That had to be some accident" - Then the second plane hit and it became very clear that accident was not the word to describe what had happened. We all gathered in an office with a TV to watch as everything happened. When the news came about the Pentagon, one of the women in our office ran back to her desk and got on the phone. It turned out she had an uncle that worked at the Pentagon. She couldn't watch anymore after that. She didn't want to see the pictures of the Pentagon not knowing if her uncle was alive or dead. She finally found out that he was ok, stationed in another part of the building. It was just unbelievable to watch and try and realize the magnitude of what was happening. 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 story4664.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. 207.172.33.162 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: Leaving Las Vegas with a fever and two day deadline to get to Seattle we pulled out onto the strip tired, disgruntled and ready to be home. Nate drove and when the cell phone rang I answered it. "Tristan, did you see what happened" It was an old friend Chloe. "Tristan call your parents, call them quickly." My stomach dropped so quickly, the panicky unease at someone calling out of the blue and urgently ordering you to call your parents set in immediately. "Chloe, what are you talking about?" "Their bombing New York, and D.C. Tristan, call your parents and find out if they're all right." She sounded panicked My hands started shaking and I felt like crying but I didn't want to in front of my friend, because there were things I needed to do now, because I was too shocked. "Who's bombing New York?" "I don't know, nobody does. Just call your parents." I think that was the moment when I realized maybe everything isn't going to be alright, things can so disrupt the natural order of the universe, that the mortality of your loved ones isn't guarenteed. Picturing my parents under rebel surrounded by a wasteland that used to be hometown was too horrific and those images were enough to nauseate me. I hung up the phone and shaking all over told Nate what Chloe had said. He just looked at me blankly and turned on the radio while I tried to call the home to Arlington only to get busy signal after busy signal. By now the anxiety was massive, for christs sakes the phones weren't working, all I could think was "my home is being bombed, the infrastructure isn't working..." I felt so close breakdown, so firmly and strongly that something was wrong, that earth had shifted and shadow had fallen over it. That feeling hasn't lifted even yet more than a year after the attack. 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 story8441.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 129.174.27.204 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: Jonathan Segal September 13, 2001 jsegal@panix.com One View of Many? The First Plane The Second Plane The First Collapse The Second Collapse Communications Getting Around Hoboken, NJ The Following Day Moving Forward It has been a little more than 48 hours since the attacks began on the World Trade Center and I?m finally able to sit down and attempt to write out what I experienced that morning in the city. My hands continue to shake and have been on and off for the past two days. I?m experiencing a wide range of rolling emotions which seem to change from hour to hour. I walk around my house and without warning will suddenly break down in tears and shakes. I live in Montvale, New Jersey, about an hour and a half commute to my office at 100 Broadway in lower Manhattan. I take the train daily into Hoboken Terminal and then the ferry to the World Financial Center. Occasionally, I will take the PATH train into the World Trade Center basement but unless I have early meetings or if it?s raining, I stick to the ferry. It?s the most beautiful way to come into the city. The twin towers ahead, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to the right, mid-town skyscrapers on the left? I had arrived at Hoboken Terminal at around 8:20 or so, normal as far as my morning schedule goes. It was a gorgeous morning without a cloud in the sky and I spent the 15 minute ferry ride speaking to a friend who I bumped into on the boat. When we arrived at the World Financial Center, I spent an additional couple minutes talking with him before making my way up Liberty Street and across West Street around 8:45. The First Plane I had just crossed over West Street, a large 6 lane highway running the length of Manhattan and I was on the south side of Liberty Street walking up the sidewalk that sits across the road from the twin towers. Even now, it is the sound of the crash which I?m unable to remove from my mind. A high-pitched jet scream turned me around and I looked upward at the north tower. An explosion seemed to rip through the south side of the building and I have a clear picture of a large piece of metal flying down towards me and the street. At that moment, I cannot remember seeing other people although there had to have been tons of them around. I have a number of freeze-framed images burned into my memory as I sprinted up the street zigzagging around falling fire, metal and concrete. There is a fire house on the corner of Liberty and Washington. It is a beautiful, old fire station with an arched brick doorway and I ran under that trying to get out from under the raining debris. The whole event at that point couldn?t have been longer than ten or fifteen seconds. I stood under that doorway and watched people running, falling and screaming away from the explosion. I waved two people into my covered area. Burning paper was everywhere and at my feet landed what looked like a bank statement from Chase Manhattan on fire. The road seemed to be absolutely destroyed and littered with burning debris. The firemen from the department began to run outside and look up at the towers. The second imprinted memory of that day was hearing one of them scream out ?Lets go boys?suit up?we got work to do!? I remember everything about the tone of that fireman?s voice and I will never forget it. One of them grabbed me and sat me down inside the fire station?s enclosed corner office on the street. He told me to just wait there and that I was going to be okay. The two people who had run under the doorway with me were also there and we held onto each other tightly. The firemen were in their trucks and on their way within a minute because when I looked up, all their vehicles were gone and they had closed the garage doors to the station. Those men were in the building with 2 minutes of the crash and I later realized that most, if not all, of them might not have made it out. A television in the office was on and it was about three or four minutes before the news broke in with video of the burning tower and stated that a plane had apparently crashed into the Trade Center. After about 10 or 15 minutes, I was able to regain some composure and decided to leave and head up to my office on Broadway. The fireman