187 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: Standing in my livingroom TV on and children getting ready for school. When I saw the smoke on the TV and had my son turn it up, this was just before the first tower fell. I couldn't believe my eyes. My heart sank, and I knew I was watching hundreds if not thousands die. Then the worst happened the tower fell. I cried for them all. How can someone, anyone do this to another human? Was the question that ran through my mind. To this day I have no answers to that question. Then even more tragity the second tower went down. More airliners were down more death more distruction. Evenso, among all of this was the heros and hope and the unity of this great nation. No amount of distruction can change that mear fact. We showed this world what this country is made of. The terrorist, thought we wouldn't even respond. Where they wrong or what? We will continue to respond until they get it. We will not be scared by these acts. We will come back stronger and more determand than ever. They under estimated us and our resolve. What a mistake! My heart and hope goes out to the families for the ones lost. Know that there deaths are not going to be without cost. God takes care of all things, in his time and way. 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 story3687.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. 198.81.17.173 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 has been 3 years 4 months and 8 days since Sept. 11, 2001. I had just came back from the Vets office very upset because my 9 year old Doberman female had a tumor on her and they were going to do surgery on her. I was afraid I was going to lose her. I came home to wait on them to call and tell me how she was and whether she was going to be ok. I had no more than walked in the door and the phone rang. It was my husband. He said "A plane hit one of the Towers and then other plane trying to see what happened hit the other one". I said "No we have been hit. They have hit the Towers OH MY GOD". I turned the TV on and started watching things unfold. I just sat there in shock. Thinking this can't be happening. My first thought was they are going to need blood. I called our hospital and I was told because I had just had surgery I couldn't give any blood. I was so upset I started to cry. Then my phone rang and my neighbor called she was crying and scared. Worrying about us being hit here in Indiana. I told her that are skies had never been safer. They were shutting down the airports and the military planes were in the air. I just sat for a long time and watched the news and what was going on. The longer the day went the madder I got at the people that had done this. I am still mad and angry about the loss of human lives that day. So much death and no real reason why other than someones hatred for the American people. No one should ever forget what happened that day on Sept. 11, 2001. The people that lost loved ones are still in my prays and always will be. It is a day to be remembered. 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 story11261.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. 2005-01-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.185.137.33 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 work for a law firm in NYC and was sitting talking with my lead attorney about her honeymoon when she got a call from her new husband telling her that a plan had hit the WTC. We ran to the balcony and from there could see flames coming from the direction of the towers. Someone asked what kind of plane had hit it and I remember someing responding that it had to have been a commercial plane - a smaller plane would not have created such enormous flames. We stood there in disbelief for some time. I ran back to my office to find my phone ringing and was told by a friend that it was a commercial jet and I ran back to relay this information. I made several calls to family and friends to let them know I was okay, but I was unable to get through to my husband. I knew he would be beside himself with and it would be several hours before we actually spoke. Eventually we all made our way down to the main conference room to watch NBC. I remember the utter silence. From the angle provided by the news coverage we couldn't see the second plane hit the tower, and I thought the explosion it caused was coming from the first tower. After a moment we realized what it really was. Throughout this, I remember being rather calm and thinking I would just get home and everything would be okay. But then the first tower fell, and this cold, black wave came over me and for the first time in my life I felt terror. I knew I had to get home. I had been in touch with a friend who was also in the city and decided to make my way to her and we would try to get home together. She worked around 42nd and Broadway and I started out down Madison. About two blocks from Grand Central I was suddenly swept up in a crowd of screaming, running people and was pushed back into an office building. "There's a bomb in Grand Central!" I remember thinking, "What the hell are we doing in a building? Get outside." I pushed my way out the door and continued down Madison, running against the tide, past police officers yelling Run! Move your feet! Get out of here! When I finally made it to my friends office I fell into her arms and broke in to tears. We spent the next several hours at her office (where they actually continued work and even held a staff meeting!) trying to get information on trains or ferry service back to NJ. We eventually set out for Penn Station around a little after 4:00 and were able to walk down the middle of Broadway, through Times Square which was completely deserted - no cars, very few people, just silence. It was a scene I will never forget. We finally got a train back to NJ to a friends house where we waited for our husbands to come get us. I finally arrived at my house at 11:30 that night. The one year anniversary is only three weeks away, but I feel as if it happened just this morning. As I pull out of Hoboken terminal and see the empty skyline that is just across the river I am reminded everday of how my life, our lives, will never be the same. 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 story1164.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.161.221.254 Annotation Annotations to this item. Struggle to get home Rumors WTC, attack NY:3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: LET ME START BY SAYING THAT IT'S NOT LIKE ME TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS IN ANY WAY, ESPECIALLY TO TOTAL STRANGERS. HOWEVER, I FEEL THAT IN A TIME LIKE THIS, ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE WORST TRAGEDY THAT I HAVE EVER WITNESSED IN MY SHORT 27 YEARS, AND CERTAINLY ONE THAT I WILL NEVER FORGET FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, I NEED TO SAY SOMETHING. MY FATHER AND I WERE WORKING ON THE MORNING OF THE ATTACK. