240 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: 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 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: That day changed the way I look at people. I now tell my family and friends more than ever how much I love and appreciate each individual for who they are. And not to take each other for granted. My prayers go out to those who lost loved ones and friends. Tonya A. 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 story3447.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. 166.34.52.4 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: September 11 started like any other day. It was a Tuesday. Like always I had trouble getting up to go to school; just the usual, falling asleep in the shower, during breakfast, and while I'm changing. So anyways, I finally got to school and started another regular day. First period went as slow as usual. Then, something was wrong during break. I remember seeing a lot of people crying and panicking. I did not pay attention to it, I didn't know what was going on. Then I got to my class and I saw it. The two towers were in smoke. My friends and I could not believe it. Especially when the first tower went down. I tried not to think about that same day, as if it didn't had happened. I couldn't do it. I couldn;t believe the U.S. was attacked, and the two towers were gone. Since I was a little kid back in my country I always heard stuff about how great the U.S. is, and also about the twin towers. There was time when the only thing I knew about the U.S. was that the twin towers were in New York and that tehy were the tallest buildings in the world. They are gone now, and there is no way of bringing them back. 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 story8007.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. 2002-09-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 141.156.215.16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at home with my two children. I was at home that morning doing my usual morning routine. I turned on the television so my daughter could watch cartoons before we left for the day. Instead what I saw will stay etched in my mind for the rest of my life, like so many other people. The first plane had already crashed into Tower and a just sat there stunned. At first I thought maybe it was just a horrible accident, but then it was announced that another plane had crashed into the other Tower. It was like I could hardly speak. I had my children there and I called my husband to just hear his voice almost to resure me. Then news came of the Pentagon. Then the news of the plane crashing in a field in Pennsylvania. I didn't even leave my home that day. I didn't know any one person directly that was at any of the sites. But I still felt a loss as most Americans did. Those we lost may, we will be greatly missed. Those Brave Fireman, EMS workers, Police, you go out there every day for us, may god be with you. To those you lost, you are in my prayers. We will never forget this day, it will be in the history books that our children, grandchildren, and other future generations will study, it will be in our minds forever. We have great leaders in this country who stood strong, and gave us leadership, and courage when it would have been easy to run and hide, but America has never done that and it showed the world that. Still to this day the National Anthem will bring tears to my eyes for the pride I have for the WONDERFUL COUNTRY that I live in. And today 1 year later my FLAG is still flying. 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 story3156.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. 166.67.50.2 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 was at work when my wife called to let me know that an explosion had occurred at the World Trade Center. At the time, I did not understand the implications of the occurrence. Within an hour, many of the people at work were given the option to go home. Watching the news the entire evening with our children was a difficult but memorable experience. We had an opportunity to explain why evil exist in light of what the Bible teaches. More importantly, it provided a reference point for giving them an eternal perspective to the fallen nature of this world and the hope we have when Jesus Christ returns. I did not try to play down the tradegy of the moment or the importance of reacting responsibly to those that perpetrated the injustice. In many respects, although I would never wish the atrocity on any other human being, I'm glad my children were exposed to tragedy. They not only learned that tragedy happens to the "just and unjust" and that life is unfair, but more importantly, they can have the assurance that God will deal justly with evil. 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 story2728.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.238.203.194 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: On September 11th 2001 I was a Junior at Eustis High and I was in my second period American History class. We were all taking a quiz and a announcement came over the intercom telling us to turn on the news in our classrooms and that there had been a bombing at the WTC. we all stopped what we were doing and looked up at the TV. Thats when we all seen the 1st building in flames. Everyone in the classroom was stunned and in disbelief. All you here in the classroom was Oh My Gosh what happened?, wow!, just little comments like that. Thats when we watched the second plane hit the other building. Now that was definintly something that had freaked us all out. We couldnt believe what we had just seen. Is that possible? A huge plane flying into a building like that? We all questioned that but it was odvious to us that it was possible. After that we all just sat in silence, a few comments here and there but mostly silence. We pretty much sat in all our classes that day and watched the news. Then someone called in a bombthreat at our school and we all had to go out to the parking lot. Then we were all sent out to be with our familys. That day I was worried b/c I knew that my cousin Katherine was a flight attendent. To her luck and the luck of our familys we all feel as if she got a second chance at life b/c she was at Boston Airport getting ready to take off and they had canceled all of the flights. Once everyone was off her plane they found 2 of the same knives that were used in the previous hijackings. She was about to take off with terrorists on her plane. She told me that the FBI came to her house that night to find out if she remembered what the guys looked like. I was just so happy she was ok. September 11th to me was a day that brought our country closer but in a way that this country should have never seen. 