had closed the garage doors and there was some confusion as to how to get them open again. I don?t remember any other details about that including how they were finally opened. People lined the streets staring up at the flaming tower and I walked briskly towards Church Street with my head down, my body shaking. The Second Plane I had just crossed over Church Street and walked towards the concrete plaza where vendors sell food when the sound of a jet pierced the air again. I looked behind me and up again and saw an airplane rip into the side of the south tower. It felt as if I was directly below. Within a second or two, I experienced an amazing number of sensations. The first, and most horrific, was the realization that this wasn?t an accident and that someone was flying airplanes into these buildings. Throughout this entire event, that sensation was the absolute worst and continues to haunt me because there was potentially no safe place to be. The second sensation was the heat from the fireball halfway up the building. I stood frozen for a couple seconds and have imprinted flashes of people?s faces running past me in a panic. I watched fire rain down and could see bodies cart wheeling out of the holes in the side of the building along with fire and metal. It was just too much for me to handle. Some people were falling down on the ground and others were jumping over them running up the street and through the plaza towards Broadway. There was a great deal of screaming and panic at that time. I don?t remember running. I think I just walked quickly up onto Broadway and south towards my office building. The streets were filthy with paper and soot. When I made it to my building, the lobby was crowded with people who had run in to get off the streets. I can only remember seeing a co-worker who I immediately went to and embraced, falling down on the ground crying and shaking. The First Collapse I don?t remember taking the elevator upstairs to our offices which are on the 10th floor. I vaguely remember anything until I got to my desk where I sat down and tried to control myself. There were a number of people in my office but I think it was fairly quiet. After a half hour or so, we all went into our lunchroom to discuss the situation and I sat on a couch shaking and trying to maintain some composure although I doubt I was successful. We had taken a head count to determine who was there and who wasn?t and our CEO stated that we were advised to just stay put until further direction came from building management. Afterwards, I was able to telephone family members letting them know I was alright but I can?t remember any of that activity at all. At some point, there was a loud rumbling when the South tower began to collapse. From the vantage point in my office, I could see an enormous black tidal wave of material barreling towards the building and then it became absolutely black outside. Someone screamed that the tower had fallen and the dynamic of the situation changed once again becoming even more frightening. The PA system came on and advised everyone to evacuate the building immediately. People were running around grabbing t-shirts and towels to cover their faces with. The kitchen was filled with my colleagues attempting to soak these items with water and I did the same with a t-shirt. When I entered the emergency stairwell going down, it was filled with floating soot which had blasted in from the street ten floors down. It was slow going but somewhat orderly. About halfway down, we were told to change stairwells and I followed others through an office floor holding on tightly to my co-worker, Dorothy. Descending the staircases, the soot became thicker and people were coughing and covering their eyes. It seemed to take an eternity to get down before we spilled out onto the street and into the darkness and cloud of building rubble. It was extremely difficult to see anything. People were walking quickly away from WTC area. My hands still shook and Dorothy and I held onto one another following the crowd heading East and North towards the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked through a number of building corridors and plazas where people were collapsed, covered in dust vomiting and coughing. The Second Collapse We had arrived near the base of the Brooklyn Bridge and were moving towards the onramp with a crowd of people when the 2nd Trade Center came down. Looking back, I could see another enormous tidal wave of dirt snaking through the other buildings in the area. Shortly thereafter, people began running back from the bridge screaming that they were bombing the bridges. Oddly, I didn?t feel any more terror at that point, most likely because I was maxed out. Dorothy and I just continued to head north, through Chinatown and finally into the East Village. We had been separated from the rest of our office workers. I have a friend who lives in the village and we made it to his apartment but no one was there. Along the way, some shops had set radios and televisions and they were crowded with people straining to see the carnage. In Chinatown, people were selling fish along the streets as if it was just another day. I shook at those images. We then walked up to 10th Street where a friend of Dorothys? lived. He was not home but his girlfriend was and allowed us and two other people from the street up into the building to sit down, wash up and make phone calls. We all sat there hypnotized by the images on the television. Communications Throughout this entire experience, my cell phone was not working yet I saw a ton of other people having no trouble at all. I believe someone said that my SprintPCS cellular service would be affected because their antenna sits atop the north tower of the WTC. What was working, however, was my BlackBerry handheld and I was in non-stop communication with my wife, my father, my mother and friends via email. A sampling of emails I both sent and received are below: 10:19 a.m. To: Dad Call Kozue [my wife] and tell her I?m fine. We evacuated my office and I?m walking somewhere. War zone. 10:46 a.m. From: Kozue To: Jon Jon?I am home trying to call you?tell me how I can get you?I will pick you up?please come home?I love you 10:51 a.m. To: Kozue Can?t come home and you can?t drive here. All tunnels and bridges closed. I?m ok. Will call you when I can 10:57 a.m. To: Dad Walking now. No subways and no trains. Chaotic but calming down a bit. Huge billows of smoke coming from what?s left of the WTC. Horrific. The BlackBerry was the most unusual of lifelines. Just knowing that relative peace existed in other places was soothing although my hands continued to shake. In the middle of all this, I received some SPAM mail entitled ?Are you sure your website is healthy?? As angry as I get when I receive unwanted email, this one brought it to new levels. I eventually ended up walking to my friend?s house on 50th street by the United Nations building. The streets were packed and I walked by a number of hospitals and lines of people who I had assumed were