190 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: My husband and I were and two of our friends were to leave on September 8, 2001, for a weeks vacation in St. Marten, in the Carrabean. However, my husband's Uncle died and we had to delay our trip due to his funeral. Our friends left as planned and we were going to join them on Tuesday, September 11th. Our American Airlines flight left Dallas, Tx. on time and was uneventful and we landed at Miami for what we thought would be a short layover and then on to St. Marten!! However, while walking down the Jetway, we overheard a flight attendant say that she just heard a plane had crashed into the tower! Our first thought was Oh my, here in Miami? As we reached the terminal we were told that our flight to St. Marten would be delayed. Then I went to where a lot of people were watching a TV. My husband found a table and decided to finish some work he had brought with him. The pictures on the TV were shocking and I ran back to my Husband and told him that the World Trade Center had been hit by a commercial jet liner. We both went and watched in horror as the second plane hit the second building. Then we heard that the Pentagon was hit and knew this was something very bad. In the terminal, armed Police officers were everywhere, some with dogs and then loud alarms went off (twice) and the Airport was locked down. I was glad that the airport had been locked down, but I wondered who was locked in with us? No one could get in and no one could leave. Security personnel were everywhere so my tension eased somewhat. We were told to go claim our luggage and since every plane was grounded the luggage claim area was total chaos. Thousands of pieces of luggage were being lined up against the walls and everywhere and it was anybody's guess where our flight was being unloaded. We gave up searching for our luggage and decided to go eat some lunch. Then I told my husband we need to get a room (if there were any) in the hotel there, since we knew we would be there all night. We were fortunate to get one of the last remaining hotel rooms and then went to the restaurant for a quick bite to eat. We went back to find our luggage, each of us starting at opposite ends of the baggage claim area and finally found all of it after searching for two hours. We went to our room and sat on the bed and watched the news and cried. We heard about the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania and I knew those people were heros. I felt that plane was surely enroute to Washington D.C. to hit the Capital. We called our Boys back in Dallas to let them know that we were ok. Then we talked to the American Airlines ticket agent to see when we would be able to leave, they didn't know as the FAA had grounded all flights. We called our friends in St. Marteen and they had heard the news but still wanted us to try and come, if only for a few days. I just wanted to be back home with my kids, but we couldn't leave. For three days we watched the news and prayed for all of those that lost their lives and for all the families that didn't know where their loved ones were. It was agony but we were thankful that we were ok and thanked the Lord for keeping us safe. On Thursday morning we were told that some flights might be able to leave that afternoon, so we stood in a mile long line to have our tickets changed to fly back home to Dallas. We were indeed able to leave but while waiting to board the 777, I began to get scared. I looked at everyone checking in and I told my husband that for the first time, I was really afraid to get on the plane and maybe we should have rented a car a drove home. He tried to comfort me with little success. As we boarded the plane I looked at every passenger. Some were pilots in their uniforms, all were very quiet. The flight attendants were all very nice but I was still extremly nervous. We landed in Dallas and our son picked us up. When I entered our home, I hugged all of my three sons and told them how much I loved them and began to cry, not for me, but for all those people that would never have a chance to hug their loved ones again. I felt blessed. My anger at what the terrorists did to us is as strong as it was one year ago and We will never forget where we were that horrible morning and we will never forget or stop praying for all those men, women, and children that were murdered 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 story6529.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. 12.238.42.115 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I received a phone call from my husband at the time the first tower was hit. I was getting ready to take my daughter to daycare and I myself was getting ready for school. I remember watching in horror as I sat on the telephone with my husband and my heart sinking further when I saw the next plane hit. Still in disbelief, or rather a false belief that people could still escape out of the tower, I took my daughter to school and I returned to the house to watch tv one more time. As I turned the tv on I witnessed the towers collapse. I was horrified and felt scared and immense sadness for the helplessness of the people that perished and their loved ones. I immediately called my family and friends. I set out for school, however upon arrival, I was informed that school had been cancelled. I anxiously drove to my daughter's school to pick her I up. I felt an intense need to be close to her and to hold her. As I drove home I learned of the Pentagon and the crash in Pensylvania. I felt under attack and suddenly very fearful of what the future of my daughter who was to turn two years old that Friday may hold. At home, I went outside of my house to be close to God, suddenly in appreciation of all that we, as individual people and as a nation stand for. To my surprise and much to my comfort, I saw my neighbors and mere strangers uniting. It was the most patriotic moment of my life. I suddenly understood what it meant to be united, what it means to be ONE NATION UNDER GOD. The strenghth, faith and pride that I gained from that day defeated the entire conquest of the terrorists. I now have a renewed appreciation of everything in my life and will not ever be afraid again. Everything that I do now, I do with meaning, for I learned about posterity. And although many perished, they did not die in vain. They rose from the ashes and united us as a nation, with no prejudices...no differences, just as loving, caring "human" beings. United we stand and always will. I am proud to be an American. 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 story4722.