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY, NO CLOUDS, NOT TOO HOT, JUST RIGHT. WE HAD THE RADIO PLAYING, IT'S EASIER TO WORK WITH A LITTLE MUSIC TO LISTEN TO. THEN THE MUSIC STOPS. THEN A VOICE COMES THROUGH THE SPEAKER AND SAYS THAT A PLANE HAS CRASHED INTO ONE OF THE TWIN TOWERS. LOOKING AT MY DAD IN DISBELIEF, I SAID, "DID YOU HEAR THAT"?? HE SAID NOTHING, ONLY NODDING HIS HEAD. AT FIRST WE THOUGHT IT MUST BE SOME KIND OF JOKE OR MOVIE ADVERTISEMENT. THEN, MORE NEWS OF THE SAME THING ON A DIFFERENT CHANNEL. THEN THE SECOND PLANE HIT!! THAT'S WHEN I KNEW THAT THIS WAS NO ACCIDENT. STRUGGLING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON, I STARTED TO FEEL THIS RAGE BUILDING INSIDE MY CHEST. I DESPERATELY WANTED TO KNOW WHO DID THIS, WHO COULD POSSIBLY DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS. I WANTED TO RIP SOMETHING APART, I WANTED TO RIP SOMEONE APART, WHOEVER DID THIS!! THE SADNESS DIDN'T SURFACE UNTIL WE GOT HOME, AND COULD SEE THE DESTRUCTION AND THE WOUNDED ON THE STREETS OF MANHATTEN. MY HEART FELT LIKE SOMEONE WAS SQUEEZING ALL THE LIFE OUT OF IT. I COULDN'T BREATHE. I WANTED TO RUSH TO NEW YORK, TO HELP IN SOME WAY. EVEN IF IT WAS JUST PUTTING MY ARM AROUND SOMEONE, ANYONE WHO NEEDED IT. I FELT SO USELESS, JUST SITTING THERE, WATCHING IT ALL ON TV. STARTED TO THINK ABOUT ALL THE CHILDREN, IN THE BUILDINGS, WHO NEVER GOT A CHANCE TO LIVE, NOT EVEN A LITTLE. ALL THE CHILDREN WHO HAD JUST LOST ONE OR BOTH OF THEIR PARENTS, BROTHERS, OR SISTERS. HOW WOULD THEY POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND ALL THIS. HOW COULD ANOTHER HUMAN BEING DO THIS?? IT MAY SOUND FUNNY, BUT I REMEMBER FEELING SUCH A SENCE OF PRIDE TO BE AN AMERICAN, I STILL FEEL THAT TODAY, AND I KNOW I WILL FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!! IF THERE IS A HEAVEN, AND I LIKE TO THINK THERE IS, I HOPE EVERYONE OF THE INNOCENT PEOPLE THAT DIED THAT DAY ARE UP THERE. MAYBE ONE DAY I WILL GET TO MEET ONE OF THOSE POOR CHILDREN IN HEAVEN. MAYBE THEN I WILL GET TO PUT MY ARM AROUND ONE OF THEM AND TELL THEM I'M SORRY, AND I WISH I COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING TO HELP. FINALLY, I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED, 10 FOLD. HOPEFULLY THAT CAN EASE SOME OF THE PAIN. IF WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN CAN OR HAS HELPED ANYONE WITH THEIR OWN FEELINGS, I AM GLAD!! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!!! MELVIN SHELTON JR. AMERICAN MADE! 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 story4597.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. 63.191.137.182 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was just like any other day in Warsaw, New York People going to work kids going to school. Until we all found out what happend. I was going to 2nd period and I remember my friend telling me that the pentagon has been hit. I didnt think much of it at the time, Until I got to my next class when they were passing flyers around saying Please close the doors and Lock them do not let the children out of there classes until the bell rings please clothes all windows and shades. We had no idea what was going on and alot of us started to freak out. Until we hard that the twin towers have been hit. I was so scared I didnt know what was going on We thought that the whole nation was under attack I thought the school was going to be attacked. I was so nervouse and shocked at the same time. I was so sick to my stomach. I just remember the kids being scared. The whole school under lock down. The rest of the day we didnt do any work and any class room that had a tv in it was watching it people would leave other classes and go to a room with a tv in it to see what was going on. I remember walking down the hall seeing a tv on and the towers being hit. I just stood there and watched it. When I came home I remember every channel had something to do with The towers being hit. I called my mom at work. I was so scared I had no idea what else was going to happen. I just remember sitting there watching the tv the rest of the day with my brother. I went for a walk with my friend and It was so weird to know what had happend. The next day at school we put up flags all around the school. We had a day where we remembered those every year we put up flags at our school and went into the aud. and remembered those. Now when I look back at what happend. I just want to cry. Now that I've seen the spot where it had happend You feel so weird standing there looking up at something that used to be there, Seeing ground zero was so weird to know that thousands have died there for something they didnt even do. I fear that something else could happen and I dont want anything else to happen I dont want a war. I hate those that have done this, I would like to know why, why did you have to do this? As a 15 year old at the time alot can go through your head. September 11, 2001 is a day I will never forget. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story10735.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. 2004-08-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.37.40.36 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 saw about this site on channel 5 news and knew it was something that I had to look into. My name is Rise' G and I am from NJ but now live in the city. On Sept 10 I was visiting my mother in NJ and it begun to rain, so I decided to spend the night with her instead of dealing with the rain. While sitting talking to my mother the rain stopped and her words, words that I will forever teasure was for me to go home that night. I had made my mine up to come on 9-11 in the morning because I had to work. After watching the towers come down I realize that I would have been coming through the WTC when the first plane hit. Since then I have rode the R train under the WTC and a great sadness come over me. I get sad each and everytime I think about not only because all of the lives that were lost but how my much I would miss my family and how my death would have not only killed my mother who is 83 but my children. My youngest son is in California in college and I tear up everytime I think about the destruction my death would have cause him. I am so sorry for all the deaths that came out of 9-11 and so thankful to my mother for sending me home. 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 story419.