211 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: We all watch the news in the morning before we go out to gym. We were watching live television when the plane hit the north tower. All of the students payed no attention to this and we thought it was something from a long time ago, something that had been taped, and something, that would never happen to us. As the day went on the teachers acted atrangly and then my class and I realized that at the bottom of the t.v. screen it said live. It felt very tragic to me when I found out that it was an attack on america, because america is such a strong, free, and united country, I mean who would want to hurt us? I feel that if we can stand strong for many more years to come, after this we can overcome anything! 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 story4022.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I woke up that morning and turned on the TV and i saw something that didnt make sense, a plane had hit the first tower of the world trade center. I stood there and i watched when the other plane hit the other tower, i screamed for my husband who was getting ready to go to work to come and see what was on tv, he watched with me and left to go to work, i would not see him till the next day, for he is in the military and they were put on lock-down after they declared it was a terrorist attack. That day i didnt stop crying it hurt so bad. Two days later my husband came home and told me that his unit is getting ready to deploy to Afganistan, he left one month from the anniversity of Sept 11th. We have been seprated before due to overseas assignments, but this was different. Terrorists didnt just take thousands of lives but they actually took part of our freedoms. One of the freedoms they took from us is not to be afraid, but we are now more afraid then ever. I know i did not lose anyone at Sept 11 th but i and everyone in america had lost the chance to relax and not worry as much. My husband came home safe after 6 months in Afganistan but was deployed again this yr 2003 and hopefully will be home soon and safe, The terrorists took away a member of my family to fight a war for our freedoms, but i am proud and so is my husband in the fact that he is fighting for our freedoms and our country and for those who lost their lives sept 11th, god bless them and thier families and please everyone who reads this support our militray or if you see a service member thank them, they are the reason why we are safe now and in the future. 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 story10279.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. 2003-12-26 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.135 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It happened when I was in school I was just in the fourth grade in Mrs.Hines class when she put on the radio for us that was when I heard a news reporter saying that the World Trade Center has been crashed into by planes.But I didn't know anything about the world trade center back then know that i know what the world trade center was I was kind of hurt for some of the kids who lost a mother or father and i really felt connected to those kids. 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 story20446.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.186.239.238 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had just parked my car near my job and since I had arrived a few moments early, I sat pondering what we would do to celebrate my sons 3rd birthday. He was born 9/11/98. I heard over the radio station that a plane had hit one of the towers. At first I thought it was a sick joke because that particular station was so comical. I immediately turned to a news station and the same thing was repeated. I still was not thinking terrorist attack but an accidental crash. When the second plane hit I began to pray as tears filled my eyes. I prayed for God to have mercy on all of those innocent lives. Yet I still did not know the magnitude of devastation and turmoil to come. No one could concentrate on work. Almost everyone knew of someone who worked in the World Trade Center and we all cried and prayed together. Once returning home I felt empty inside and helpless. Needless to say, there was no birthday cake, no balloons or party. How could we when so many people were missing, found dead, lost, or greaving for their loved ones. I just held my son in my arms and my other three children and told them how much I loved them. I had one family member who made it out of tower one and I thank God continuously, yet I will still greave for all who had their lives snatched away from them. My prayers go out to all the widows, children without their parent, parents without their child, to the families of the EMS, NYFD, NYPD and everyone who gave in some way or another. I dedicate this to the memory of Mrs. Fairben's (of P.S. 127Q - CSD 30) son, an EMS worker who lost his life trying to save others on 9/11 (my oldest sons 4th grade teacher). RIP 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 story6479.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. 206.101.184.194 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 asleep in my bed when my dad came into the room, telling me a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center. Now at the time, I wasn't really thinking anything of it, just that it might have been a little cesna that lost control and crashed. The last thing that went through my mind was an airliner, so I went back to bed. Then my dad came back in the room a few minutes later saying another plane just crashed into the Pentagon. At that point, I just jumped out of bed, and ran in to see the TV, because right when he said that I knew our country was under attack. So I continued to watch the TV when I saw the other plane hit the towers, and I was just i shock. My jaw just dropped, and I didn't know what to say or do. My sister who is flight attendent for United called up crying in hysterics because she flies all the East coast routes especially out of New York and Boston. That easily could have been her on the flight. But luckily at that point she hadn't flown in a while. I remember that I continued to watch the television and the next thing I saw was the first tower beginning to fall. I screamed for my to come in the room, but all we could do was watch with tears in ours eyes. For me, that was the worst thing to this point in my life I had ever seen and experienced. 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 story10093.