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: The morning of September 11th started out like any regular day. I woke up from bed at around 6:30 and I was getting ready to go to school. I went into the kitchen to get my breakfast when my dad called me. I walked into the family room and noticed that the radio was on and my dad was listening to it seriously. My mom had the TV on and that is when I saw the second plane crash into the second tower. At that point, I couldn't believe it; it looked just like a movie. My dad told me that we have been attacked and I still couldn't believe it. Later at school, in all my classes we watch the news. By third period, it had sunk in pretty well. The scene that I will always remember for the rest of my life will be the second plane going into the second tower... it was just like a terrible movie. 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 story8337.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. 63.210.122.85 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 said that life goes on. It will; but it will never be the same. When I think about what I have to do today, tomorrow, the next day, I feel so selfish. I cannot help but think of the days ahead for those families of the victims. My life seems so immaterial now compared to the pain and anguish faced by those people. I tried to recollect the day?s events and remember my friend... I was just settling into my job, had not yet made the daily cup of coffee when my co-workers were buzzing with terrified excitement. Something horrible had just happened. An unfortunate accident. We all quickly logged into CNN...or tried too. Communications were slow...then the news hit...we all scrambling to the TV set in the conference room desperately seeking any bit of information to help us to understand what was happening. Everyone jumped on the phone calling loved ones and anyone they knew who may have information. Emotions ran in every direction. Rage, outrage, fear, relief, compassion, love and hatred all mixed up. I called family members in NYC to be assured that they had not become victims. I thought of my friend who worked for United Airlines. Surely she would know what was going on. She worked out of Logan as a customer service rep. She had planned a brief trip to Las Vegas - The Venetian Hotel at that! She had called just a few days earlier to tell me of a last minute deal she found on the web! How lucky she was! ... She told me...a cancellation had occurred opening up a room in the hotel. I had forgotten the date she was flying so I expected her to be home or on her way home, since the airport had now been shut down. I was expecting to hear her voice but I just heard the phone ring. The answering machine was not picking up. ?She must be on her way home from work? I thought. I tried again in a while and heard the familiar ring. ?Nothing so tragic could ever impact my life or the lives of anyone I know? I naively thought. I took advantage of the offer from the president of the company to head home. I had valid concerns about the safety of my family in the event of an attack to the Boston area. No one really knew what to expect. No one expected this. I left and headed home. My mind wondering how this could have happened. My faith shaken at the absence of the love that has been professed to be bestowed on all. My stomach was sick. I had so much emotion yet I felt so empty. The sun was brightly shining as it hit the steps in front of me. I gazed at the colorful flowers that gracefully adorned the walkway. The sky was the perfect ?sky-blue? and there was not a cloud to be seen. It was quiet. Oh, what a perfect late summer day! That was my brief thought as I left the building. I was trying to appreciate the beautiful day that I wished so hard would linger long into the winter, as summer had been so short. But as I think about that, thousands of innocent people lay dead in the aftermath of the most horrific event in US history. I slowly made my way to my car. I could view the traffic as I walked. The expressway was certainly not that at all, as the traffic southbound had come to a halt. Even the northbound traffic was creeping along. I felt my face fall as my heart ached and my stomach turned. I along with everyone else was screaming for answers. None came. There was an unusually loud silence. I got in my car and started to drive. I wondered about the next step as I wondered what was still to come. I tried to cry but couldn?t. Tears could not wash away the pain or clear the sky of the cloud of smoke hovering over NYC. The tears were right there, but could not fall? It is amazing how such an event could cripple the US. It is amazing that human life is not respected. It is amazing that some people can celebrate the pain of a nation. I sit in traffic, not as bad as I expected but it gives me a chance to reflect, to sort out and try to understand. I look ahead and I see Old Glory flying gracefully atop a building, seemingly unaware of what was happening. The gentle breeze waves the fabric in a calm peaceful manner. The bright red, the crisp white and the royal blue are majestic against the ?sky blue? above. A quiet statement of strength. A patriotic reminder that we, as a nation, will survive. I felt a sense of peace creep between the rage and pain. I stopped at my mom?s house. I hugged her. Told her I was going to get my daughter from school. I was heading home and would call her later. I phoned the school and was informed as to how this act was being handled. The children were fine. All was as normal. That was good. I phoned my friend again. Someone answered the phone. I felt relief! I had forgotten how much she and her mother had sounded so alike on the phone. The words came through the receiver loud and clear, but somehow they took longer to reach me. ?She was on the plane? was all I heard. It echoed over and over. I had no words of comfort to offer. I felt helpless. What could I say even if words came to me? I offered myself to whatever extent needed and hung up. Tears broke and I wept deeply. I called my own mother. She wept with me. She then came to me to be here for me. I was trying to understand. Hoping it was not true, coming up with possible scenarios to place my friend out of harms way. Reality won. How do I explain to my child that my friend, the one who just a few short days prior took her to Disney World, who laughed and screamed as they plummeted down Splash Mountain, is among the passengers who faced their death with fear in their eyes? How do you explain to a child