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-04-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.193.163 Annotation Annotations to this item. Premonitions/Coincidence/Fate Struggle to get home NY:3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Family Assistance Center for Flight 93 John D. Weaver September 11th began as just another day for most Americans. Things changed quickly, though, as a hideous terrorist plot began to unfold. I was in my office at Northampton County Mental Health that morning, helping several other staff members complete a physical office move that had begun the day before. We were positioning desks, file cabinets, and other pieces of office furniture. Someone got word that there had been a plane crash into the World Trade Center in NY City and my coworkers scrambled to get our TV set working to see the news. I simply keep moving furniture. Before too long the office was buzzing as a second plane crashed into the second Tower, and one hit the Pentagon, and another had crashed in western PA. Most work came to a standstill as more and more coworkers were watching the news or were trying to contact family members and friends. I kept doing what I could to complete the office move. My office mates kept passing by and telling me headlines that seemed more and more surreal as events unfolded and the towers began to collapse. Some may have though it odd that I kept working on my tasks for the day. Others knew I'd already taken a phone call from the Red Cross, placing me on alert to travel wherever I was needed, as soon as my destination could be determined. I have been a disaster relief volunteer for over 10 years and I am a member of ARC's Aviation Incident Response (AIR) Team. Our role is to support family members and everyone else involved in the rescue/recovery process when such incidents occur. Until I was dispatched, continuing the physical activity of the office move was something concrete I could do to help my own office staff as much as I could, before I left the area. By noon our County offices were closed. I went home and packed, finally watching some TV coverage as I did so. Folks in the disaster services field plan for "worst case" scenarios and yet no one imagined this could happen. By the time my kids got home from school, I'd gotten my assignment. I was to drive to the Johnstown area to support the relief operation for the families of those lost on United Flight 93 - the "heroes" flight on which the passengers managed to stop the terrorists before they reached their intended target. For the next 12 days, I served as the Coordinator of the Family Assistance Center (FAC). The FAC is a "safe haven" spot where family members can come together and share their thoughts, feelings, and memories with one another. There they can also talk to mental health workers and members of the clergy, doing so in a secured place designed to protect their privacy. Many prefer avoid the media, lawyers, and any others who might further victimize them at a time when they are quite vulnerable. We were fortunate to have a marvelous facility ? the Seven Springs Resort ? available to us. It offered nature?s beauty and serenity to all who came. On September 12th my team met with several of the 75 or so family representatives from United Airlines who had been assigned to help operate the FAC and care for the families. The United people were under incredible stress. The whole airline industry clearly had suffered a major loss and, for United, the impact was pushing the company in the direction of laying off personnel to assure continued operation. Many United workers were first timers, who had gotten there more quickly than their luggage, and who had to fear this would be their last assignment with the company. Nevertheless, they were great people who performed very well throughout our time together. Part of our DMH role here was to support them in their efforts. Our primary role is to organize family member visits to the crash site and these are usually followed by a multi-faith memorial service. Most surviving family members need to visit the site - a visit that helps them accept their loss and begin to move forward with their suddenly altered lives. Disasters (and other traumatic life events) will always change us, but they need not damage us. Our work in disaster relief is based upon the fact that people are incredibly strong and resilient. Each of us builds character as we work our way though events such as these. Gradually the victims retake control of their lives and shift from feeling like victims to feeling like survivors. The fact that air travel was temporarily halted following the events of 9/11 made this assignment more difficult logistically than most airline incidents. Initially, it was quite hard for distant family members and friends to get to the area. Some small groups came quickly, by car, bus, and limo. Many people from far-off areas had to wait till air travel resumed. With arrivals so spread out over time, a decision was made to offer two major site visits/memorial services, rather than one big one. We held the first on Monday, September 17th and the second on Thursday, September 20. Because some families arrived early and others came and went in between these two dates, several other personal site visits were also held. ARC DMH personnel accompanied each group. For those few folks who had gotten in to town quickly, we arranged bus transportation and secure, priority seating for a candle-light memorial service held in the town of Sommerset, PA on, September 14th (Friday evening). This spontaneous event was the local community?s response to President Bush?s call for observance of a National Day of Prayer. Those who attended were extremely gratified by the local outpouring of support, compassion, and prayers from the estimated 3000 people who turned out for the event. Over the 12-day assignment we served about 500 family members and close friends of those lost on Flight 93. Helping us serve them were the warm wishes and prayers of people all over the world. We received a marvelous array of flowers, cards, banners, gift baskets, comfort kits, and letters of support. These things were all placed on display in the large dining room that we were using as the FAC?s central gathering place. Especially helpful were the touching messages from innocent children, some of whom attend a school that was near the crash site. These things all gave great comfort to the families and, when we closed the FAC, these items became part of the permanent memorial to those brave souls who lost their lives while protecting the lives of others. We kept the FAC open and staffed on a 24-hour per day basis, throughout the time family