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-09-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.49.170.116 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: The evening of September 10th, I was instructing a class at a local college. Many of the students became highly disgruntled and verbally disruptive, which culminated in my quitting that night. I was so angry and outraged, that I was afraid something terrible was going to happen if I stayed. As I drove home, I dreaded having to inform the dean, who had been very supportive in the past and who had commended me earlier on not giving up. Early the next morning of September 11th, I called her around 8:30 AM EDT (although I'm not too sure on the time). After I recounted the drama and trauma of that fateful evening in tears, it was close to 9:00 AM when our conversation ended. Feeling exhausted and a little depressed, I went into the livingroom to watch a little TV. The volume was low, and there was a scene on one of the local channels, like one from an old Godzilla movie, but more ...surreal. I remember thinking, "when did this channel start showing old movies this time of the morning?" Well, I wasn't in the mood for destructive shows, so I turned the channel to find the same scene on another local channel. I couldn't pick up the remote control fast enough. I remember thinking how odd it was for 2 channels to show the same scene, unless it was live and local. My mouth fell open when I changed the channel to find yet another local TV station with a similar scene. By this time, I'm almost sure it was about 9:10 AM EDT or so. My heart began to sink and I got that awful sick feeling in my gut. My first thought was that this scene was from downtown Orlando. Thoughts of my family possibly being involved sent a wake-up call. I turned the volume up very loud with the remote control in one hand, the telephone in the other. The anchor person was talking in mono syllables. As I stared at this scene more closely, I realized with a distant pan shot of the cameras, that this was New York!! And it was no movie, but was actually happening right in front of my eyes! I dropped both the remote and the phone, with my hands up to my face and screamed! Immediately I began strainging my ears to hear some assurance that this was some Hollywood stunt gone amuck or something. But what I did hear was that a plane had gone through one of the twin towers in New York. By the time I got to the couch, the second plane was striking the other twin tower. The anchorperson kept talking about how unreal this all seemed and about the structure of the building. I kept yelling to the TV, "What about the people!", as I watched the plane explode and what seemed like debris falling from the building. I understood that at that time of morning, lots of people had probably just arrived to work. My imagination went wild! I imagined people being blown out of windows, crushed by heavy building material, people burned in the explosion, body parts! The tears were streaming down my face. By 9:30 AM, I had earnestly prayed, and cried, for all those people, for their families and loved ones. My little life drama was miniature in comparison to the traumatic scale of what was happening to those people that day of September 11th, 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 story7376.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. 2002-09-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.156.100.155 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On the morning of Sept 11, 2001 I was a Midshipman 1st Class (Senior) at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. I had just finished a robotics lab in the Rickover Labs and was proceeding through the 'tunnel' to Luce Hall for my next class. My path brought me past a midshipman lounge which was packed with 30 or 40 mids, instead of the normally present 5 or 10. I asked another midshipman what was happening, and he stated the facts as he knew them, both World Trade Centers had been hit by airplanes. I took a second to digest this, and my first thought was, "This has to be terrorism." I went to my second hour class in Luce Hall, a leadership course ironically entitled "Code of the Warrior" in which we discussed the codes that various warrior classes lived by- a timely subject. In my Luce classroom I found several classmates trying to get onto a computer and rig a television so that we could get much needed information. Our instructor, a civilian, invited us to the instructor lounge to witness the events. It was there, in a room with several midshipmen, a few naval officers, and a civilian instructor I witnessed the first tower collapse. There wasnt a word spoken in the room...I felt in the pit of my stomache a combination of extreme sorrow for those inside and intense anger at those responsible. Shortly, I left the lounge for my deck of the dormatory, Bancroft Hall. On my walk from Luce to 8-1, I felt amazingly alone and aware of my surroundings. It was a remarkably beautiful day on the East Coast (as many have noted). Midshipmen, normally a jovial group, walked purposefully to their decks without speaking. I arrived on deck an immediately reported to the Company Mate of the Deck, a plebe (freshman), who was taking a muster of the company. The company held a formation to account for everyone, and we remained in formation following the muster awaiting further instruction from the upper echelons. We rolled a TV into the passageway so that we could feed our need for information. Our Battalion Chaplain visited the deck and offered counsel, however I dont think anyone required it just yet. We began to have midshipmen account for relatives they knew in areas of the attacks, several family members lived and worked in the areas, one classmates father was an Admiral who worked in the Pentagon. Following an announcement from the Commandant, we dismissed from formation and I went to my room and tried to call home. I got in touch with my mom, and tried not to show any emotion, so as to not upset her. How do you convince someone that where you are isnt a target or is safe after today? As I sat my window, I noticed again the solitude even in this large place. Shortly, a cruiser could be seen in the Chesapeake Bay, presumealby providing air defence for the approaches to the DC Area. USCG craft were patroling the waters of the Severn River along the Academy and the atheletic field lights were lit, and burned throughout the night for months to come. Marines emplaced bunkers at all the gates, machine gun nests were also present. Meals were eaten in shifts to prevent massing the Brigade in one spot. Liberty was canceled for the week. The events of Sept 11, 2001 reminded me that evil exists in the world, and was a day I'll 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 story11461.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. 