249 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: While reading a newspaper in the afternoon (there is a six hour time difference between NY and Italy), I was literally grabbed by the arm and told to come inside the small cafe that I was sitting outside of. I looked up at the screen of the tiny, outdated television that never seemed to be used and saw CNN. I had just moved from Connecticut to Florence after spending a semester there in the winter and spring for the University of Connecticut's 2001 Study Abroad Program. After spending a summer back in the U.S. I had decided that I had left my heart in Italy, along with the man I had fallen in love with. As I looked up at the television I saw what seemed to be a small plane slam into the World Trade Center. My boyfriend said (in Italian), "Oh my god, someone has attacked Chicago," and as I looked up him with tears in my eyes, I simply stated "That's New York." My heart sank and I grabbed my cell phone, immediately before even watching the second airplane hit. One of my friends had just gotten an internship at the WTC, and another was visiting friends in New York that day. The first number I dialed was my house, as I had assumed my father had not yet left for work as a CT State Trooper- and the phone rang once and an operator got on the phone and told me that the number was "out of service." I began to panic. Everyone that I loved, my entire family, my friends, everyone I had ever known or cared about lived on the East Coast. As I made the second call to my mother's office, the phone didn't even ring once- the operator once again repeated that the number was out of service. I stood, frozen, holding my phone with the message repeating over and over, and watched CNN dubbed in Italian. As news of the Pentagon and other airplanes trickled over to Italy, I just stood there. More and more Americans found their way into the cafe- some sitting on the floor, some hugging, some crying as the news seemed to get worse and worse. I was right about to go try and email my family as the first of the two towers came down. That's when I ran to a small internet cafe and checked my email. There were 15 new messages. Everyone was ok. But I wasn't. In a daze, my boyfriend and I wandered over to the restaurant that he worked at and attempted to eat lunch. But the sick feeling in my stomach wouldn't allow me to eat. I looked over at a group of Americans eating lunch. They were middle aged and I realized that they probably didn't even know what was going on back home. There were two couples and one of the women came over and asked me to take a picture of them. As her husband handed me her camera, I thought seriously about whether or not I wanted to tell them about what happened. I took the photo and said, "do you guys know about the WTC and what's going on in the States?" They all had blank looks on their faces, so I began to explain and all of their faces turned white. One of the couples grabbed eachother's hands and in a shaky voice, the husband stated, "my son works in the Pentagon." I just looked at him and whispered "sorry," as I walked back to my table. Never in my life had I felt so alone. I just wanted to see my family and the uncertainty of the what was next was painful for me. That night, La Nazione, the local newspaper had a special newspaper produced, with the headline reading "Guerra al America"- War on America. The next night there was a candlelight vigil in Piazza Rupublica- and as I hummed and sang and gazed at all of the people in Florence dedicating a few moments of time, I was overwhelmed by what was happening. I looked up at the small statue of The David, he seemed to be questioning the flag that slowly waved above his head that had been put at half mast. That night, I decided that my place was in America. I loved Italy- but I felt guilty for not being there for my country in a time of comradery and love of all countrymen. I ached to sing songs and hug others who felt the same way I did. I flew home as soon as I could get a flight out- 2 weeks after the 11th. And the first sight I saw as I flew lower and lower toward Logan Airport in Boston, was a huge billboard with an American flag hanging from it that said, "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 story1663.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. 2002-09-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.1.185.103 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On Tuesday morning 11 September 2001, I was working the breakfast shift at a restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. I had woken up at 4:30 a.m. to take the 7 train from Flushing into the city. By time 9 am rolled around, I was swamped with customers who were demanding for more coffee and more food. Some time during service, the hostess told me in passing that her friend had just called up to tell her that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Thinking it was an accident, I gave a quick thought to sympathy and dove back into my job. A little while later, the hostess told me that a second plan had crashed into WTC 2 and that it looked like terrorism. "That's great," I thought helplessly. Then suddenly, table by table, people were receiving and making cel phone calls like crazy. It didn't surprise me as the restaurant's clientele were often writers or executives of major companies in the publishing industry. I overheard conversations at tables and heard words like "attack" and "terrorism". It was the most disturbing situation I had ever been in: having to keep on doing my job while people were dying and thinking that my could life could be in danger as well. My manager and the restaurant owner ran outside down to Fifth Avenue to look downtown. They returned and said they saw a lot of smoke. I stopped everything I was doing and called my mom to tell her not to come into the city that day. She had planned to commute in some time in the afternoon. She asked me if there was a fire in the city because she saw smoke billowing over towards Queens. I told her it was more serious than that and they were terrorist attacks and that I would try to find a way home as soon as possible. I then called my boyfriend in Seattle. He hadn't woken up yet; it was 6 in the morning there. I told him what had happend and that I loved him and gave him all my mom's contact information. I told him to call my mom and make sure she was alright if anything happened to me. I finished my shift and my manager told me that a lot of servers scheduled for lunch couldn't make it in because of transportation problems (because of the ensuing chaos of the attacks) and cordially invited me to stay and work if I wanted to. Needless to say, I changed out of my work clothes and started mentally mapping out possible destinations. As I was about to leave, the owner brought up a stereo from the office and turned it to a news station that was broadcasting reports. I remember him laughing