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 story10619.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-05-22 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.208.24.33 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I'll never forget the day as long as I may live. I had just gotten up and turned the tv on to TBS. It was 9:10 am according to the cable box. I had just begun making the bed when my husband yelled back to me to put on CNN that a plane had hit the trade center. I stared in awe, unsure if what I saw was real or a movie scene. Much to our horror and shock it was real. A few moments later the second plane hit and within moments we knew that our life was about to change forever. When we witnessed the towers falling it broke our hearts. To know so many people died senselessly. Being former New Yorkers we felt the rage and anger of not being able to do anything. We couldn't read the paper or watch tv w/o crying a river of tears. Even though we personally did not know anyone, we still grieved for them. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8594.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. 2002-10-29 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.189.136 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 going into a meeting that morning and right before we entered the meeting someone said they heard something had happened at the WTC but they were not sure, something to do with an airplane. 2 hours later the meeting was adjourned and when I returned to my desk there were 2 calls waiting for me, my sister and mother were frantic. I had no idea what had taken place while I was in that meeting and hearing my mother and sister frantic was upsetting. My brother who is soon retiring from the Air Force was at the Pentagon that day. We had no idea where he was and if he was OK. I left work and joined some friends and watched the pictures and got the full story for the first time, of the WTC, Shanksville PA and the Pentagon. The first feelings were of incredulity and then saddness and then fear. All I could think of was all those people trapped and the pain, fear, and hopelessness they must have felt when the attacks occured. Mostly at that point in time I wanted to hear from my brother Bob Allen, he is a wonderful loving brother, husband, father. Hours later my sister-in-law Mayo called me and assured me he was OK. He was there but escaped unharmed....physically. This whole tragedy has been significant to me as this is the 2nd disaster I have experienced so close to home. Hurricane Andrew was the first and I saw the American people pull together to help each other and once again the people were called upon to pull together again. I am grateful to be a part of such a couragous, kind, loving country. I have shed many tears for the dead, but also for the living who have much greater losses in their families. I am so proud to know I live in a place filled with heros from all walks of life and remember this is what it's all about, our forefathers fought for freedom and through the years generations have repeatedly fought for our freedom I guess it is our turn now to show what a great country the U.S.A really is and to continue the presevation of something held so dear. I will never forget the lives that have been given in order for my family, friends, fellow country people and myself to live in the free world. Charlotte Allen Odegaard 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 story3439.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: Dear Friends and Colleagues: ???This is the story of one New York urban historian's experience on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. ?At approximately 8:45AM I was on the ninth floor of the Municipal Building in the offices of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission where I serve as one of the Commissioners. We were assembling to start our weekly hearing. We heard the tremendous boom of the plane striking the North Tower and a sickened staff person called out for all to see it. ?We had a clear view of both towers over City Hall Park. ?There was a gaping black hole in the North facade of the building and flames burning intensely. By now you have all seen the images on television so I can't add enough words here to describe the physical dimension. The sky was intensely blue and winking in the sunlight were the papers that had been blown out of the offices. A strange sight but one that was a terrible clue to the level of destruction. Although we knew a plane had struck, everyone thought it was an accident. That misunderstanding was overthrown when the second plane struck creating the immense fireball in the South Tower. We were shocked into total silence and then we agreed to evacuate the building. Who knew what tall building would be next? I quickly called my daughter's school in Brooklyn to alert them since I knew of parents who worked at the WTC. I called my husband's office -- he was on the 26th floor at 120 Broadway, the famous Equitable Building, catty corner across Liberty Park from the South Tower -- and learned that he too was evacuating. ???When we descended to street level, we joined many others looking up, mesmerized at the horrific spectacle. We were roused from our reverie by police officers who were urging people to move north, away from the area. ?We joined streams of people walking quickly, but calmly, talking quietly, walking north, uptown, past the state and federal courts in Foley Square, which were bring cordoned off, and then up through the streets of Chinatown. ?We turned constantly to look south at the grim views of the billowing smoke rising from the towers. We had already started to make decisions about how to get home. The pedestrian path onto the Brooklyn Bridge is right at the base of the Municipal Building. ?I was afraid to walk over the bridge, something I normally do every week from Brooklyn to Manhattan. I was afraid it would be another target. (My husband did walk over the bridge and heard and witnessed the fall of the South tower from that vantage point.) I, like many others, was afraid to take the subway, afraid of getting stuck or of something worse. ?So I chose to walk to Brooklyn over the Williamsburg Bridge, at the eastern end of Houston Street, ?knowing that there was a pedestrian passageway there. I wasn't sure about accessibility to the Manhattan Bridge, though of