2005-06-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.165.59.67 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: Like most, I was in total shock. All the emotions (shock, anger, fear, uncertainty, disgust, feelings of revenge) were there, were real, and came and went at will, it seemed. That gave way to a feeling that, although terrible, this act could not give way to blind retribution. It has. We needed to begin asking questions. Who did this? The most important question: Why? This question has yet to be fully answered. At some point, we stopped asking after our people collectively decided that "they" attacked us because they were jealous of our lifestyle and because "they" did not have the same respect for human life as we do. I can only offer Manifest Destiny, the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, Columbus, Wounded Knee, Sand Creek, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Central America, and the economic sanctions against Iraq as the obvious rebuttal regarding respect for other cultures. That said, we need to continue to scrutinize ourselves and ask ourselves the question: "What positive change do I want to see, and what am I willing to do to make it a reality?" Our individual visions can become a reality. 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 story3590.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. 56.0.72.17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: As a little girl my father would take me to these two giant buildings in the middle of the busiest place I had ever been to, New York City. The first time he took me to New York I fell in love. Although I grew up on Long Island, I was so close to the city that I made it a regular stop through the years, to see a show, to go to Macy's or just to go into those TWO GIANT BUILDINGS, so needless to say when they were attacked it was so devestating. I was driving to work that day and heard that Tower one was hit and thought it was just a terrible accident and then I heard about tower two and my heart started racing, then the pentagon. I was working at the same company as my husband at the time so I was fortunate enough to have with me there to comfort me as we all watched what was happening just 30 miles from us. We could actually go up on the roof and see all the smoke of the fires and actually see some of the building and then in a matter of minutes, they were gone and all those poor people inside. It was devastating. The huge loss of life. People jumping out of windows, people running for their lives and all those fireman and police who ran in there knowing they were probably going to die. It's just so sad and yet at the same time it made me even prouder than before to be an American. The way this country came together to help those who need help, to comfort those who needed comfort and to honor those who had lost their lives. I think the thing that touched me the most though was the way the President handled the whole situation right from the start when he was approached in that second grade class and told that we were under attack. He was extremely in control from the start. When we watched him from our televisions comforting this wounded nation, telling us to hug our children, PRAYING with us, and then ending every night with God Bless America, I felt like a little child who was just tucked in by my daddy after a horrible, horrible day. I love that we were praying together as a nation, together. Amazing Grace was being played on the radio and churches were open all day to pray and comfort each other. It took a horrible tragedy to bring us together through Christ our God. He spared many lives that day. It could have been so much worse that it ended up being although it was still a tremendous loss. I will never forget that day. I am a mother of five and at times it can be very frustrating but this event has brought me closer to my children. I realize that one day could change my whole world so every day that we are alive and together is a GREAT day. Those people are our heroes. They didn't realize they would be in those last minutes of their lives but I hope they know now from where they are in a better place. God Bless America Holly Marino Fishkill, NY 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 story6171.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. 64.12.96.8 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: When I first heard the news, I was at the realtor's office. I had just moved back home after living out of state and was excited to start a new life, my own apartment, a new job, a new baby neice. I was filling out the application in the office when the phone rang. The realtor was aghast at whatever news was delivered in that call. She told me that the first plane had hit. I rushed to my sister's house only a few blocks away. The TV was on and I seen the second plane hit as I walked in the door. I sat on the floor stunned. The images were played again and again on the news. My neice woke up from her nap crying, wanting fed. My sister warmed the bottle, and I held Marin in my arms feeding her as I watched the images on the TV. I remember thinking how much this would change Marin's life, how differently she would grow up than I had. She would not have the security that my sister and I had shared knowing we were safe from acts such as this. She would not have that security, no one would. My day started out with the optimism of a new life ahead of me, I just did not realize that the day would bring a new way of living for us all. The optimism is weakened somewhat but still there. It is now tempered with a strong conviction to be good to people I personally love, who love me, and to be good to people I don't personally know, but love and support in spite of that fact. Just as the news images of that day will be forever in my mind, so will the love and compassion that sprung from them be in my heart. 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 story2894.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. 166.102.183.54 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On September 11, 2001, I was sitting in my math class at about 8:30 a.m. We were learning basic algebra concepts, when another one of my teacher, called my math teacher to the door. I sat closest to there, and by the look on her face I knew something serious was wrong. I overheard one of the teachers saying something all the lines of: "Doesn't she have a son that works at the top floor?", the other replied "Yes, but we don't know if he was in the Trade Center at the time." I was the only student in the room that knew something was going on. The others were going out their day thinking everything was fine, giggling, chatting away while thousands were suffering excruciatingly painful deaths in New York. I tried to tell my friend whom had been sitting behind me that I heard something about a serious plane crash that occured, but he didn't believe it. We finished out the period and went to our next class. The teachers tried to carry on the day without telling anyone, but I found it very hard to concentrate, because I knew something was seriously wrong but didn't know the details. During the next class we were all called across the street to our church where our entire school had an assembly. Many kids had been cheering for the mere fact that we were missing class, oblivious to the devastation that would never be forgotten. When the priest began to speak and inform the students and suddenly the naive expression on the childrens face's turned blank and the chapel went silent... 