the mindset of people who have no regard for human life? I remember being glued to the TV. I could not help but long for hope. Please let there be some good news?let there be survivors! I morbidly waited as names were displayed across the networks. I still did not see her name. Maybe!..I hoped. It was a slow process and as the days passed and the lists became complete, her name appeared. Her name appeared on the news and in the newspapers and on every web-site that compiled information about 9/11. Although I knew she was on the plane, and I saw the list, I still hoped that she would be a survivor. I saw the planes fly into the towers and I saw the two towers tumble, yet I held on to the hope that there would be a survivor, a miracle beyond miracles. I watch and waited. I remember having trouble dealing with the reality of this tragedy as it was unfolding. Today I still cannot believe it. There is no closure. There never will be. My friend perished in the blaze aboard flight 11. She was a fighter and I am sure that she did what she could to prevent those men from trying to go into the cockpit. She had a first class seat. She was right there ? front row. I am sure that she stood up for what was right. She is a hero as all who were on that plane and the other planes are. As the plane crashed through the tower with what I can imagine as terrified faces of those aboard, I envision her smiling face. Her lively personality, her generous spirit, her laughter is what I think of. Her life was short. Life is short. I will remember this day as the longest in my life. I will remember my friend forever. 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 story7191.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.61.57.108 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Hi. My name is Robert....On that day, I was heading to my job as a Teleservice Representative for First Data Teleservices. We take phone calls for information purposes. At 8:55, after just logging onto the system, A call came over my headphones: "Information how may I help you?" (Person on phone): May I please have the number to United Airlines?" "Toll free?" "Yes- (Sound of Hysterical crying) Person on phone: "OH MY GOD, ANOTHER ONE'S JUST HIT THE TOWER! I THINK IT'S MY DAUGHTER'S!" ME: MA'AM WHAT IS HAPPENING? PERON ON PHONE: DIDN'T YOU JUST HEAR WHAT'S HAPPENED IN NY? ME- NO, WHAT IS IT? PERSON- A PLANE HAS JUST CRASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER! ME- OH MY GOD! REALLY? PERSON- PLEASE GIVE ME THE NUMBER, I JUST HEARD THAT ANOTHER PLANE IS HIJACKED AND I THINK IT CRASHED TOO! PERSON - AAGGH! ITS A UNITED PLANE! PLEASE, PLEASE GIVE ME THE NUMBER, IT MAY BE MY DAUGHTER'S- (UNKNOWN CALLER) ME - HERE IT IS, MA'AM CALM DOWN! MAY GOD BE WITH YOU... I then went and took my break,,,,,heard several minutes of screaming, and upon arriving in the cafeteria, saw the tower collapse to the ground.... Later, I asked for undertime, got it, and called my wife, telling her to put a blank tape in the VCR and start recording news channels!!!!She did.....and I came home to be with her. We were living in Palm Coast, FLorida. 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 story11932.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. 2005-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.117.9 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 and i were at the doctors office when the first plane strucj at the world trade center and were in shock and cried and especially the second one. it was horrible and people in some buildings where we were had friends there and were crying and some even drove there. then i am usually on call at my job to run the switchboard because there was no relief and the others were tired from all the calls coming in because we had also set up a blood bank there at childrens specialized hospital in mountainside new jersey and the calls were coming in like crazy and we did get some people in for trauma. that day was also something different because the people and some friends of mine were at the port in elizabeth new jersey could see the towers coming down and it was dramatic. there will always be a scar of what happened and at times i still cry because it was so heartbreaking and should of never happened. this is really a day to remember. never forget our fallen angels 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 story4729.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: i walked into one of my patient's room and there on the tv were the details of the first plane crash being aired. i remember thinking how horrible that must of been for those people who were involved, dieing or dead. then all of the sudden the second airplane hit. i knew then it was no accident. i came out of the patient's room and told everyone at the nurses station what i had seen and heard. i called my dad at home and asked if he was watching the tv. he said no, i said turn it on, they are bombing New York with airplanes. later that day we heard of President Bush arrivial at Barksdale Air Force Base, which is about five miles from where i work. we all thought we would be in danger since we worked in a tall hospital. its was a scary day. the thing i thought about the most were the children on those planes. my oldest son, 15 then, has flown several times alone and all i could think about is what those poor children were feeling and the ones who were alone, how horrid. i had nightmares about that for awhile. my son has flown alone since because the terrorists will not win and will not dictate to this family. God bless Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4329.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: This is a poem wriiten for a missing friend, by my husband Joseph Franklyn McElroy For Chris Hanley, Friend, Advisor, Missing: I keep wondering, what am I supposed to do? I existed, until two days ago, with purpose That now exists as tissue in the rain. My resolve disolves and forms Little slimey lumps that are thrown away. Tossed into a trash can , which I could Shake like a giant King Kong. I wish I were a large gorilla, Able to swat planes out of the sky, Then perhaps I could dream about Bananas again, and days in the sun. 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 story129.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. 