student doctors volunteering to help. Throughout this trek, the sounds of fighter jets filled the sky and my heart raced as I kept reliving the sounds of the morning. I sobbed a number of times behind my sunglasses during this walk. Traffic was at a complete standstill on first avenue yet emergency services had cleared a lane for ambulances and other authorized vehicles. From my perspective, the city?s reaction was immediate and incredible. All taxis suddenly disappeared from view and police officers seemed to all by in sync as to how to handle the situation. I have to admit that it made me feel much better to see some sort of organization within the midst of chaos. I arrived at my friend?s apartment and spent hours sitting on his sofa watching television and figuring out how I was going to get home. No car services were running out of the city but the NJ Transit and subway websites were giving updates on the status of transportation. Those organizations also were doing a good job updating their websites but due to overall internet traffic, the sites were slow. Getting Around Upon finally learning that subways were up and running in some areas and the PATH was operating back to Hoboken, I left my friend?s house around 5 p.m. and headed for Jersey. My feet and legs were killing me. I had walked probably 80 blocks at that point and my dress shoes didn?t help. Subways were extremely unusual at what would normally be rush hour. In my continuing confusion, I took the F train the wrong way towards Queens rather than downtown. The mood on the trains was solemn and quiet but the conversations I overheard all centered around the tragedy. When I finally made it to 14th Street, I learned that PATH trains were not running but ferries were transporting passengers at some pier on 48th street over to Jersey. I ran into a man named Lou who was also trying to get to Hoboken so we walked on together to the West side and up north looking for these boats. Lou?s sister worked in the South tower of the WTC but had escaped safely before the collapse. I don?t remember what we discussed but he had seen the crashes from his office building on 34th street and had immediately gone to a church to pray. There was a mile long convoy of ambulances and emergency vehicles parked at Chelsea Piers on the West Side Highway. It was an incredible sight. Throughout this entire walk, I was able to view the newly changed skyline at the bottom of the city and it was a breathtaking view of emptiness and smoke. We hopped onto a tug boat which was transporting people over to Weehawken, NJ where I was told shuttle buses would bring me to Hoboken. The boat trip over was quiet. Everyone stood and stared southward as the sun set. Some people were crying but most just stood with their mouths open, hands on their head. Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken?s bus terminal had been turned into somewhat of a makeshift emergency center. They gave me free sandwiches and water which was welcome after eating nothing all day. After being around so many people throughout the course of the day, I just wanted to sit down alone with a view of southern Manhattan and eat my food and try to think through what I had experienced. Most of Hoboken terminal was taped off but I jumped a gate and walked to the edge of the Hudson River and was able to experience a single moment of solitude before a police officer came over and screamed at me at the top of his lungs for ignoring the gates. I ignored him as well and walked back to the terminal seeing that my train was supposed to leave at 10:40 p.m., the last one of the evening. It was about 9 p.m. at that point. My BlackBerry had stopped receiving emails during the afternoon and I assumed it was because they cut power to my office building. My cell phone only seemed to work one out of 15 calls and even then, I would be cut off after a couple seconds of connectivity. I had also assumed that the last train of the evening would be filled with people but it was empty. I arrived at Montvale station and was the only person who got off. My last visual of the day was seeing about nine cars still in the parking lot, unusual at that time of the evening and although I realized that people were having difficulty leaving Manhattan, this final scene broke me down again and I cried as I made my way to my car. It seemed to be closing in on the end of a day which was anything but normal. My wife and I embraced for a while after I returned home and I picked up both my sleeping children and just held them for a moment. My daughter, Kaia, who is now 4 ? knew something had happened earlier in the day, most likely from seeing my wife?s reaction to the events unfold on the television. When I had spoken to her on the phone earlier, she continually asked me what had happened and I could only tell her that buildings were falling down near my office. Holding their sleeping bodies when I came home was the cork in the bottle of my day. After showering and washing the cement dust from my hair, I climbed into my bed and was met with more horrifying realizations as I relived the day over and over again in my mind. Although completely exhausted, it took me more than three hours to fall asleep, mostly because I couldn?t stop shaking. The Following Day Wednesday, September 12th was, in some ways, more difficult than Tuesday. I was receiving telephone calls non-stop, seeing new images on the television and in the newspaper?it was difficult to escape but I felt that I needed to expose myself to it so I could get past it. I would be standing in my kitchen or walking in the front yard and just suddenly break down in tears at the memory of the preceding day. At some point, I telephoned a help line that had been listed in the paper that morning. I spoke to a woman named Katy who told me that what I was experiencing was normal. She said that I was suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome and I should be aware of that. She recommended that I try to return to ?normal activities? and when I informed her that ?normal activities? meant being back in Wall St. right now, she recommended that I just try to relax. The help line was definitely a nice resource to have if only having someone reinforce that what I was going through was not unusual. Moving Forward On Tuesday night while at Hoboken terminal, I learned my brother?s wife was going into labor. I prayed that the baby wait until Wednesday before being born because I didn?t want this day to be this child?s birthday. That?s what he did. Scott Parker Segal was born on Wednesday and, to me, represents life, growth and recovery. My hands shook as I penned the first half of this story but I feel better now than at any other time over the past two days after writing this out. My mind includes a slideshow of snapshots which will be etched there forever: - A large piece of metal raining down above me from the impact of the first plane on WTC 1. - The Chase-Manhattan bank statement on fire at my feet - The heat and sight of the fireball from the second