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 story2126.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. 24.91.189.121 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I will never forget that morning. I was sitting in first hour with only minutes till the bell was to ring and I'd be off to another hour of Chemistry. A teacher walked in at 8:58 and asked if we had our television on. Since we did not she said in a very sad voice "A plane has hit the World Trade Center and there has been an explosion at the pentagon." At that time what had occured to at the pentago was still unknown. The bell rang two minutes later and talked buzzed in the hall way. No one knew what was going on so it was more of a "Did you hear that something happened" conversation. I walked into second hour and everyone was sitting on their desks watching the t.v. There was pictures of the the tower,those pictures that burn in our heads forever. We sat in horror and starred in disbelief as we saw the plane hit the second tower. No one knew how to cope. We went through the day watching television or sitting in the commons with eachother. No one could comprehend. I went home and tried to call my father who lives overseas and I couldn't get through. It was scary. A year later I still cry at the mention of that day. i have searched my heart for reasons of why this would happen and I still cannot find it. I am unable to fathom how hate could fester in one's heart. Since I can not cope with the past, I look to the future. Of what I can do in this life to help. And at the current day. We need to love eachother and care for one another. I apprecaite more, I know what I have now. That day has changed me 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 story4221.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. 68.97.178.19 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 watching tv when I say the first tower damaged from the first plane. I didn't think anything about it until I heard what had really happend. Then watching the second plane strike the other tower, I felt my hart beat faster. After listening to the news of the planes being hijacked and that a third plane crashed into the Pentagon then a forth plane crash learning of terrorist, I grew angry and outraged. At that time, I was employed with Citibank and realized that we had a branch in one of the towers. I went to work wondering if there has been any notification of survivors. Then we heard that we did lose several of our fellow employees. I left Citibank to work in the medical field so I can travel in case of emergencies. Now I personally feel like I should try another career like FBI or Texas Ranger so I can help even more so. One year later my hart goes out to the families and friends who lost a loved one including the people that were in the four planes. Good luck to us all... 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 story2526.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. 199.91.34.254 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My story probably isn't as significant as some, but coming upon this site, I will tell you what I felt that day, as I have never put down on paper (per say) or truly expressed to anyone in great length how I felt about September 11,2001 It was just an ordinary day at school. I was giving a lady a perm and I happened to see one of our instructors and a bunch of students wheel a television out onto the clinic floor. I thought nothing of it, and thought they were going to watch an instructional video of some sort, and went about my business. Then I seen numerous students standing around the television watching. So I walked over to see what all the commotion was about and then looked at the TV and saw a building on fire, but didn't recognize which building it was until a student told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. My first thought was "What a horrible accident", thinking that somehow a commuter plane or one of those small planes that fly around with banners attached to them, had hit it. I thought it was just some freak accident. I went back to my client and told her what had happened and she too was horrified. Then a few minutes later they said that a second plane had hit the other tower. Then I knew something wasn't right, that it was deliberate. Then I got the news on the Pentagon and the plane that went down in PA. I stayed at school for awhile and watched the news coverage. Students were walking around crying, some even panicking and saying the end of the world was near. Now I had watched and read material on Nostradamus and never gave it a second thought until it was brought up... But then I never took it real serious either. Heck, anyone could of read those predictions and create the incidents themselves ....But deep down I was terrified. I called the school to check on my children. The school was under a lockdown. I went to the school and took my daughter out, but she then pleaded to stay,so I let her. I thought best to leave her there and keep her occupied. Later, I picked up my daugheter from school and went home and turned on the news. It was all I watched the rest of the week. That night, I made our kids sleep with us. I went to church that night to pray for our country and our world. I felt like such a hipocrate (sp) because I hadn't been to church in almost 6 yrs. But I stayed and prayed and talked the sister at the church and sought comfort. Still to this day when I see footage on TV about the events of that day, I well up with tears. All those innocent people killed and all the fireman and policeman that lost their lives by doing their duty, no matter how dangerous. Like many Americans I took everything this country stood for for granted. Turned my cheek when events in other countries were happening and thinking "I'm glad it's not us".. I will never,ever say that again Now I pay more attention to what is going on in the world and sympathize for the people that are losing their lives due to suicide bombings and what their families are going through. I commend our military my doing their damndest trying to defend our freedom. Thinking that most of them won't ever come home.That someone will lose a son or daughter or grandchild. I try to remain optimistic and put my faith in God, but there are still times I am very bitter. How could something like this happen? I could write forever but I'm just giving you the jist of what is popping into my head right now and typing it as fast as I can before I forget. LOL I will always remember Sept 11,2002. God Bless America. Chris Iott 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 story972.