2002-03-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.140.126.200 Annotation Annotations to this item. Personal connection to someone at site NY:3 Poem 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 WORKED AS A SENIOR CLAIM REPRESENTATIVE FOR CNA/RSKCO ON WALL STREET. ON 9/11/01, AT 6:30 A.M. I GOT OFF THE PATH TRAIN FROM NEW JERSEY INTO NEW YORK, WALKED THROUGH THE WORLD TRADE CNTER, WHICH IS MY USUAL ROUTE TO WALL STREET. I BEGAN MY DAY WITH THE USUAL CUP OF COFFEE, SUDDENLY A COUPLE OF MY CO-WORKERS, WHO WERE ON THEIR WAY TO WORK, CAME IN SHOCK FROM WHAT THEY HAVE SEEN. THEY EXPLAINED TO US THAT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER WAS STRUCK BY AN AIRPLANE. I SAID THERE IS NO WAY A PLANE COULD HIT THE WTC, UNLESS MAYBE IT STRUCK THE ANTENA ON TOP OF THE BUILDING. WHAT SEEMS LIKE A FEW MINUTES LATER, ANOTHER CO-WORKER CAME IN AND SAID THE WTC WAS STRUCK AGAIN BY YET ANOTHER PLANE. AT THIS POINT WE BEGAN FEELING SOMEWHAT NERVOUS. I CALLED MY HUSBAND AT WORK AND INFORMED HIM THAT, IF HEARS ABOUT A PLANE CRASH INTO THE THE WTC, HE SOULDN'T WORRY, I ARRIEVED AT WORK SAFELY AND WE WERE IN NO IMMEDIATE DANGER. AS WE LOOKED OUT OF THE OFFICE WINDOWS, WE SAW DEBRE FLYING ALLOVER, OFFICE PAPERS ETC. BY THIS TIME OUR OFFICE MANAGER CALLED US INTO THE CONFERENCE ROOM AND ADVISED US TO REMAIN IN THE BUILDING UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. A SHORTLY AFTER WE LEFT THE CONFERENCE, WE HEARD ON THE NEWS AND FELT THE BUILDINGS FALL. I THEN KNEW THAT WE WERE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE. WE WERE LATER TOLD TO VACATE THE DOWNTOWN AREA BY WALKING ACROSS THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE INTO BROOKLYN. I, WITH SOME OF MY CO-WORKERS STAYED AT A FRIEND'S HOME IN BROOKLYN UNTIL LATER THAT AFTERNOON, WHEN WE WERE TRANSPORTED ACROSS THE MANHATTAN BRIDGE TO MIDTOWN. WHERE WE TOOK VARIOUS TRANSPORTATION TO OUR HOMES. EARLIUER THAT DAY, WHEN THE FIRST PLANE HIT THE WTC, A FRIEND OF A CO-WORKER OF OURS, VACATED HIS OFFICE BUILDING, WHICH IS LOCATED DIRECTLY BEFORE THE WTC. HE AND OUR CO-WORKER LEFT TO FIND A WAY HOME OUT OF NEW YORK, WHEN THEY WALKED OUTSIDE OF OUR BUILDING, THE WTC BUILDINGS FELL AND THEY WERE SEPARATED, MEANWHILE, OUR WO-WORKER RETURNED TO OUR OFFICE COVERED IN UNBELIEVABLE SUIT LIKE DEBRE. HE TOLD US HE AND HIS FIREND WERE SEPARATED WHEN THE BUILDING FELL. THE NEXT DAY, I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL THAT OUR CO-WORKER HAD NOT SEEN OR HEARD FROM HIS FRIEND. I ASSUMED, MAYBE WE WAS INJURED AND MAYBE IN ONE OF THE MANY HOSPITALS WHERE VICTIMS WERE TAKEN. 9/11 WAS ON TUESDAY, BY THURSDAY, OUR CO-WORKER'S FRIEND WAS FOUND DEAD, HE WAS STRUCK IN THE FACE BY DEBRE WHEN THE BUILDINGS FELL. SIX MONTHS LATER, OUR CO-WORKER, OVERCOME BY GRIEF AND DEPRESSION OVER LOSING HIS FRIEND, TOOK HIS LIFE. THIS WAS AND STILL IS A SHOCK TO MANY IN OUR OFFICE. I AM STILL TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF THE OCCURENCE, SINCE THIS CO-WORKER WAS GOOD FRIEND OF MINE. YESTERDAY WAS DEFINATELY A DAY OF REMEMBERANCE, BUT ALSO A DAY OF GREAT SADNESS. 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 story6077.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. 159.10.4.104 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 story isn't much but am glad to tell it. I am a Fire Captains wife and recieved a phone call from my husband as he sat at the fire station with his family of brothers in the fire dept. They were all very touched and very emotional by the things they heard and saw. I turned on the the TV and felt myself glued to it unable to turn it off. I felt tears that would not quit as my feelings for the survivors and those who died and how they must feel. It was a day with no words just feelings unable to describe. It was a time to take my daughter out and do fill the boot for the firefighters wives and families, and as we stood there with other fireman's wives and families the horns honking and the people stopping we couldn't get to the cars fast enough as they came all day long to put money in the fire boot to help the cause. We learned something that day and i had a hard time leaving as my husband took our 6 year old daughter home and kept coming back to get me to come home i felt i just couldn't it was my contribution to help. All the fireman out running in and out of cars and people emptying there ash trays and change purses into the boot my heart was just filled with a renewed faith in people and there love for others. Being a fireman's wife i felt for there families and as i watched on TV my heart broke and knew in someway how they must feel. The only comfort i can think would be they died for a cause and one they believed in and lived there lives to do there best. We can only be proud of all those who stepped up to the plate at an important time in life to try to make a difference at a critcal time in life. Many prayers have gone out since then and lots of hope for a brighter future. Today as i think back i am still full of those same feelings, tears come so easy today and the compassion for those who died and there families and those who lived and the feelings they have. I am greatful for a good country to live in. Many places face danger each day, each hour and minute and we are a good nation with lots of protection and thank the Heavens above we are not in understanding a mind that could do such a thing. Today as my 7 year old daughter woke and reminded me to put our flag out how my heart filled and my feelings deep as we put on our t-shirts with flags of our great United States and put our pins of the flag on and dressed in red, white and blue. As i drove and tried to remember as i went past the flags waving how proud i am to be an American. God Bless the USA and those who protect it. KHT from Orem, Utah 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 story4662.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: It was my first day back at work after my holiday to Australia so I was greeted by a mountain of work that morning. The morning came and went, and was just settling down after lunch to carry on wading through the papers on my desk, when a friend from another floor came by and said 'a plane has hit one of the WTC towers'. It must have been about 2pm UK time, 5 hours ahead of NY. I immediately thought it was an accident and would be a light plane. We then heard both towers were hit, so began to think it wasnt an accident. We tried to get on the internet, BBC or CNN but it was totally locked up. Then another friend said her dad was watching live on TV and one of the towers had collapsed. We were all totally in shock. I was the only one in my office who had been up the South Tower so knew the enormity of the situation. My sister e-mailed to ask what was going on, her company had an office a few blocks away from WTC and they couldnt get through to them. She said to me 'you know how big they were, thousands must have died'. Eventually we managed to get on the internet and watch a recording of the 2nd tower being hit. We didnt do anymore that afternoon. London was in total shock, and fearing for our city as well. I work for The Salvation Army and 3 days later we had a memorial service in our chapel at work for all the victims. 