plane as it ripped into WTC 2 - Bodies cartwheeling out of the holes in the WTC - Random faces sprinting past me in horror after the second plane hit - Dust filled stairwells escaping from my office building - People running back from the Brooklyn Bridge screaming - Fish in Chinatown Obviously, there are thousands of people whose experiences were significantly worse than mine and I can't begin to imagine them nor do I want my experience to be compared to theirs in any way. The destruction of my office neighborhood on the television only reinforces the disturbing memories I have. I see my walking path. I see the Trinity Deli where I buy my morning breakfast. In fact, I saw Steve from the deli covered in dust while walking towards the Brooklyn Bridge. He looked completely broken and I doubt there is anything left of his store. The levels of loss people are going through now are indescribable and in the greater scheme of things, my escape from injury should make my story less important although at this time, I have difficulty thinking like that. For a split-second, I felt absolutely and completely alone and helpless during some of those events. It's a feeling that I would never wish upon anyone in the world. Much of the personal loss I feel actually is directed towards the firefighters who I interacted with, albeit briefly, in those minutes before 9 a.m.. I would walk by them every single morning and see them sitting on the bumpers of their trucks, drinking coffee and laughing. They moved at incredible speeds to GO INTO what everyone else was running from. I simply don't know that kind of courage. Jonathan Segal September 13, 2001 jsegal@panix.com 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 story2936.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. 24.228.77.23 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in New York City...my aunt and uncle lived in Battery Park City and I was babysitting my cousin, who's mom was on her first day back from maternity leave. She worked in the World Trade Center...so did her husband. I was up bright and early with my cousin and my video camera, taking cute shots of her, when around 8 o'clock I decided (as an out-of-towner) that I wanted a New York Bagel. So I bundled up my cousin, dressed her in adorable clothes, and we set off for the bagel. I had gotten a bagel, eaten it, and was holding my cousin in one arm and my camera in the other. By that time it was around 8:40. I was making a film for my cousin about her family and home so when she got older I could show it to her, it would be an embarrasing thing that her parents could show when she brought boyfriends home. We were about a block from the Twin Towers and I heard the oddest sound, but I couldn't place it. I swept the camera up to get a shot of the Towers, and filmed as the first plane hit. I stood there, absolutely stunned with the rest of Lower Manhattan. Once the second plane hit, I knew it was bad, I knew it was bad and we had to get out of there. Smoke just billowed out of the Towers and all I could think of was that I had to get my cousin to a safe place. So, as a visitor, I didn't know where to go. I saw people running down the street, and i dropped my camera, so it was hanging around my neck, and I tried to shield my cousin with my arms. A man, who I never saw again, grabbed my shoulders and pointed down the road, screaming at me to go. Then he turned and when towards the flaming Towers. My cousin was crying at that point. I couldn't. I was too shocked. It was the first time I'd ever been in New York. So we finally got far away from the Towers, although we could still see them burning. I could see people jumpoing from the towers. At that point it hit me, my aunt and uncle were in those buildings. I kept going with my cousin, but not running anymore...just a dazed walk. We were up at Canal Street, and we watched the Towers fall. People around me were screaming, crying, some just stood there in disbelief. We were huddled around a car, someone had turned on the radio and we were listening to the news. I had never know that a city with a reputation of being so loud, could be so quiet. That night, my father, an ironworker from Boston, arrived. I was stuck up in some Presbytarian Church a little ways north of Canal Street. A woman let me use her cell phone to call him and tell him where I was. But it didn't work and it finally hit us. The cell phone tower was on top of the World Trade Center. And there was no more World Trade Center. Finally, I got through to my Dad on a phone, and told him where I was. Him and a bunch of his Ironworker buddies showed up around six o'clock. He gave me a huge hug, gave me a bottle of water, and then with the rest of the guys, went down to what was left of the towers, still smoking. I pretty much just sat in the church. My aunt and uncle's house was destroyed, and so was our family. My dad had brought down two pieces of paper and had given them to me before he went down to the WTC site. They had pictures and statistics of my aunt and uncle, pleading for anyone who'd seen them to contact us. It was so real, and I finally cried. I was with a bunch of other family members at the wall...and put up my papers in a blank space. I stared at my aunt and uncle's faces, both smiling and happy, and knew that nothing would ever be the same. I prayed so hard in my heart that they were still alive, but then I looked into my cousin's eyes and knew that a part of her had died with them...only three months old, and an orphan. I held her close and cried. A random woman, who I'd never met put her arms around me and we cried together. Her husband wrapped both of us in his arms and we just lost it. It was an awful, awful day. 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 story9110.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. 2003-02-28 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.40 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 left school that day, not knowing anything. When I was in the counselor's office to get my schedule change, I saw it on the news. I was shocked at what was going on. I could not believe my eyes. I had heard about a crash in NYC that morning from my mom, but I did not think it was a big deal, until I saw it on TV. Later on that day, when I came home, I watched the news again to see what has gone on while I was at school. I saw that two planes crashed into The Twin Towers and one crashed into Pennsylvania. I was even more shocked. THis was unbelieveable!! 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 story8280.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.79.71.124 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: At the time I was at my high school, Walnut Ridge HS, in the eleventth grade.I was in my Chemistry class when the principal camr over the speaker announcing that two american planes going to D.C. had been hijacked. He then told us all to pray for the well-being of evaryone on board. I didn't realixe how serious it was until I got to fifth period, spanish class, that the teacher Ms. Meier had the t.v. on. At first we thought it was a mivie, but when we seen that the headlines said "attack on WTC" that we realized something wasn't right. The school was quiter than usual. Everyone looked around in fear. Their were remarks that our President was aboard his airplane hiding so that only made matters worse. That day will go down in history and I will never forget how many innocent poeple we lost that day! 