members were in residence. That way, whenever someone might be having trouble sleeping or might need company, they were welcome to stop in. Beverages and light snacks were always available. On the two days that the major site visits/memorial services were held, a full brunch was also served, followed by orientation sessions (briefing everyone on the rest of those days? events). Typically there will be daily briefings held at a FAC, offering news from representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board detailing progress on the investigation and on recovery efforts. Here, it was a criminal investigation headed up by the FBI and things were being handled with greater secrecy. Daily briefings are always a good idea because they tend to facilitate group bonding and peer support. Without the daily briefings to draw people into our FAC gathering room, we had to be creative in getting people to make their first visit. We solved the problem through use of a greeting station in the hotel lobby. Team members took turns sitting with United family representatives just inside the front door of the hotel. Families were welcomed, given photo ID, and then escorted to their rooms. During that process, we told them about the FAC and, when ready, we offered to escort them there as well. Greeting people in this way worked so well that we reversed the process and operated a departure station at the same spot, as people were leaving. In addition to ARC DMH, Spiritual Care, Health Services representatives and th folks from United Airlines, three other organizations had representatives available within the FAC. These were the FBI?s Victim Assistance Program, the Pennsylvania Office of Victim Assistance, and the Keystone Crisis Intervention Team (individuals with training through the National Organization of Victim Assistance). The first two groups offered educational information and support for those who wanted to seek victim compensation funds. The third served as my team of childcare workers, to assist families with therapeutic play and babysitting needs. Ordinarily the childcare services would be provided by the ARC CAIR Team (Childcare AIR), but with transportation disrupted we were unable to get anyone from our team and I ended up needing to substitute these folks who had already had child abuse and criminal background checks done. Many of my nine-member DMH team members were new to disaster relief work and they did not have mass casualty experience. To orient them to their role, I offered them two bits of simple advice. The first is: LESS IS MORE (KEEP IT SIMPLE). Obey this fundamental premise: There is nothing you can say or do that will quickly end the shock, ease the pain, or make survivors feel better? But there are lots of things you can say or do that can make them feel (or act) worse! Examples: I know what you?re going through. or Everything is going to be fine. (Either comment may seem innocent enough, yet often results in an angry response.) Passive Listening is often the best approach ? use attentive silence and keep responses to a minimum. Overreaction is counterproductive to cathartic ventilation. There is a concept in communication known as Rehearsal Drop ? basically a point in conversation where the listener?s listening ends and his or her formation of a question or response begins. By speaking too much, responding too quickly, or falling into any of the other nervous interviewing patterns he or she displayed at the beginning of his/her counseling career, the novice or nervous DMH worker often shoots himself or herself in the foot. The second bit of advice I offered the team members was: HOW DO YOU FEEL? (DON?T ASK!). When the surviving family members and friends are ready to talk, there is no way to avoid getting their feelings. Still, I frequently see well-meaning, novice DMH people try to begin their conversations with the quintessential question, How do you feel? (or some similarly intrusive variant that goes straight for victims?/survivors? gut feelings). Following any disaster, hundreds of well-meaning, untrained volunteers can be found hitting on survivors with that same question. Someone who is only available to serve for a short time is often impatient ? wanting to make something meaningful happen during his or her short time on the job. Then they can feel good about what they did, write an article, etc. How do you feel? is often perceived to be the stereotypic psychobabble that TV and movies use as shorthand for all MH counseling. It is also the same bluntly intrusive question many media representatives use to get their 15-30 second sound bites of traumatized people in pain. Avoid it! There is no need to go directly after the feelings in any counseling situation, let alone one as sensitive as sudden death scenarios. Once you begin opening up a dialogue about the facts, the feelings will follow, without you ever needing to ask for them. Many times the most helpful things that DMH workers do are also the most basic. For instance, one family came to the FAC with a large poster board. Each family member also brought his or her favorite photos of the person they?d lost. Their simple plan was to create a small photo-mural to leave at the site. I asked them if they wanted to also write anything between the photos and, when they said yes, I got them a permanent marker to use for the notes. Similarly, we found many people were commenting on how much the vast collection of banners, letters, flowers, and stuffed animals meant to them. We began offering disposable cameras to them, so that they could have something to keep and to share with others who could not be there with them. My experiences with mass casualty incidents always sadden me (something that generally hits us as we end our work) and this was no exception. In fact, this one was worse for me than usual. It seemed like we had done two air incidents in a row, because we had separately served two large groups, barely sending the first home when the second was arriving. We had also done several other private site visits and memorial services, before and between the big ones, rather than just doing one big one as is more typically the case in an air incident. Whatever the reason, I cried off and on during my tour of duty, especially tearing-up as our caravans of buses would pass saluting police officers along our motorcade route to the site visits/memorial services. I also cried off and on all the way home, a five-hour drive, as I returned home from western PA. Both of those things are very typical for me. What was different, though, was that for several days thereafter, I found myself having what I've joking dubbed "random acts of crying" triggered by