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 story6033.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. 195.110.172.242 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: The Sept. 11th. tragedy really impacted my life. I wrote a book about it 91:1 "The real message". Here is the excerpt. The digits ?911? automatically evoke fear in people. You dial 911 when you?re in trouble. And since the terrorist attacks leveled the twin towers of New York?s World Trade Center, 9-11 has taken on another, terrible meaning. This book provides a whole new outlook on this sequence of numbers. It shows how these three little numbers can bring peace to your life amid tragedy. The answer is found in Psalm 91:1, the only 91:1 in the Bible. This Scripture states: ?He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.? Simply put, if you seek God, He will comfort and protect you. He will be your security blanket. In fact, this message is found throughout Psalm 91. That is why it is so important to seek 91:1. You must come to God. Let Him be your shelter in the midst of trouble. Let Him be your strength, your comfort, your joy, your peace after the 9-11 tragedy or during any other. Now is the time to get ?the real message? behind 911. Rosetta Clay 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 story926.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-07-23 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 129.29.227.2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: We had just woken up and as we lay in bed, turned on the NBC Today Show. We thought we had somehow turned into a movie. Within a few minutes, we saw the second plane hit! As we watched in horror and disbelief, it began to sink in that this was really happening and it was happening live. The days, weeks, months and years that have followed have seen our nation plunge in to a very dark place. Growing up, it was one thing to come to know that life was not a trouble free playground. The most fortunate and protected of children eventually lose their childhood innocence and survive. But this, this was the loss of adult innocence of a magnitude I could not understand. These are the things that use to happen on the other side of the globe in places unfamiliar to people who were little more than tragic statistics. It wasn't real! Now we are truly one world. There is no escape from the madness, terror, senseless hate and barbaric deeds. The world will never be the same, or more troubling, perhaps it will stay the same, but now there is no refuge or foolproof defense. Bill Kelly 4220 Maryland Street San Diego, Ca. 92103 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 story20651.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.101.142.157 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 few months before the attacks I kept having a strange feeling when I would drive pass the Pentagon. About a month or two before the attacks I had the strongest strange feeling with a vision of something hitting the Pentagon. Little did I know this vision would become a reality. I was at home when the first plane hit WTC. By the time I arrived at work the second plane hit WTC. I went to the cafeteria to get something for breakfast when I remembered the vision I had a couple of months prior. I said to someone, "What if they hit the Pentagon"? Just as I said that a gentleman came from around the corner and said, "They just hit the Pentagon". I rushed to the television there in the cafeteria, but all I can remember is seeing chaos on the tv. I rushed to try to call my sister at the Pentagon, but the phones were dead. I finally got her voice mail, but I did not reach her. Our company closed for the day, and I went home making phone calls to the hospitals searching for my sister. I could not make it into DC since the news announced that the streets were blocked off. Later that day, I finally arrived at my parent's home, and we waited to hear from my sister. My brother rode his bike to area hospitals searching for our sister. My father caught up with my brother, and together they both continued to look in the hospitals. While my mother and I and my sister's two children stayed at the house, we called co-worker's families who also had not heard from their loved ones. We feared the worse, but I kept holding on to faith and hope. I was angry and resented when flowers were delivered to my parent's home because I did not want to accept that my sister was dead unless the Army confirmed it. It is 11 months later now, and I still get choked up when I think of my sister. Samantha (Sennea) was my twin sister for 36 years, and I had my first birthday without her on November 13, 2001. As far as I am concerned she is still my twin, my sister, my best friend no matter where she is. I am proud of her, and I know her death was not in vain. God wathces over us all, and it is His strength that keeps my family going, and it keeps others who lost a loved one strong. My sister was a devout Christian, and I know she is with God, and I will see her again (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). My minister told me one thing that was the turning point for me. He said that if Jesus suffered, why can't we. Jesus understands our pain because He feels the same pain. My heart goes out to all those who have lost a loved one - not only on 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 story1083.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. 