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. 2002-08-05 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.90.98.133 Annotation Annotations to this item. Patriotism Premonitions/Coincidence/Fate Religion U.S. retribution DOMESTIC Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had driven into the Center for New Media History as the tragedy was unfolding, but I was listening to a tape. A few minutes after I got to work, Katja, a grad assistant at the Center came in with a wild story about an attack on the World Trade Center that I immediately thought was some kind of hoax that she had heard. Moments later, the Center Director, Roy Rosenzweig, came in repeating the story so the three of us turned on all the computers and plugged into various webcasts. Thought web traffic was heavy we received the broadcasts of National Public Radio, the BBC and ABC News. We were shocked of course. I think we all tried to get some work done, but the stories were so riveting and the images so compelling that this was difficult for all of us to do. I think I must have said "impossible" a hundred times that day. Two weekends later I drove up to Boston with a friend. We passed the hole in the Pentagon, then passed the empty skyline of Lower Manhattan. At Fenway Park, we watched a ballgame from the left-field stands. We looked out over the bullpen as the pitchers peered over the wall and the flag beyond them flew at half-mast. It was an experience that I will never forget. I will also never forget the 35,000 Bostonians who sang "New York, New York" at the top of their voices during the seventh inning stretch. At once a terribly sad and incredibly hopeful experience. 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 story3.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 129.174.27.157 Annotation Annotations to this item. Internet Memorials/Vigils (location or person) Radio Coverage DC:3 January-March, 2002 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: Estaba esperando que mi esposa acabara de arreglar a mi peque?ita para llevarla al kinder, cuando en las noticias vi las im?genes de la torre humeante, y como no habia estado poniendo atenci?n hasta ese instante, simplemente pens? que alg?n idiota distraido con avioneta se hab?a estrellado; despu?s de eso fu? a dejar a mi ni?a y regres? a mi casa a desayunar, y pues la informaci?n segu?a fluyendo, pero todav?a exist?a una gran incertidumbre respecto a la verdadera naturaleza de lo que estaba pasando; me fu? a trabajar y al llegar a mi oficina una de mis secretarias me dijo que si no sab?a que dos aviones se hab?an estrellado contra las Torres Gemelas; yo le contest? que no, que a lo mejor se estaba confundiendo porque yo hab?a visto que era una sola Torre, pero ella me dijo que prendiera el radio, pero en lugar de eso prend? la televisi?n de mi oficina y ya pude ver las dos Torres con humo, inmediatamente quise entrar a la p?gina de CNN pero lo ?nico que mostraba era una imagen de la primera Torre impactada; de repente por radio dijeron que la primera Torre se estaba derrumbando, y ya para entonces yo viv?a todo como en una pel?cula de Hollywood; de repente lleg? mi jefe y lo primero que hizo fue prender la televisi?n, y al igual que yo estaba sumamente preocupado y hasta espantado; total que todo el d?a vi televisi?n y coment? el asunto junto con otros compa?eros de trabajo que compart?an mi temor respecto a las posibles consecuencias en un futuro no muy lejano, de lo que acab?bamos de ver. Les puedo decir que nunca entender? que en nombre de un Dios (sin importar la religi?n) puedan cometerse actos tan atroces; yo siempre he pensado que sin importar la fe que se profese (yo soy cat?lico), religi?n que no predica el amor, la compasi?n, la tolerancia y la ayuda mutua, no sirve para NADA, gracias y que Dios bendiga a todos. 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 story7802.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. 2002-09-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 148.244.115.4 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 remember my husband waking me up, and I lay staring bleary eyed at the image on our television screen: the towers, standing tall and proud in the late summer morning, except one thing; one was burning like a raging inferno. I couldn't fathom what possibly could have happened. I've always thought of myself as a bit cynical, but that morning, in a tiny naive piece of my heart, I believed it was an accident. "It's an accident, how could they not have seen the building? Where they hurt? It's just an accident..." That's when the second one struck. I gasped, and clawed at my husband's shirt. "What was that? Was it a missile?" He replied, "No, hon, it was another plane." At this point I am a wreck. I am howling from a place in my soul I never knew existed. "All those people, all those people" was all I could say, all I could think. I thought our world was coming to an end. I thought planes were going down every where. I was terrified. I ran into the hallway, calling for my mother (we live with my parents) in nothing but panties and a t shirt, completely oblivious to the fact that I had no pants on. I cried clinging to my mother, and that's when I heard my 10 month old daughter calling for me from her room. I composed myself as best I could, and went in, and God, I hugged her so tight. My arms just would not let go. I was praying to God, and at the same time screaming at him, "How could you let this happen? How could you do this to us? How could you let me bring such a beautiful, wonderful child into a world like this?" I tried to stay calm as I changed her diaper and got her dressed, all the while my heart is racing. I would look at her beautiful face, her gummy smile with the two diamond perfect teeth, and my heart was breaking, my soul felt as if it were being torn out. What kind of a world had I brought her in to? I brought her back in to my bedroom in time to watch the first tower collapse. I felt as if I was losing my mind as I screamed "All those people!" for what felt like the millionth time. My husband insisted that he still go to school. I drove him, since