certain songs, pictures, or news reports. That ran its course but, as I sat down on October 5th to write some reflections on the experiences at the FAC, I found I was tearing up again. I had chosen to write about my experiences as a way to pass my time while on a bus ride to NY City. I had at that point had two weeks rest and I was on my way to join the larger, ongoing ARC operation for the World Trade Center. Disaster work gives people an interesting perspective on life. For instance, when someone works as many major disasters as I have, some of the pettiness of day-to-day activities of living can be more easily ignored and it's easier to keep focused on what's important. During times of tragedy, one thing that is very important is support - support from family members, support from friends, support from communities of faith, and support from others who care enough to share something of themselves when people are in need. I'm truly privileged to be able to help out as I do when terrible things like this happen. Others may think me a bit strange (or crazy) to give up my time and volunteer as I do. The fact is, the most rewarding moments of my professional career have all come to me as an unintended and unexpected result of my volunteer work with ARC. As my bus approached NY in the morning mist, I could see the altered skyline at the southern end of that great city. I found myself thinking about the 1000s of people who never got to say goodbye to their loved ones - people who never got to finish living out their dreams. Some of them also may never have experienced the joy of helping others who needed help in a time of crisis. Please try to let go of any animosity you harbor toward others and avoid putting off showing loved ones you care. Life is too precious a commodity to squander. As the events of 9/11 have shown us, it can be taken from us in an instant. Also, if you are not already doing so, please share some of your time, talents, and treasure helping others. This will, in turn, allow you to get back far more than you will give. 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 story2015.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. 209.173.10.73 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was about 9:00 a.m., and I was in my second period english class just getting ready to switch periods, when our class had gotten interupted. I remember sittin there laughing and carrying on with my best friend, when my teacher came in with a blank look on her face. She told us what had happened and nobody believed it. They all said that it was probably some big joke, but deep down inside i think everyone was scared. I looked at my best friend and was like, " What is going on?" I didn't know what to say or what to expect. All I could think about was what if this is the start of World War 3? As the bell rang we all went to our third period clas and I think everyone in the school had their televisions on watching in awe over what ad just happened. They showed the planes over and over hitting the towers. Each time getting more and more goosebumps. I don't think that it seriously hit until I got home and started talking about it, realizing that this just might cause a war. My dad and I stayed up most of the night watching the news, anxiously waiting to see what President Bush had to say. I can definitely remember 9-11 like it was just the other day. I want to send my sympathy to all the friends and families that lost loved ones in the crash. 9-11 will definitely be a day of grievance. 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 story3208.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.18.33.4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had just gotten my 3 kids off to school. I caught the news as I was getting dressed; I watched in absolute horror as the world that I thought I knew, ended. I immediately called my husband and in one breath, we both said "go get the kids". In tears, scared and wanting my family at home, I rushed off to the high school, middle and elementary school. My husband's company sent the employees home to be with their families. One of the most profound things that have come out of this for me is the TOTAL loss of innocence for my children and future generations. Rationally, I have always wandered just when and how terrorists would reach us. I grew up in Scandinavia and have lived and traveled all my life so I do realize, unlike, unfortunately, many Americans do not, that OTHER countries feel the same way about their country as we do and that WE HAVE TO LEARN TO ACCEPT DIVERSITY; not just in lip service, but in our hearts. We, the people, need to take our government back and make it as diversified as this country is. I also believe that Israel and Palenstine will have to have separate countries and that the US and the world need to help make that happen. We can't take sides on something like this as the chasm just gets wider and more violent. If this does not happen, we will loose what little realtions we have with the Muslim world and there will be a war that the world has never seen. I keep thinking of the people lost and I thank God daily when everyone gets home safely. I never let my family leave angry or without saying that I love them. 9/11 taught me a very valuable lesson on everyday routines and days...you can't take it for granted. I can't express enough gratitude for this web site; it feels so good to just let it out and know that, hopefully, someone else will read and understand what I'm conveying. Thank you. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6836.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.152.242.116 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: on this day it started as a good day. a day that GOD made with a blue sky anda blessed day. i was driving alone and listing to the radio and then the news came on (and it wasn't time for it i thought) they said that the world trade center had been hit by a plane . i thought why would a plane hit the world trade center ? i could not belive what happen. and the first thing i did was pray for those people and there family. and for our nation. then the next plane hit the other builing trade center x 2. and i thought this is to much. and then they did it again at the penagon i thought it was not going to stop were are they going to hit next ? and then they did in a field in pa. why would terriost would do this to us . all the usa has ever done was to help everyone and all for the good. i still can not belive that any one could do this to a country that only want to help. this make you think why would anyone hurt people that never hurt any one and would never hurt anyoone in there life. this also get a person to think about what inportion to me. my GOD,my family, my country, etc...... MAY GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATE OF AMERICA THE LAND OF THE FREE.................... and all of our service PERSONAL FOR ALL THERE HARD WORK , FIREMAN'S FOR THERE, POLICEMAN'S FOR THERE HEALTHCARE PERSONAL'S hard work and sacrifice that they all made ........................on that day September 11. 