63.77.47.130 Annotation Annotations to this item. Pentagon Personal connection to someone at site Premonitions/Coincidence/Fate Religion Victims DC:2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was a typically day for me. I got on the subway and headed to Pace University, but when I got out of the subway something was different. Everyone was looking up. I glanced up and I saw that there was a large hole in one of the World Trade centers and that it was smoking. It was my freshman year and I was new to the city and I didn't really know anyone. So I called my boyfriend to see if he knew what was going on. His mother said," a small plane crashed into it by accident." I thought it was nothing, but she insisted that I should go back to my dorm. I thought she was being silly, so I continued on to school,looking back every chance I got to watch the smoking building. When I got inside Pace I asked a guard if there was still school and I know he didn't know any better at the time but I'll never forget those words, he said to me while shaking his head, "anyhting to get out of school." I went up to my classroom and unfortunalty or fortunatly there are no windows in the classroom at Pace. So the professor began to talk when all of the sudden the door flew open. There was a male student standing there with this horrid look on his face. He said we had to leave now, but why? We were all under the impression that a small plane accidently crashed into the World trade center. I just figured that the fire probably just got worse and they were playing it safe. I exited the builiding and began walking down the sidewalk when I saw a buisness man across the street. He ducked down holding his brief case over his head and he screamed, "It's gonna fall!" I thought, "what's going to fall?" All of the sudden I could hear this loud creaking sound. Everyone screamed run! I turned around to see a gigantic cloud of smoke chasing after me. I had no idea what it was. My first thought was some kind of gas. As I ran I saw these two woman, one was in her early sixties I would say and one was in her early 30's. The older woman was screaming and crying, "why." There was so much going through my head, I had no idea what i was running from, but I knew I had to keep going and then that one word came, Terriosts. Everyone was screaming terriosts. My heart sank, too much was happening at once. There were so many different noises, screams, crying and the jets. All you could here was large jets flying back and forth over us and I just thought this is it I'm going to die. I thought the jets were terriosts coming back to do more damage. I was still running at this point, where I had no idea because I was new to the city. When I got far enough away I tried calling my mom on my cell phone, but it wouldnt work. There were pay phones with long lines, so I kept running until finally I found a pay phone that wasn't that busy. I called my mom and her voice, her voice was so shakey, I knew she was trying to sound brave for me, she said, "Sarah where are you." I told her I didn't know, but I was okay and she began to cry. She told me I had to get out of there. I felt so helpless and I knew she did too. She told me the planes crashing werent an accident. I looked around me and I saw hundreds of people running toward something. I told my mom and she told me to follow them. When I got closer I saw that it was a bridge. I found out later it was the Manhattan bridge. Thousands of people were running where cars usually would be. There was a constant flow of firetrucks that were pushing through the crowd and I just remember their faces. All of the firefighters had a solemn look on their face as they passed. I was tired and shaking and out of breath, but I kept running over the bridge to where I didn't care as long as I was as far away as possible. I began to think what if they blow up this bridge, what would I do. I tried calling my mom again on my cell phone. It actually went through, I told my mom where I was and she told me to just keep running. Seconds later I heard that same erie creaking noise. People began to scream again and I turned around to see the second building collapse. It just caved in and fell so quickly into a huge cloud of black smoke that filled the sky. My connection with my mother was lost for good now. As I got closer to the end of the bridge I had no idea where i was. I ran up to a young girl and a man and asked them how to get to brooklyn heights because thats where my dorm was. They told me they were headed that way and I could come with them. We walked for a very long time, until we reached a hotel. We stopped in to get some water and to see if anyone knew more of what was going on. It was then that it hit me, how serious everything was. There were large tvs everywhere and everything was just black, covered in dust, so empty, so dark. For weeks, a large black cloud filled the skyline of manhattan. For months a small constant cloud crept out of the gapping hole that onced held the world trade centers. I'll never forget the smell. It was such a strange, strange smell. The smell lingered in lower manhattan for months after. It's been almost four years and every once in awhile when the wind blows a certain way you can still get a wiff that makes you cringe. For a long time I was terrified of planes. When I first got home, I would run and hide everytime I heard a plane. Things are gradually getting better and I'm just thankful I'm here to write this story. Unfortunatly many innocent people are not and they should be. 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 story11692.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. 2005-08-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 70.111.52.163 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, as usual for our anniversary, let me sleep in. I am the spoilt one; he fixes me breakfast and then wakes me for a wonderful day of love and togetherness. This would be a special celebration, it was our 25th wedding anniversary, and I know there were bunches of exciting thing planned by both of us. He couldn't pull himself away from the broadcast until after the second plane had been shown about ten times, horror, disbelief, shock, and a combination of all. Shaking he came to me to break the news of our day. We spent the better part of our day on our knees, watching in disbelief, crying, shaking, trying to get a grasp on the whole picture. I called everyone we knew & loved, just for the reassurance that they were still there. Each time I hung up the phone, I thanked God for his grace and prayed for all those who lost all. I am grateful that I did not lose anyone directly in the attacks, but what the world lost will never be regained. We lost heroes, children, mothers & fathers, sisters & brothers, the list goes on & on. Mostly I fear we lost more souls than should be counted. As for the rest of my anniversaries, we pray for peace, love & understanding. And we shall even more celebrate the fact that we are. 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 story1792.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. 