his leg had been broken in a football game 10 days earlier, and wept the whole drive. As he walked away from the car after kissing the both of us, I heard everyone scream on the radio as the second tower came down. I choked out a yell across the parking lot "Babe, the second one went." He nodded and headed for the entrance. Back at home in the garage, I leaned against the steering wheel and wept once again. After getting Alyssa something to eat, I took notes from the news reports on tv. I couldn't process all that information. The Pentagon in flames, the towers gone, another plane down in Pennsylvannia. It was all too much. To my relief, an hour after we dropped him off, my husband called for us to bring him back home. I remember looking up at the clear blue sky, and seeing not one plane. I had the eerie feeling of floating, of not quite being in my own skin. The rest of that month I did not feel like myself. About two weeks afterward, my daughter and I were in the grocery store, in an aisle all alone, and she made me laugh. It echoed in the near empty store, and I remember feeling guilty, feeling as if I should never laugh again. The feeling has gone away for the most part, but I know I am an entirely different person than I was pre-Sept. 11th. I try not to take anything or anyone for granted anymore. I don't know what I'd do without my family. Those who lost loved ones and friends, those who were directly affected by this tragedy, you are in my thoughts and prayers. I cried every day, nearly in to the new year for you, for all of us. Sometimes, when the house is quiet and my daughter looks at me with her blue gray eyes, my heart aches and I begin to cry all over again. I don't think the pain will ever go away. 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 story5643.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. 65.184.222.157 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 brilliant blue sky and clear morning greeted us on September 11. It was VERY hard for me not to play hooky -- I called in late, but decided not to run all my errands. Instead, I took the bus to the Pentagon bus terminal and from there, the train to my job in Washington DC. Had I stayed in Virginia to run a few more errands before going to work, I would have been at the Pentagon bus terminal some time around 9:30 am. As I was walking to my cubicle I was greeted by a co-worker who said "My husband called to say a plane just hit the World Trade Center!" I'm a native New Yorker -- I savored the memories of a High Wire walker walking between those two lofty towers, and a mountain climber scaling Tower One with everyone cheering him on. But on the other hand, I sadly remembered the garage bombing several years ago, that rattled the Twin Towers and caused fatalities. When my co-worker gave me the initial news, I envisioned a private plane -- maybe a one-engine 2-seater, getting into a scrape with the building, and hopefully not hurting anyone inside -- but this was not to be. A few minutes later she came rushing over to me to say "A SECOND plane has just hit the World Trade Center!" "Terrorists?.." I said with a sinking heart. Radios were turned on. Personal TV's showed small, grim black and white images of death and destruction going on at that very moment. More planes were supposedly circling overhead, looking for targets here in DC and other places in the country -- looking for innocent victims and vulnerable buildings. We milled around in the office wondering who, how, when, and especially?..why??? This beautiful day had become a tragic mask -- a fa?ade worn over the leering grin of death. Shortly thereafter a solemn-faced supervisor told us the Pentagon had been hit by a plane and was burning; our building, with its tower, was vulnerable -- everyone was to leave and go home at once. We all knew what kind of gridlock awaited us outside. I even thought that sleeping under my heavy desk was preferable to exposing myself to attack on the street, along with thousands of others who were right now evacuating the area. This was the stuff of disaster movies. Now we were the unwilling actors. As I left the building, I heard that our Metro Subway was closed. With all this happening, who would have wanted to get into that tunnel anyway??! I envisioned a long walk home. The scene that greeted me as I walked out of the building and onto Pennsylvania Avenue was of wide streets and utter silence. Silent police stood everywhere. People were walking along in stunned silence. My cell phone was silent -- dead, as, I am sure, were many other cell phones in that area. I waited at a bus stop, trying to catch a bus to Georgetown, reasoning that all streets leading to the Pentagon would be closed. Once in Georgetown I planned to walk the rest of the way home. I waited at the stop, along with 5 other people. One woman was shaking like a leaf. We held her hands and prayed with her. We told her to go home to her babies and give them a big hug. None of us were really sure if we would ever make it home. What else was waiting for us on this horrific day??! The bus to Georgetown never came. I aimlessly walked toward Constitution Avenue, which was packed with traffic. I walked, toward Virginia, for about 15 more minutes and then something made me turn to look behind me. My bus!!!!! I ran toward it, and even though it was in the middle of the street, far from a bus stop, the driver let me on. I was greeted by the passengers, one of whom told me -- "Look there -- you can see the Pentagon on fire." Huge clouds of black and grey smoke billowed up in the distance -- we were about 4 miles from the Pentagon. The bus slowly made its way up the street in silence. Everything seemed to be going in timeless slow motion. I looked at the gridlock, at the people dressed in business clothes lugging briefcases, walking up the on-ramps to Route 66 with no sidewalks to protect them -- going home to who knows how far away, and I said to myself --"We are ALL sitting ducks here!!!" I am normally pretty cool in emergencies, so I was not scared -- but boy was I angry, and stunned. Would I die before I got home? What would happen to my kitties? Who could ever care for them the way I care for them?? After more than an hour, the bus driver entered Route 66 to Rosslyn (definitely not our usual route), and as we approached the Rosslyn bus terminal, a spontaneous collective cheer rose up from the passengers!! At the Rosslyn bus terminal, you could see the fear and despair on people's faces. "Here's a seat -- we saved it just for you!", I said to a lady whose furrowed face broke into a relieved smile. Then I saw, at the front of the bus, Dee -- my former coworker from the Pentagon (I had worked there for seven years). "Dee!" I yelled "Come back here!" ""Oh!" She