2001 will all way be a day to remember GOD HAS ALWAY LOOK OUT FOR THE USA . AND HE ALWAY WILL. SO ALWAY REMEMBER TO PUT GOD FIRST IN EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO. THANK YOU FOR EVERY THING ___GOD___ 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 story6706.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. 216.170.225.220 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 have wanted to do this for awhile, but was unable to do it until now. Cmj was that weekend and that is what brought me to the city that particular day. I wanted to go early, I had some friends I hadn't seen in some time and I wanted to see a relative that at the time worked in the trade center. I arrived in the city on September 11 in the morning about 6:30 ish, all I could remember was what a beautiful day it was. It was one of those that days that just for the suns ray on your face and hair made you feel alive. After settling in I found my way to the trade center and sat and talked to my relative. She and I didn't get to see one another since my move from the village. I had began walking, enjoying the smell and sound that only New York could offer. Being just of two blocks away my ears began to ache from a deafening roar. I was still I remember I can't believe this is for real. I can't believe that this is really happening. A man ran past me and tapped my arm and said ' come on man, we've got to get out of here!' I, although frozen found my way to run with the others. Since then, my life has been very difficult in the adjustment. I wonder if I stayed and talked longer, stopped to look at something, or maybe held the door for you, you would be here and I would be there. I don't know if I should be sorry, and I don't know how to even be myself anymore. I was lost there too, and I can't imagine finding my soul silent. Although I am not sure if it is warranted, I am sorry. I am sorry that I didn't hold the door for you. I hope you too made it out and I hope that you are able to find the peace that I have been looking for. 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 story8976.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. 2003-01-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.56.28.147 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 11 years old, and in the 6th grade at West Springfield Elementary school. I was sitting in class when I swore I heard a very faint crashing noise. I had turned to ask if anybody had heard the boom, but nobody had. I knew that I had sensitive ears, so I dismissed the noise, and still do not know if I really heard anything of significance. They had drawn the blinds, and I noticed a very slight sense of uneasiness in the teachers. Then, there was an announcement over the intercom. They announced that they were mowing the lawns and working outside, this meaning we were not allowed outside for today and there would be no recess. At time of this announcement, I had arrived at numerous realizations of how odd and unecessary this was. Frankly, it just didn't make much sense. They later came to tell us that something had happened, but were not in position to say exactly what. So many parents and family members of the students had worked at the pentagon. When school let out, I headed to S.A.C.C (school-aged child care) as I usually do. Many parents were picking up their children early and taking them straight home. A friend of mine from the after school program offered to bring me home and let me stay with them. I just had to ask my dad, so I called him. He told me what happened and I was in total shock. I couldnt believe it. Though, he honestly didnt think so much would come from it at the time. He gave me permission to leave, and I joined my good friend. Her mom picked up her cusins, and we headed home while listening to the news on the radio. It was a reality in which nothing seemed real. We went home and watched the news in sorrow and confusion. It had changed my entire view of our country, of the world, of life. I mean not to say that my views of these aspects were torn, but my young eyes held a strong awakening. Later that day I headed home. My mom had stayed home that day. Doing housework at the time, having the nice day's breeze come through the open door, she had heard the tremendous boom of the plane crashing into the pentagon from our own home. Maybe that is what I had heard in class that morning. As the trauma continued, we recieved a call. A father of one of my classmates had been claimed missing. I remember my friends and I were searching through the paper, the Washington Post having listed the names of the missing by the hundreds. There we sat, each name was a person lost, a friend, family, co-worker, a human being. I cannot describe the magnitude of loss and struggle throughout so many families and individuals throughout the world at this time. The father of my friend had died. My classmate, the sweetest and most ingenius child, had lost his father so suddenly and traumatically, he was only 11 years old. In the honor of his father, the school held a ceremony. A tree was planted infront of the main entrance, a beautiful tree. In honor of him and all those who suffered the same fate, for all who became heros (many students presented the awards presented to their parents on 9-11 and the stories behind their hero,) and to all who still carry their heads high and live with these memories. 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 story20856.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. 151.188.16.21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I heard about the tragedy at school in 3rd hour on televison. I felt very sad for the people that died in the towers. I was also shocked that someone could do something like that to our nation. But I felt that it brought us closer together rather than drag us down. we showed them that our countrys strong and won't be broken apart with such a tragedy like this, It only made us stronger . 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 story6398.