course within a short time, the traffic on all the bridges was curtailed, either to allow emergency vehicles to come into Manhattan, or to allow people to walk out. ???I walked across the bridge with a colleague. We turned frequently to see the Trade Center buildings, watching the plume of smoke grow larger and larger as it filled the sky ominously over lower Manhattan, the harbor and south Brooklyn. ?We could not smell the acrid odor that later became so familiar because of the direction of the wind. At about midpoint on the bridge, we turned yet again, but this time we couldn't see the South tower. We couldn't figure this out -- how could our angle of vision have changed so dramatically in just three or four minutes since our last glimpse? ?We asked a cyclist who was sitting and watching, "Why can't we see the South Tower?" ?? ???His answer, "Because it just collapsed." ?To say we were stunned doesn't even begin to express what we felt. It was the moment that defined the grotesque awfulness of all that was happening. ?It was the moment when we understood that the history of our city and nation were changed forever. It was the moment when we knew how enormous the losses were going to be, among the workers in the towers, and among the fire and police who had responded so quickly. Unfathomable. Reality shifted. Despair engulfs us still. ???After a few minutes, we continued on our way, sober, incredulous, and mourning, trying to comprehend the scale of death and destruction. As we walked down the ramp from the bridge to the streets of Williamsburg, a rooster crowed. ?In the heart of this wounded world city, a rooster crowed. ???The sidewalks were filled with people. Hispanic, Hasidic, and people from every ethnic group in the city. Everyone coming off the bridge was focused on getting home. It was the only way, it seemed, that people would be able to know that their friends and family were all right because no phones were working -- cell, public and in the stores, nothing worked. ?People from the neighborhood were listening to radios, and standing out in the streets, talking to one another. Ordinary life had stopped. ?? ???I wasn't quite sure how to walk from Williamsburg to downtown Brooklyn though I knew the general direction. ?The trains had been stopped by this point, and busses were packed, even if I had known what to take. So, finally, after some time, I was able to see a map and plot my route. ?As we walked in one direction, we encountered people walking the opposite way, having come back to Brooklyn over the other bridges. It seemed as though the whole city was in motion. We stopped at a crowd gathered around a television set and learned of the collapse of the second tower. There was nothing one could say but to truly, for the first time, know evil. ???After 2 ? hours of steady walking, I reached my daughter's school in downtown Brooklyn and learned my husband had come through to get her and then walked home. What a relief to know that they were safe. I embraced my friends and learned that the WTC parents had not gone to work that day - a miracle - and were safe. I went home and found the yard and stoop gritty with ash as though a volcano had erupted. Friends of ours in other neighborhoods found letters in their backyards, carried on the wind from WTC firms. ?I spent the next two days with my family, fielding phone calls from family and friends near and far, assuring them of our well being. That's all we wanted to do - to make contact and talk and try and understand and to comfort one another. We talked with my daughter, who was very upset at the loss of a part of Manhattan she has spent much time in. "When will they rebuild?" "Well maybe they won't. Maybe they will create a memorial." "Why can't they have new buildings and a memorial?" Who knows the answers? Who knows anything? ?????? ???Now some 72 hours later, life is not back to normal. Concentrating on work is hard. ?Everyone feels the pall hanging over the city, metaphysically and physically. ?As a lifelong New Yorker, with my professional life centered on the history of the city generally and its physical development, I feel so bereft. The cityscape that I have known since college has been irrevocably altered. The very first slides I took as I began to study New York's architecture were of the great steel arches of the towers at street level, as construction began. Now, they are bent and twisted in the rubble. Many of the older buildings which have been designated official city landmarks about which I and others care so passionately, are damaged. ?I have searched the fleeting views on television, and read the newspapers closely, to learn their fate. ?Rubble and debris fill the churchyards of Trinity and St. Paul's, and the streets in front of the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall. What is the fate of the twin Trinity Buildings and 90 West Street , directly exposed to the blast? ?The Woolworth Building was shielded by others but what of its foundations? ???At any place like the WTC and the World Financial Center, the buildings are so large that on a daily basis, one experienced only parts of them. For me, the Borders book store was a frequent destination at the base of the North tower. There I found the mysteries I read to relax, the children's books for my daughter, and more arcane publications that one wouldn't expect in a mass market stock such as a biography of Dorothy Day. ?I exited the subways into the Lower Concourse. I visited the Farmers Market in the open space at the foot of the South Tower and bought produce and my favorite baked goods there. I bicycled along the brand new bicycle path in front of the World Financial Center on my way north, and at other moments, through the Hudson River park behind Battery Park City. ???There were times when the WTC as part of the city scape was the object of much attention on my part. Last Sunday, the 9th of September, I spent several hours thinking about a proposed new park at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge while looking across the East River at Lower Manhattan. I took pictures. ?The air was crystal clear, the sky Kodak blue, and the skyline was perfection. ???Grieve with us for New York City. Grieve for the people who died. Grieve for the sense of place that has been lost. ???Deborah Gardner, September 14, 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 story124.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. 146.96.92.54 Annotation Annotations to this item. Environmental/Health Impact Students/Teachers Telephones and Cell Phones Struggle to get home NY:2 Feature