2002-09-05 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.247.196.252 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sitting in the third row from the door, third seat from the back. Randi was in the first seat that row, followed by Lee, and then directly behind him, sat me, Brittany McAllister. I am 13 years old now, and was merely 12, a pre-teen, with so much to learn. Believe me, I did learn such a lesson from that gruesome day. We were going over the daily lesson, it was 9:10 a.m. Central time. First period was nearly over, and all I could think about was how much I wanted that class to end, just to gossip with my friends during the short 5 minutes we had in between classes. I would talk about my boyfriend, and who broke up with who, the usual. At 9:11 a.m.,(trust me I knew it down to the second, that's how anxious I was to get out of class) we all heard the sound of several teacher's high heels swiftly walking down the tiled hallway. Mrs. Tracy Baker dropped what she was doing, and ran out the door. We all turned around and began chattering away. "I wonder what that was all about?" I said. "Nothing important probably" said one of my friends. A few minutes later, Mrs.Baker came in and sat down, apparently there was nothing wrong. "What happened?" the class echoed. "Oh, something about the world trade centers being hit by a plane." Without a care in the world, she said that. As the day went on, so did the teacher's tears. The library constantly ran CNN on the television. All classes were canceled, for work that is. We watched television. Bad omens were extremely apparent, and being kids, we knew nothing better than to panic. Although in Texas, and the hijacking in New York, we have learned to expect the unexpected. 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 story8894.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. 2002-12-28 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.70.251.203 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: Today is September 13, 2001 at about 8:00 PM. It is about 59 hours since terrorists attacked New York and Washington DC. I?m on an Amtrak train somewhere in western Pennsylvania in the middle of two disasters. Everyone is quiet, talking on cell phones, reading trashy novels but all the events are never far away. Word of the latest is coming in through the cell phones and people are reading the papers from the last 2 days. We are some of the few escaping Manhattan at this point and some of the first to be able to say ?I was there? to the rest of the country. New York is already getting back in some ways to a jittery sense of normal. At 5 PM, I saw a plane way up in the sky for the first time in a couple of days. According to my friend Andrew in Pittsburgh, planes are starting to take off from there. This is all good ? the world is turning again. So this is what happened. Our meeting was supposed to start at 9:00 AM on Tuesday morning. I was running late ? I had to finish my presentation that I was supposed to be doing early in the agenda. I had planned to do it the afternoon before but had enough problems getting a modem line that I switched rooms at the hotel. I did do some work but them went out to dinner with my friend Andrea. It was a very oppressive evening ? line after line of thunderstorms were passing through the area. Andrea was drenched when she arrived at the hotel. We went to a restaurant across the street. When I got back from dinner, I finished working on one document I had to get out that night and decide to get up early and do my presentation then. So I was running late. My plan was to get out the door no later than 8:45. I was only going to our office at 1633 Broadway just a few blocks away so that would give me just enough time. Had I only know how crucial that same plan would have been for so many others. Just get out by 8:45 AM. I walked over to the building, Paramount Plaza and found the conference room. I was setting up my laptop, getting breakfast, saying hello to the other people. And then someone came in and said a plane has hit the World Trade Center. It was a horrible thought and kind of surprising ? how did some crazy pilot happen to be flying so low? We all assumed it was as small private plane, an accident probably. Weird, sad but small in a way. I?d have to watch the news tonight to find out what happened. But no, that wasn?t the whole story ? it was a large commercial jet. What could have gone so wrong for that to have happened? And ?look? we were told ? we could see that the tower was on fire from the window in the conference room. It was actually hard to see at first ? what exactly does a skyscraper on fire from a plane crash look like? We pointed, directed others ?See? Over behind those buildings? Where the smoke is? You can only see ? of one tower??. And there it was. And then it became real. But not really real. Overwhelmingly impossibly real. Over there separated from us by glass, air, and glass was chaos. Twenty floors maybe of mayhem. And we were absolutely quiet and petrified. So close together but vastly different situations. It was stunning ? too much to even imagine. The next hour is a blur. We started the meeting, played a little ice breaker game. Heard the rules about no cell phones, no email, no distractions. And yet there was a distraction far bigger than a beeping cell phone. There was a tower on fire, people were dying, a huge billow of smoke stretching to the left. It marred the cloudless blue sky ? so much more refreshing it had seemed outside after the oppressive heat and humidity from the night before. So sunny and peaceful after the booming storms. Last night this kind of cloud and noise and panic and darkness would have fit better. It just didn?t belong over the skyline of lower Manhattan on a day like this fresh and bright and cheery one. I started my presentation ? facing the window. It was hard to focus on presenting and not look at the cloud of smoke. It was wrong to do this presentation and yet what else could we do? And it was really too much to deal with ? it could have been our building ? we could be in the midst of that. Too big to comprehend so we did the things that seemed most comfortable ? carry on with our routine. By the end of the presentation, only 15 minutes or so, the news was much worse. Somehow, there were many planes crashing into buildings like the Pentagon, the State Department, and the other World Trade Center tower. Planes were still up in the air ? which ones were also on a course to hit a building? What was even happening? Was this a dream? A hoax? But there was the tower raging with smoke extending down further and further to the lower floors. Some one said that were people on the roof but how would that