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 story10337.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.213.29.242 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: DURING 9/11 LAST YEAR, I WAS AN EIGHTH GRADER AT BJHS. I WAS IN P.E. WHEN ONE OF MY CLASSMATES CAME IN TELLING PEOPLE THAT THE WORLD TRADE CENTERS HAD BEEN ATTACKED. I THOUGHT HE WAS LYING, SO I WENT TO MR. HOWARDS ROOM ONLY TO SEE A PICTURE OF THE TWO PLANES FLYING INTO THE TWIN TOWERS, AND THEN A PLANE GOING INTO THE PENTAGON. WHILE THIS WAS HAPPENING I WAS IN TOTAL SHOCK AND DISBELIEF. SOON AFTERWARD ANOTHER PLANE CRASHED AT PENNSYLVANIA, BUT HADN'T KILLED ANYONE, EXCEPT FOR THOSE THAT WERE ON THE PLANE.THAT NIGHT WHEN PRESIDENT BUSH ADDRESSED THE NATION, I FELT OVERCOME WITH PRIDE FOR OUR COUNTRY. I STILL HAVE THAT PRIDE TODAY. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6113.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. 156.63.116.99 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 started out just like and other day. In the morning I got ready for school and I rode the bus. I suffered my way through math first period, even thought I had just gotten an A on a test. When class let out, I went to break to talk with friends and do my homework for my next class, computer science. I finished my homework and went to class. We were working on our projects when a teacher from across the hall came into our class to tell us some news. The news of course was that a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers. Our class did not have a television in it, so my teacher went to the class next door to tell her. She had a television in her class so our teacher let us watch the news unfold in her room. Thirty minutes after the second plane hit, our teacher made us go back to our class. I was lucky because I could still see the news through a window in our room. After what felt like a couple of hours, the towers fell. Someone in my class said that his cousin worked in a vending machine on the upper floors of the south tower. That??s when I realized how much of a crisis this was. At first before the towers fell, I thought it was just another accidental plane crash, but when the towers fell, I realized that this was more than just an accident. When the plane hit the pentagon, I started feeling afraid, that an attack would strike even closer to where we were. I was also afraid for my dad who works in the HUD building in DC. If the terrorists attacked other buildings, my dad would be in real danger. The day after the attack we had a day off. I wanted to have fun and do stuff on my day off but I felt guilty. That??s also the day I learned that my uncles cousin and his wife had died. I didn??t know them at all, and they were blood relatives at all, but being related to someone who died had an affect on me. They died on the plane that hit the pentagon. As I look back on what happened, I wonder how a group of people could hate this country so much that they sacrificed their lives and the lives of thousands of others. 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 story8111.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. 2002-09-24 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.188.17.4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at my bookkeeping job at Perkins Family Restaurant when I heard the first news of the attacks from a Christian radio station - KJLY-FM - in Blue Earth, Minnesota just before 8:00 A.M. Several minutes later I heard the news of the second plane hitting the World Trade Center. I remember calling my aunt at home in Sheffield, Iowa and distinctly asking her, "Do you have your TV turned on?" When she said no I said, "Turn it on right away - two airplanes have hit both towers of the World Trade Center in New York." She got off the phone while I switched the radio back to National Public Radio to try and get more details. I spread the news of the attack to my coworkers. Half an hour later came the news of the Pentagon attacks. All this while we were scrambling like mad trying to get the TV in our breakroom to work. For some reason we couldn't get it to work properly as it was programmed funny. As our general manager was trying to remedy this, a co-worker dashed home to get a TV he had that we eventually set up in the front lobby for customers to watch. As this was happening the news of the first tower collapse came. When our G.M. finally got the breakroom TV to work, the second tower had just collapsed. All of us watched in stunned silence the view from lower Manhattan of the giant smoke and dust columns rising from where the Twin Towers once stood. I shall never forget the weather that day either as it was so much like the weather in New York City - a crystal clear blue sky, not a cloud in the air, and pleasantly warm. 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 story841.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. 2002-06-28 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 208.50.106.159 Annotation Annotations to this item. 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: Well on 9/11/01 I was at work I was standing in front of my machinery talking to the onwer of the factory when this guy came in the factory and told us that the World Trade Centers were hit by two planes and we said that it was impossible.So the guy said no guys it is the truth and we finally did belieive him,the onwer and I were very devestated,tears rolling down our face, so need less to say we shut the factory down for 2 weeks. So on the night of 9/11/01 I went to the onwers house for dinner and all that his family and my family did was just watch the tv for whatever came on about the terrorist attacks on the US. My family and his family would love to send our best regards and wishes to the loved ones of the WTC. 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 story9160.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. 