exclaimed "Someone I know!" I gave her my seat and we talked as the bus closed its doors and pressed onward through the crowded traffic to a destination unknown. Dee and I talked. She had been evacuated from the Pentagon and walked all the way to Rosslyn. She was not near the point of impact, and heard practically nothing -- so she was shocked by the news when they were told to evacuate. I was very worried about another friend of mine who worked at the Pentagon -- I had not seen her for 8 years -- and happened to run into her on the previous Saturday, September 8?.. Was that the last time I'd ever see her again? I still have not been able to contact her, but I have not seen her name on the list of victims. I hope that all is well with her. Meanwhile, the bus drove on, and we found ourselves a mile from my home. The bus was trying to continue on to Pentagon City, which I thought would be cordoned off, given its proximity to the area of impact at the Pentagon. "Dee", I said --" would you like to walk with me to my place, freshen up, try to call your kids and let them know you?re ok?" Dee said yes. We got off the bus, thanked the driver profusely, and as we left, we said to our fellow-passengers "Good luck, everybody!", and we walked the rest of the way to my place. The sun was warm, the breeze was caressingly cool, the skies were a brilliant blue, there was a ponderous silence in the air, like waiting for the next shoe to drop -- and two fighter jets screamed by overhead. We passed a young man waiting for his wife to come and pick him up -- we told him the traffic was pretty bad - it might be a long wait. We talked with him for a while and then Dee and I continued to my place. Once inside the door, both of my kitties greeted me, and mewed a sweet hello to Dee. How happy I was to see my little ones -- and how tragic it was to look out my balcony window and see the masses of smoke and destruction at the Pentagon -- how many people were dying right there, right now????? On my answering machine there was a message from my aunt, wondering why I hadn't called her?. I had given up trying to call my aunt in New York -- "The lines are being used for a national emergency" was the message I kept getting. I would wait until later in the evening to call Auntie. I prayed for her and my friends in New York -- many of whom work in Manhattan. Also on the answering machine was a tearful message from my very best friend from the Bronx, who now lives in Florida -- hoping against all hope that I was OK. I called her at once, and did get thru to her. Dee called her family -- and got thru to everyone. I gave her a bottle of water for her walk home, invited her to rest awhile before setting out, and we watched the news on TV for a while. When Dee was ready to walk home, she insisted on taking me out to dinner to repay me for being so kind to her! I was flabbergasted - but hungry, and so we walked down normally-busy Columbia Pike, which was totally emptied of any traffic except for firetrucks and ambulances screaming down the streets. The few people we saw were walking around as if in a daze. I heard later that our newly opened, neighborhood coffeehouse was packed. Dee and I ate at Boston Market, mostly in silence, along with other people, who, in our dazed state (and probably theirs too) were just shadowy forms of human beings. The last I saw of Dee, as we parted ways, was a cheerful little sprite with long flowing hair holding her water bottle, walking the 4 miles home -- I saw some buses going down Columbia Pike later on, and I hope she was able to catch one. The rest of the evening and night was spent hugging my cats, looking out the window at the Pentagon and praying, watching TV and finally getting thru to Auntie who could not understand why I couldn?t call her earlier??..I couldn?t get much sleep that night. I kept getting up and looking out the balcony window at the smoldering burning Pentagon?... The next morning, the government offices WERE open, and I went to work. It was another beautiful day -- with a great deal of silence and very little traffic on the streets. Going back to work after what happened yesterday seemed strange. But we needed to press on regardless, and the best way we could keep our spirits from plunging into despair. I wanted to bring an American Flag to work -- and for some reason, I walked into the Safeway near my bus stop, actually found an American flag and bought it. I carried it to work and placed it on my desk next to the flag of New York, which I downloaded from the Internet. They are still there as I write this, and will stay there for a long long time. At the end of this long day, filled with doubts and worries and fears, we all headed home. The Pentagon bus terminal was, of course, closed indefinitely, until a new bus terminal could be erected, away from the danger. The very day after the tragedy, the buses which normally use that terminal were re-routed. Our temporary bus terminal was at Pentagon City - a sprawling shopping mall with a Macy's and Nordstrom's. As I waited for my bus with the others (there were very few commuters out today), I could see Nordstrom's large display windows -- they had been stripped bare and nothing but red lights shone in each of the four windows fronting the bus stop. There were very few shoppers out that evening, and those that were seemed out of place. It felt very strange to see people walking into Best Buy and coming out with boxes of purchases -- almost as if this hallowed time of suffering was being desecrated by commercialism??. Unfortunately, on my way home, my bus passed less than a quarter mile from the huge, still-smoldering scar in the Pentagon. Passengers crossed themselves and prayed, and we all knew that there were many (hundreds?) of bodies still in there. For several days afterwards, as we passed the huge mis-shapen scar, we all were visibly shaken. Cubicles had been laid bare -- we could see computer terminals still sitting on desks inside of offices that had been torn to pieces. One night, about a week after the terrible tragedy, the smoldering embers deep within the Pentagon were fanned to life again, as flames. Fire equipment quickly rushed to the scene to put out the fires. Then, during one afternoon commute home, we looked at the Pentagon again, in time to see a small crowd of workers on the roof, anchoring a huge American Flag in place. What a comforting sight. A few days after the tragedy, I talked with the people who work in the pharmacy near my home. They had heard the jetliner flying very low overhead, just before it hit the Pentagon. Later that same day I ran into a friend of mine who lives down the street from me and heard some hair-raising news her. She had been in her house when the plane went overhead -- telling