be possible with all the smoke and the heat? There were TVs we were told tuned into CNN. People with pass cards to get to the other floors were leading others to the TVs. I went down the hall to the other side of the building and stared at the TV but it didn?t register. What they were showing was both towers in flames ? we hadn?t seen the other tower hidden by buildings ? and they showed the second plane hitting over and over. Things started clicking into place ? people who were nearest the window when we first heard saw the plane veering strangely. It made sense now except how could any of this make sense at all. But at least there was context to what we had all observed. Very shaky context: hijacking, not an accident at all. They switched to the Pentagon on TV ? another cloud of black smoke. But who could deal with the Pentagon when it was hard enough to understand what was happening outside the window? I went back to the conference room. They were saying that the other tower of the World Trade Center had collapsed. That was impossible ? 110 story towers do not collapse. But as I got back to the conference room the other tower went down. When I looked, there was just a column of smoke in the shape of a building and then it slowly blew away and there was nothing. It was just gone, gone, completely gone. One of the tallest buildings in the world gone. All the people gone. Just like that: gone. Confusion was erupting in the office. First what about our people in the World Financial Center just across the block from the World Trade Center? What was happening with them? How did the buildings fall ? did they topple over like a stack of blocks? How could anyone possibly survive but how could so many people die at once? And then everyone was on the phones: cell and line. Did the cells work? The transmitter was on top of the building that?s newly vanished. Were the circuits busy? Who to call? Craig just started his job ? I didn?t have his number. How would I reach him? And surely surely people would have gotten word of what was going on. This was too big not to spread like wildfire to all the corners of the country. And then the emails started. One from John my boss: "Are you there? Are you OK? Are you safe, where are you? Do you even still exist, please please call or respond." And the messages started going out: "Yes we are in the 1633 building, not World Financial ? it?s all OK." I tried to call Craig ? I called information, got the US Bancorp number. What department is he in, which building? I found the right number and got the right building but they couldn?t reach him and there was no paging. Try back later. So I tried back in a few minutes ? he?s on the line with a customer try back later. Each time it was try back later. Finally I called and said it was a personal call and I was in New York. Everything changed ? they tracked down a manager who took a message. "I?m OK it?s not happening here. I?m safe and OK for now." But I knew that it could all change so quickly. Nothing would be surprising anymore. 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 story662.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-21 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 208.249.92.135 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My mom has Alzheimer's and lives at a nursing home, so I'd stopped by on my way to work to visit her. It's hard to understand Alzheimer's disease, it is a terrible disease. It's so sad, my mom's life now, I thought. Then I flipped on the radio and heard that just a few minutes before, a plane hit the World Trade Center. "It must have been an awful mistake, an error, a heart attack, something," I thought to myself. When the second plane hit the tower, and I heard the shock, disbelief, and horror in the voices on the radio, I realized with a sinking feeling that someone, somewhere, had done this deliberately. It was hard to comprehend, harder than understanding a disease. I don't know who those men were, or who the people are who hate so much and live so little. I don't understand the people who have and hold dear to the idea that murdering other people will make their "cause" better or any result better. And it's not a disease that's evil, come to think of it. Diseases just happen in life, they don't make a conscious choice to murder a person. It's people like the men who murdered in the name of some cause who have the truly sad life--not my mom. We can never know who they really were, or listen to what possible truths they might have had to say because of the evil of their actions. Will it help their children? History has taught us no, it does not. Will it help them as a group? History has taught us no, it does not. The U.S.A. was founded on principles of Christianity, where the old world "eye for an eye" idea of justice evolved into the "due process", "law" and "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" system of justice we have today (no, it's not perfect, but it is the best that's ever been, but that's a subject for another time). What I do know is that I extend my sympathy and empathy to those who lost their loved ones in the attack against the U.S.A. My prayers are with you, and I know that despite your grief, you will survive and be stronger. You know the price of freedom; would you exchange it for the tyranny of "security" like the Taliban "gave" the people of Afghanistan, or like the Nazis "gave" to the people of Germany? I'd just like to know. Our freedom starts and stops with the expressed will of the majority, and I'm not sure the other men and women who believe in evil and death know that we are united in our will to be free. 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 story6180.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. 65.197.19.241 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: today is september 11 2006 and it has been 5 years already since our world has changed ...still i feel like crying when i see pictures of those moments ... i recall i was at home when my mom called to tell me to watch tv ...and so i did ...i saw the second plane hit the towers live on CNN and those are images that i will never forget. i felt my eyes sinking in tears instantly because i knew that it was the exact moment when so many people lost their lives in an instant. september 11 2001 changed me because it made me realize what terror was really about and it made me realize how short each of our lives can be . 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 story20520.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 81.196.199.25