2003-03-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.231.148.183 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I listened as my co-worker's radio broadcast the first tower hit, then shortly, the second tower. Then, the radio announcer broadcast that the Pentagon was hit. Instantly, I thought that we were at war and our lives changed permanently. I left the building and drove home to watch any further news on the television. Luckily, nothing else happened. The graphic video images came next, and repeatedly were re-run detailing the horrid vision of planes impacting buildings. It was four months earlier when I sat in front of the glass atrium listening to Pete Seeger sing "If I had a hammer" with his grandson Tao-Rodriguez Seeger, and now, just images of a twisted smoltering hell. The shock was great. Ten days later, I attended the peace vigil at Washington Square and at Union Square, and my nostrils were alerted by the stench of flesh mixed with burned oil and melted steel that drifted on the autumn wind as I rounded the street corners. The event of 9/11 was like a technological volcano where the world of aeronautics and architecture collided as a result of sheer madness. People in the city still moved about, going their own ways, living their lives, but the horror of the recent past hung over us like a dark invisible shroud. 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 story8708.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. 2002-12-03 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.33.141.42 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 woke up that beautiful morning and got ready for another ultrasound. I was 7 1/2 months pregnant with my twins. My husband & I got in the truck and left. We put the radio on and heard the DJ's speaking of a plane that hit the Trade Towers. At first we didn't believe it. But than we had to drive to a point in our town that we were able to look rite over to NY and my oh my what we heard on the radio was true. All we saw were plumes of smoke flowing out. What was supposed to be a wonderful day for me turned out to be the worst. Lives of inocent people were lost. Thinking to myself who on EARTH could do this. How could they be so heartless?? WHY WHY WHY? I did get to the ultrasound a few min late and view my babies. I couldn't believe what i saw on the way home. THE TOWERS WERE GONE....... My husbad is a volunter firemen in the town we live in. We live 10 miles from the city. His Dept was asked to come over to NY and assist them. He went. I was very scared. As much as i wanted him to go i felt a bit selfish i wanted him to stay with me. But it was his duty to go and help those that were in need. He came home for 4 hours and than was at the site for 8. Broke my heart to see him leave. But in a sense made me happy that he was helping. Still to this day can't believe that it has happend and that the Towers are really gone. May god look over all the family's affected by this. Amy 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 story1751.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. 2002-09-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 141.150.65.116 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11,2001 On September 11, I was getting ready to go to an oretation at the hill side school. My mom and I were getting dressed when my lawyer, Walter, a friend of the family called. I answered the phone as usual and said "wud up". He told me to turn on the tv.When I did; the second plan hit the twin towers in New York City.I yelled for my mom to come in the room. When she came in , we both stood watching the tv.We were astonished, hurt,confused, and most of scared for our family, and friends. After watching tv, we finished getting dressed and went out to lunch. My mom and I went to lunch at a nice resterront called joe's. The only thing that made me and my mom safe was that we were together. The only thing that has changed in my life since the terroist attack. I have lerned to appreciate things more, and try not to take thing for granted. The people that donated thier lief. Should be reconized as heroek people. Because its a gate thing to help people in need of help in any askpect of life. So I think that sould be remembered in September 11,2001 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8510.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-18 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.60.58.139 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: When the first plane hit, I was in school on a normal day, not knowing anything that had happened. Likewise for the second plane. It was not until i got on the bus to go home that I heard rumors of what had happened, everything from the Chinese attacking the White House to the the unfamiliar, yet known name of Osama Bin Laden. It wasn't until I got home that I finally turned on the T.V. So, that was when I saw footage of what happened and witnessed history. On that day I remember going to my mother's friend Pat's house and doing my homework there. We went there,my sister an I, because my mom wasn't getting home until later on in the day and we didnt want to be alone. At Pat's house we watched the news to get all of the late breaking stories and information about the events. It had affected my life for the fisrt month or so, but now I don't think of it as much as I had then. After the initial shock wore off, my life went back to the way it was before. No one i knew died in the attacks, so it didn't hit me as hard as it hit some others. 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 story2121.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. 2002-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.96.19.198 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: I just woke up and was getting ready for school. AS always i turned on the tv, i thought it was a movie.. the frist plane hit BANG..the tears come down. I couldnt belive it then the second on hit i oculdnt even stand! i watch intill the second tower fell and till i had no more tears! I kept the tv on as i got my self in order i left a note to my mom and dad explaning what had happend adn telling them to turn on hte tv. i didnt wnat to wake them, i knew that this day would be a nightmare! I went to school wiht my radio playing so i could hear what was happening, i go tot school and saw some of friends and just couldnt take it i cryed then they ask what had happend!! I couldnt belive it they didnt know now in the morning i dont turn on the tv 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 story8324.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.69.255.202 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 Tuesday, September 11, 2001 I went to high school just like any other day. The bell rang, ending third period, and i entered into the hallway with friends. Immediately I noticed two girls crying and hugging each other but didn't think much about it. I went to art class and began my project. A friend of mine ran in and told the whole class that America had been attacked but that was all he knew. For the rest of the day my teachers let the students watch the attacks on tv. I watched in horror through each period but truely didnt understand the complexity of the events. It wasn't until after school when my mom came home that i knew something was really wrong. While watching the news, she began to cry (something I have seen her do only twice in my fifteen years). I asked her why she was crying and she hugged me and told me that from now on, the world would be diffent. At the end of the day I layed in bed and prayed for all of the heros lost 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 story7552.