me that the plane was "so low, it almost sucked the windows out of my house!!" She then told me that when she heard that it had hit the Pentagon, she ran through her house crying and screaming. My friends who work in Manhattan emailed me a few days later. One of them, a sweet sensitive lady, works in a building that overlooked the WTC area -- she said "You cannot imagine the horror?. I will never get that image out of my mind." Another friend had to walk home, and she too, like me, had worried if she would ever see her kitties again(6 of them). A nation-wide candle-light 7 pm street corner vigil (announced on the Internet) was held about a week after the national tragedies. The night was cool. Many of us stood on street corners with our candles held in our hands or surrounding us on the grass. People spilled out of restaurants, bars and stores with their lit candles, sang, talked and then went back inside. People waiting for the bus pulled candles out of bags, lit them, sang and stood there in silent tribute to the fallen and to our future. I stood with a group of neighbors on the lawn of our high rise complex. We sang "God Bless America", and passing cars, flags flying from antennae or windows, would blow horns, police cars patrolling the streets would flash their lights and blip their sirens to salute U.S. as they passed by. A temporary memorial went up spontaneously at the base of the Navy Annex, a hilly area overlooking the Pentagon. Pictures, flags, stuffed teddy bears, ribbons, poems, candles, and in December, a lone Christmas tree with a votive light at its base. Silent, mute reminders of unceasing tears, and of voices and laughter tragically stilled forever. For months afterwards, any time I would run into an acquaintance, here or in New York, the words were always the same "How are you? Are you OK? Is everyone OK?" Not everyone I knew could say yes??? I made a special trip to visit my aunt in New York, on September 29. The sadness that pervaded my trip was almost unbearable. Walking through Penn Station and the Port Authority, I could see the tributes on the walls, the books of remembrance, the photographs, the pleas - "Have you seen my daughter", "Have you seen my son", "Have you seen this person?"??. On the way home in the train, I slept for almost all of the 4 hour trip, most unusual for me. The clouds that haunted the skies from NY to Delaware were black, red, yellow -- almost as if the fires that had not yet gone out were following us saying "Do not EVER forget?.". Time heals wounds very slowly. This one will NEVER heal totally. For the next several weeks (and even now) I would run into people, former co-workers, who had been working in the Pentagon when the plane hit. One man, I heard, had momentarily walked away from his office to run an errand. He was lucky. His office was blown to smithereens before he returned. Another friend who works there told me that when the plane hit "It sounded like a sonic boom -- only TEN times louder?There were red flames?. People were walking around like zombies?.We left the building in utter silence?. I will NEVER ever get over this?.." I see her once in a while and always am very kind to her. She is slowly feeling better. God bless and preserve us all. May the souls of those who died so tragically rest in peace, We will never forget them. May the walking wounded (in body, in spirit) find peace and comfort in God and their fellow-humans. May Peace finally reign supreme in the hearts of ManKIND. Azar "Ace" Attura 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 story248.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. 2002-03-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 206.161.132.71 Annotation Annotations to this item. Economic effects Gov't workers (non-military and non-rescue) Memorials/Vigils (location or person) Patriotism Peace Personal connection to someone at site Police Officers Struggle to get home 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: I had gone to San Diego to a conference for work. This was my first plane trip. I was scared as it was being in an unfamiliar city by myself. I was getting ready when I turned on the television. I came back into the room when the first plane flew into the first towers. I thought "Oh my god, those poor people". I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I then finished and left to go to my first session when they came in and said that president Busch had declared war that terroists were attacking. All I could think of was those poor people that had died. Then I was scared for myself I didn't know anyone and didn't know how and when I was going to get back to my own family. At this time airlines were shut down and they were not letting anyone out of the city. We had gone to a meeting to decide if we were going to cancel the conference or keep going. I was sitting there with my Emporia State jacket on when a lady came up to me and asked if I was from Emporia Kansas. I told her I was. She asked how I was getting home. I told her I had no idea but if she was going to rent a car I would go in on it. That is what we did. It took awhile before someone would rent us one. I know it was an act of god that we had met each other. I will never forget 9-1-1. 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 story5608.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. 209.184.63.47 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 home waiting for my husband to return to me. I do not have a television, but after a frantic cell phone message I heard from my husband, I ran next door to watch the second plane hit tower number two, and watch while most of my hsbands staff, I thought, burn up into the morning clouds. He was about to report to work on the 88th floor of WTC 1. After attempting to get into the bulidings, as he wanted tot help his collegues, he then tried to get to the Emergency Command Center. He was unable to as the first building was falling down around him. He tehn somehow made it to the river, and helped eveacuate people onto a fery which he hailed over to the shore. The ferry was many feet below ground level and to get the women and children onto the ferries he had to drop them eight feet down to the boat. He was then told by authoritieis to get on the boats. He came home to me around 2:00. We spent the rest of the week with the lists of living and the dead on our counter. It was like living in hell. Thanks God many friends made it home, many have been hurt, many will never be the same. I certainly won't. 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 story802.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 146.96.92.54 Annotation Annotations to this item. Rescue/clean-up workers/volunteers Struggle to get home WTC, attack NY:2 N-YHS