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.88.0.131 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 the car with my oldest daughter, coming back from a doctor's appointment when we heard the report on the radio, first thinking it was just a bad radio joke, when we heard them announce the second tower had been struck. We both started crying, my daughters had just visited the World Trade Center in July, so when the Towers fell my oldest daughter was beside herself, I didn't quite know what to do or say, we then started going through her pictures and souveniers and came across ornaments they had purchased at the gift shop at the World Trade Center, one ornament had the Towers, empire state building a taxi cab and to our shock an airplane dangling next to the towers. It was a day none of us will ever forget, and as I sit here at work typing the date over and over, I am chilled every time I think about the pain of the families of those lost on that horrible day. I pray that some day they will find peace and closure. God Bless America. Sincerely, Dawn, Joe, Lauren, Alexandra and Nicholas Gummel 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 story3283.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.12.253.118 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 live in Birmingham, AL, but was on a business trip on Sept. 10th in Western British Columbia, Canada. As our group prepared to begin a teambuilding exercise comprised of camping and kayaking in the open Pacific, a colleague called my hotel room, urging me to turn on the TV. The towers were just beginning to fall when I turned the TV on. News came in that a plane from Pittsburgh had crashed near the airport; the plan was reportedly on its way to DC. I lived in Pittsburgh my entire life, until 3 years ago. My father communtes to DC w/ the Department of Energy from Pittsburgh. Phones were busy, and I couldn't get through to my husband, back in Birmingham. Since my husband and I work for the same company, I left him a voice mail over the company's 1-800 system. He returned the message stating that my family was safe and accounted for. We embarked on our trip anyway - after all 14 co-workers (some from NY) verified the safety of their families. The team building exercises were futile - we were united anyway. We were without cell phones, radio, or TV for 3 days in the open Pacific and on small islands where we slept and ate. Upon leaving the hotel for the trip, we thought that 20,000 people, at least, were dead, and we had no knowledge of the downed airline industry or if any other attacks had occured. The Canadian border was closed, so we couldn't drive home even if we wanted to. Through various travel wranglings, all of us made it home by the following Monday at the latest. The strangest part was not being in the US at the time. The Canadian media focused on the Canadians who died. It was a number that you could put your arms around. Just a few pages of a newspaper held their pictures. Like Oklahoma City. It wasn't until we got back to the states that it became apparent - we would never hear ALL the stories, know all the faces. My first question was "Why?" Why do they hate us? WHO hates us? Who hates us THIS much? The newspapers did a great job of helping to explain the radicalism behind the attacks. I boarded Air Canada from Vancouver to Dallas. The flight attendants were accomodating and calm. They issued us plastic knives for our lunch. That's when the impact hit me - this is going to change us in so many small ways, too. I then boarded a Delta flight from Dallas to Atlanta. The flight attendants were edgy at best. Ordering us to our seats as we boarded, they had actually torn the first class curtains from their tracks at the request of the pilot. My husband retrieved me from the Atlanta airport after midnight on Sunday. I sat in front of CNN for days - catching up in a way. In late August, 2001, my husband and I were on our nightly walk around our neighborhood. He was 28 and I was 32 at the time. We talked about the state of the world and where it was going. Values and morals of our childhood seemed long gone, and we were lone holdouts of accountability among our peers. I actually said, "It seems like a war is the only thing that brings people back to their senses and sense of patriotism, values, and morals." I can still remember where I was standing when I said it. I pray for the famlies and friends of those left behind. Especially the children. Marsi Thrash 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 story2730.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. 130.36.61.238 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: I was rushing to work that day. I had just dropped my 5 month old son off at daycare. Traffic was horrible and I had to be at a 8:00 am (CST) staff meeting. Our department was planning to have a brainstorming session to help us establish our 12 month goals. I was running late due to the heavy traffic and took a different exit thinking it would be faster - but it wasn't! Anyway, I had a local radio station on and the DJ said, "What the he__!!! Did you see that - a plane just hit the World Trade Center! He was reporting about it in disbelief when just minutes later - he said - Oh my God! The other tower has been hit! What is going on?? By this time I was at my parking ramp in downtown Minneapolis. They were still trying to piece together what was going on - at first I thought these were probably small Cessna planes or something - but then they said they were both commercial airliners!! I began walking to my office through our downtown skyway system, and called my husband at his office. He had just been in a conference room where there was a television and he saw everything and said this is terrorism. I remember immediately feeling frightened and sick to my stomach. He said the people working in those towers above where the planes hit would not be able to make it out. I got to my office - and found that 3 of my coworkers were also running late to this meeting. I recall as people in the office heard what had happened that there were gasps of disbelief and fear. Everyone was trying to log on to the internet, but the servers were so slow you couldn't get on. We tried to find a television, but couldn't locate one. When all my department coworkers got to work, we realized none of us were going to be able to concentrate on goal setting - it seemed so trivial all of a sudden. I just had this yearning desire to go to my infant son and hold him and hug him and protect him from all of this. Within the hour, a meeting was called and we were told that our building was being evacuated. We are in a high rise and very close to Minneapolis' tallest building, IDS Center, and they were evacuating that building and others around it for safety reasons. At that time, there were other planes that were in the air, unaccounted for, and potentially could be striking other metropolitan areas. I called my daycare provider, who was weeping - her son was scheduled to leave for the Marine Corps that very day. She was already having a hard time 'letting go' of him and then this had to happen, and she was afraid that now he is going to be serving in a war effort. I left work and went and picked up my son. We went home and I held him and loved him and I had this undying thirst to watch whatever I could on television. It was all so horrible I could not stop crying. I looked at my beautiful and innocent son and cried for him and this world that my husband and I brought him into. Would it ever be the same? What will his life be like? How can we protect him from evil? I thought and prayed for all the people in New York City and all those that lost loved ones or didn't know where their loved ones were. It was a day when material things or wealth did not matter - just having your loved ones close by was enough. I will never forget it. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3255.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. 63.113.151.30 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 received a phone call from my brother, which was unusual because he never calls me that early in the morning. I heard him screeming "Oh my God, the world is on fire" I couldnt understand him at first because I was still half asleep. I asked him to calm down and repeat what was just said. He told me to turn on the TV and I asked what channel? I didnt need to know, It was on every channel. Images of the World Trade Center on fire. All kinds of thoughts went in my head. What happened? Who did this? Where are the people who worked there? Then, I saw the second plane. I couldnt say anything. I just broke into tears and I called my mom. I told my family that I loved them over and over. I will never forget that day. Today is September 11, 2002. Although its been 1 year. I woke up crying for all those who lost their lives in this senseless act. I pray for them and their families. We will not forget. We love you always.....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 story4632.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.170.32.249 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 dreadful day started out as a day of joy. I, along with my husband and daughter Michaela, was on my way to the doctor. I was 6 months pregnant and this was the day I would find out the sex of the child and if she was healthy. We arrived and were seated in the lobby watching T.V. just as the second plane hit building 2. The shock of what we were seeing and the knowledge we were learning about this horror was bringing tears from well down in my soul. I wept in sorrow at what I was seeing on the screen then wept in pleasure at this perfect baby I was seeing on the computer screen. Joy then oerwhelmed me as I realized what I had and then tears once more for others who were losing everything. My daughter was born in January. She is such a blessing. Sept. 11 is my day to reflect and realize how blessed I am and to say I love you to all who have lost and to all who were saved. I don't know anyone involved personally but I grieve with you all. Dayrha Allen 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 story3430.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. 209.172.205.119 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My husband called me on his commute to work and told me what had happened. I went downstairs and turned on the TV and watched in disbelief what I was seeing. My first reaction was horror then anger. I spent the rest of the week in anger at what had happened to our nation. The next Sunday at Church the service was dedicated to the attack and as we sang "God bless America" I finally began to mourn, I sobbed during the entire song. I am so grateful for grandparents who had the foresight to leave Greece in the early 1900's to come here so that I could have a better life. They have no idea of the gratitude I have for that sacrifice, and the lesson they taught me in loving this country and not clinging to their old way of life but melting into this society and never looking for a handout but for making their own way by the sweat of their brow. May we pray for our leaders to protect this nation at all costs. Konnie 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 story3318.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. 65.141.32.144 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was about 8:45 a.m. when someone came into the cafeteria and said a plane had crashed into the WTC. We all thought it must have been a small private plane. Then, we started to receive calls from friends and family that it was a large passenger plane and we turned on the radio to listen to the latest news. When we heard about the Pentagon and then the second plane going into the other tower I knew that we were being attacked. A few of us went up to the roof of the school and stood there watching as the Wtc was engulfed in dark thick smoke and cried and said a prayer because in my heart I thought that those people on the upper floors were not going to get out. We went down to go back to work when word came that the towers were collapsing. I still wasn't sure about some nieces and nephews who worked in the area but I never felt so helpless and sad as I did then. Parents came rushing into the school to take their children home and soon we had to ask them to form a line outside the school and their children would be brought down to them. As part of the emergency plan set up I stayed until 6:00 p.m. when we got word that all 800 plus students arrived home safely, if some weren't picked up at their bus stops they would be brought back to the school. I was there to feed them if this happened or if we had to stay open as an emergency center. Upon leaving the building there were papers floating around that had burnt edges on them, they had come from the Twin Towers when they collapased and the wind had blown them all that distance and there was soot all over my car. I came home and saw for the first time what the world had been watching on TV all day. All I could do was stare and cry. Till this day I still won't go to Ground Zero as so many have, it's just too sad a place . I really feel that on that day all the good and wonderful people of the world had become in their minds Americans and in their hearts New Yorkers. Here in the city life goes on but now there seems to be a better understanding of what it really means to be an American and how proud I am to be one. 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 story5193.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