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. 2002-09-15 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: I remember that tuesday morning well, coming home from a restaurant, after getting off work, at about 3am. I stayed up about half hour or so, talking to my mother, who was awake at the time. I then went to bed. Before I knew it, my brother was pounding on my door, telling me a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. I quickly ran into the livingroom and was watching ABC News live coverage. They showed the north tower on fire, and were talking to a lady on the telephone who witnessed the plane hit. Then I remember that incredible moment when she yelled out, "oh my God! Another plane just hit the south tower!" Then I knew we were under attack. It was so incredible, and almost like a bad dream, because I had been asleep just over an hour beforehand. Then the Pentagon was attacked, and I was downright spooked, and rightly so. Since Las Vegas is such a popular tourist attraction, I was thinking, "Are we next to get hit?" I stayed home all day, even playing hooky from work, just to witness the disbelief of what happened that day. I had one vcr recording one channel in my mother's room, and another vcr recording another channel in the livingroom. I momentarily went out to a store, just to buy more video tapes, to keep recording. I remember at midnight, running out to one of the casinos, to get the morning paper. Near a bar at the casino, i continued to watch the latest news coverage of the whole disaster on a television, as were many other people. We were all strangers, gathered as one, to witness the most heinous mass murder spree in the history of the country, and perhaps the world. It is a day i will never, ever forget. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story10646.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-06-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 69.34.102.4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: my prayers goes out to all the familys and love one and pray that god will help us 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 story4058.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: A whole year already... Sometimes it shocks me still. I will vividly remember the day the towers fell and the whole world looked on in shock and grief. I remember the worry for the future ecspecially as I was just a few short days from giving brith to our second daughter. Fear of war, bombs and loss of lilfe when I had a great new life just waiting to give the world - HOPE. I listened as people spoke of war and the use of nuclear methods to anialte those responsible. I remeber thinking that innocence always seems to suffer in situations like this but feared the hostility I heard. I remeber thinking.. can we just stop and grieve and think a little about the best retaliation vs. total retallation from which no possible end except TOTAL could come. My husband, brother and other good friends were stranded in Vegas with so many other travelers. I wondered who might be next and begged him not to fly. By Gods grace they all got back safely. I think of the the future still and will remember a time when the towers stood and I lived in NY. It will be something I can always share with my girls and pray that they can help make this crazy world a better place. I wish the very best for all those who have lost so much and given of themselves so that my family still has a great future - for those of you THANK YOU so much! Gail Scott & Family (Scotty, Sara & Hanna) 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 story2953.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. 208.44.118.161 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: 9-11 Where were you? Often we are asked, ?Where were you when ? Pearl Harbor was attacked ? Kennedy was shot ? Challenger exploded ? Princess Diana?s tragic accident ? After that day we will now be asked, ?Where were you on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the day America was attacked ?? The activities and actions of that day will be permanently and vividly etched in each mind while the details of other days gradually fade in comparison. The stories will vary, each one an individual snapshot of the hours, minutes, and seconds of that day, but one central fact will remain, that day 9-11-01, America, even this entire planet, was changed forever. America has joined the rest of the world in the realization that yes, it can indeed happen here. My husband, Charles, and I praise the Lord for His sustaining mercies while we were in Washington, DC for a military conference he was attending. I especially am grateful for God?s mercy and guidance during those days. As a young girl growing up in upstate New York, New York City was an extraordinarily fascinating place for me. Our family lived in Finger Lakes area of New York about eight hours away by auto travel. Our mother was born in New York City and grew up there. It is still home to her four sisters and one brother and so over the years we visited every summer, staying for at least one week. During those very special days our aunts and uncles took us to wonderful places, like nothing we had ever seen. The wonders of that parenthesis in time in the midst of summer served to fill the remainder of weeks of the year with the awe of places most of our friends had only read about- places like the Statue of Liberty- in those days one could actually walk into the arm and climb the inner circumference of the torch. The Empire State Building, then the tallest in the world, held the grandest view of the entire city. Standing at the top the wind that swept up the canyons of the city danced demandingly at the edge. To peer over the edge meant to remove one?s hat or lose it. So mighty was the wind that it could lift your contact lenses off your eye if you turned your head just so. Yet the view was so captivating, the closest thing to being a bird. The ride in the elevator was so gravity defying that the pit of your stomach had to catch up to the rest of your body. And so the visits went, Madison Square Garden [the old one] to see Barnum and Bailey Circus. Grand Central Station with trains coming and going to all parts of the country. The ride on the Staten Island Ferry to see Aunt Jeanette. And shopping, oh the shopping with Aunt Ann who knew all the best places. Later after graduating high school, New York City would be my home for four years as I attended Hunter College on 57th street between Lexington and Park Avenues. For two years I lived with Aunt Ann and my grandmother on 401 East 79th Street at the corner of First Avenue. The final two years of college we were housed in the Metropolitan Hospital?s nurses dormitory on 99th Street and First Avenue in Harlem. During all four years we took college courses as well as affiliated with the hospital so as a result I got to know Manhattan very well as I traversed the distance between the two. The wonder of New York City never left me even though eventually I left it to return home. The last time that I lived in New York City was in 1974 when I stayed with my girlfriend Joyce in Staten Island before I entered the U. S. Navy. The next time that I would see New York it would be brief visit in 1997. My husband and I drove through New York on the way to see mother?s family prior to going to upstate New York for mother?s funeral. We briefly drove through New York on the return trip. So in 2001 when our 40th high school reunion was planned for August 30th in upstate New York [Seneca Falls] it was an opportunity to show Charles the New York state that I had grown up with. The date we had to be in Seneca Falls was in the middle of the time that we could be gone, so we had a few days on each side of the reunion. There were a variety of ways we could drive up from southern Virginia but as the days grew closer it was decided to visit West Point at the head of the Hudson River that runs past Manhattan. As we approached New York City on the New Jersey Turnpike I was overwhelmed with the need to see it. We had not planned it ahead of time but as we saw the exit for Liberty Island Park we took it. We parked and walked to the water?s edge. From there I could see the Statue of Liberty as it stood just as it had so many years ago when I was a young girl walking around inside of it. Off to the left was the foot of Manhattan. The twin towers of the World Trade Center stood like stalwart columns tall against the horizon that I have known my entire life. Who could have imagined that Saturday August 25th as I lifted my video camera and then my still camera to capture the moments that I would never be able to take these same pictures again. Who could have conceived that in 17 days the landscape of New York would be changed forever as would be the landscape of our hearts as a nation. I am so glad we visited that day. The pictures of the World Trade Center from Liberty Park are stunning, especially the one with the statue in the foreground of the soldier carrying his wounded buddy. How unknowingly prophetic. Fast forward to Sept 2001. Washington D.C. had always seemed secure for me, after all the President of the United States lived there. It was home for me from 1982-1986 when I was stationed at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Again, it was home during 1995-1998 when my husband, Charles, and I lived in nearby Virginia and both worked in the heart of downtown D.C. not far from the White House. As a nurse and Quality Assurance professional I had helped to write and carry out scenarios for disaster preparedness- scenarios that we fabricated while not believing they could actually become reality. The years spent in D.C. were busy ones dedicated to our Navy commitments. So when Charles was to selected to attend the CAPSTONE course in D.C. at Walter Reed September 10-14 it seemed a great opportunity for me to go with him and take the time to see some of the historical sites that I had not visited before as well as see some familiar ones that I enjoy seeing from time to time. This week was to be an opportunity for me to explore places that I had either had not had the opportunity to see in the past or some special places that I wanted to visit again. It was a time that I dedicated to the Lord for Him to lead me to do and be wherever He wanted me to be -- to be used as He saw fit. On Monday September 10th I took the Walter Reed Hospital shuttle bus to the Tacoma metro station and from there got off at the Reagan World Trade Center. The metro empties into a lovely tree lined courtyard in the midst of this magnificent building. It was the first time I had seen it since it was finished. This day I spent seeing some of the Smithsonian museums. One art gallery had a traveling display on the history of the piano which was fascinating. It even included a rhinestone studded piano belonging to Liberace. This first day was also an opportunity to buy an all day metro rail pass that I could use for the day when I would do the most traveling from location to location. I planned that for either Tuesday or Wednesday for going to the Pentagon and Arlington Cemetery. So on Monday evening I was deciding between the Pentagon/Arlington or the White House. On Tuesday morning I felt led to choose the White House. In the copy of the letter to David to follow which was written on Wednesday September 12th I share more of that planning process and the choices that I felt led to make. The emotional innocence of Tuesday, 9-11, evaporated slowly for me that day. Perhaps because without a cell phone or a television information was slow in coming and it was coming from people surrounding me who were hearing it third hand and also not seeing it. For even later who could fathom what it would look like. If seeing in on TV is not the same as seeing it in person, then hearing it is not the same as seeing it. I did not feel afraid. On Tuesday I was standing in line waiting to go into the White House from 8:30 AM until 9:40 when all of a sudden Secret Service agents started running past our line of people outside on the sidewalk next to the White House screaming for us to leave, to clear the area, to MOVE, MOVE, MOVE. With no explanation and no knowledge of what was happening in New York we were astonished to be told so forcefully to leave. It would not be until Wednesday afternoon that we would learn that the White House may have been the intended target of the attack instead of the Pentagon. Had that been the case I am certain I would have been standing before my Saviour instead of seated now at this computer. For His grace and mercy I am indeed thankful, all the while knowing that although the area I was in was spared, so many others have suffered great loss and many families remain in uncertainty concerning their loved one. On Thursday I returned to the White House and it was an opportunity to witness for the Lord. A chance to talk to staff in the White House about America's need to return to the righteousness that God desires us to demonstrate. All over the city I encountered roving reporters gathering news. As soon as they knew that I had been there first hand on Tuesday the camera man was instructed to begin taping while they asked questions. It was a marvelous opportunity to be a source of light and a testimony. One question was regarding my presence on Thursday after Tuesday's experience. The reporter wanted to know if I was afraid. When I replied that I was not afraid, it opened the door to tell why. The two of them listened as I shared that God was not surprised about Tuesday. That as far as I was concerned He already knew the number of my days and that nothing could happen to me that He had not already allowed to happen. That even if something happened to me that man would see as a tragic thing, God could even use that for good because I love Him and want to follow His purpose. 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 story6947.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. 205.188.209.38