as they reported that the Pentagon had also been attacked. It seemed as if he thought he was listening to entertainment fiction. He turned around and pointed at me and asked something to the effect of, "You're working lunch, right?" Yeah, right. I left and tuned my walkman to a news station. I remember one broadcaster clearly saying, "It seems we are at war now. With whom-- we do not know." As I emerged from the restaurant, I saw that the streets were flooded with people just wandering uptown. I walked up 55th Street and couldn't shake this surreal feeling as I was listening to my walkman that this was some hoax in the vein of Wells's War of the Worlds. I assumed trains weren't running, so I took the next best step and went to my college where I found some friends. On my way, I heard a man tell his friend, "Hey, this isn't the time for that. This is the time when we have to come together." At St. Luke's Hospital, ambulances had closed off 59th Street and a doctor had taken charge of the situation with a blowhorn. He announced that there were car bombs going off all over the city (a false report that was being broadcasted everywhere) and that people needed to leave the vicinity. I walked with some friends to donate blood and then we went to a friend's apartment in the upper west side. Since the tv antennas had collapsed with the towers, we couldn't watch tv and nobody wanted to listen to the radio. So I made calls to friends in other cities to let them know I was ok and was able to reach a friend who went to George Washington University in DC. We were both glad to hear each other. My friends and I sat around and talked and we ate dinner. A convoy was sent to the local liquor store. They returned with the proper items and reported a long, snaking line there-- apparently we weren't the only ones looking to drown our fears. Around 7 pm, I decided to venture out with a friend and found that the trains were working and got home to find my mom glued to the television. 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 story9175.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-03-31 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.90.196.50 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I have 5 children and never thought that another day in my life would stand out as much as the day that each of my children came into my life - until 9/11/01. That day I had my entire family in my van, my husband and 4 of my children. I was 3 months pregnant and getting IV treatments for dehydration due to the pregnancy and disbility from work. I was driving my husband to work and dropping the kids off to day care and the schools that the older children attended. It was just an oridinary day until as I was driving on one of the busier streets heading downtown in Ft Wayne and our entire wheel flew off of our vehicle at 8:14am. The tire, rim and all. Luckily I was in the far left lane on a one way street and I was able to slow down and pull off on to a side street. No one was hurt - at least no one in my situation. I didn't realize until after my mother came to get us and dropped everyone off that there was something going on. Until I arrived home and turned on the television did I realize the nightmare that was happening in my country. Because I was on disability I was home all day to watch the news coverage and I sat horrified for hours, days... and I can't even imagine being there in person. Actually being there and seeing all of this first hand. I struggled to find the best way to explain this tragedy to my children and thought about what if I was one of those mothers that lost a family member and had to explain that. My hearts go out to everyone who was lost and everyone who lost someone. My thanks goes out to all of the heroes. God Bless. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5716.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: When I heard about 9/11 I don't remember where I was but I was confused about why it happend. Then I thought it was a destress call (911).But in the end no matter why they did it lives were lost people were hurt and it hurt me to see the country in pain and suffering. 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 story20561.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: Monday, November 12, 2001 "The world opened up an swallowed me on November 12?" Those words begin an essay I wrote about November 12, 1985, the day my school bus got in an accident, and two police officers were shot and killed in Springfield. That?s sort of how I feel today. God, God, God. Sometimes I feel as if my mind will explode or my heart will be crushed. This morning, sitting at my desk, I hear Elzbieta call out from her computer, "Plane crash in New York City!" "What?!" I shriek, jumping out of my chair. My heart starts racing. Oh no. Not again. For a few minutes, I feel as if it?s September 11 all over again. The adrenaline, the jittery feeling, the lightheadedness. Once again I?m trying to check Internet sites that won?t load; once again we?re watching the Today Show in Conference Room 504. Once again, we?re watching smoke fill the New York City sky. As of tonight, they don?t think it?s a terrorist attack. But 255 people are dead, plus 6 on the ground where the plane landed. In Queens, where so many World Trade Center victims lived. This poor city. How much more are they going to have to take? Never mind the anthrax cases. Then tonight. Dad calls to tell me Lucy from church died of some kind of overdose. My heart just aches. One of her sons found her. Those two boys. If only I could do something. And Judy. Imagine losing your only daughter. It?s just so sad. People say it all the time, but when these things are so sudden, you think, "I just saw her?" I did just see her yesterday. She went out of her way to call out to me as we were leaving. "Have a good week!" She waved. "You too!" And I blew her a kiss. Something I NEVER do. God, God, God. My head hurts. Help them God. Help all of these hurting people. ? Wednesday, November 23, 2001 Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and tonight I was rolling out dough for a pumpkin pie. Right in the middle of things, I realized my pie plate was missing. So I had to stop and drive to Big Y. The last time I had to do that was September 10. The evening comes back to me so clearly. I remember how infuriated I was that they had forgotten to give me my magazines. I marched back there in such a huff. I kept reminding myself of that, driving in the car. Dear God, I hope and pray we retain the lessons of September 11. What else will it take for us to enjoy every moment, to live outside of ourselves? Let me not care more about a magazine than people or silly petty needs like having to have my favorite snack. Let me cherish Thanksgiving and its meaning always more than I did before 9/11. Let me not forget all of the "empty chairs around tables tomorrow," as Tom Brokaw put it on the news tonight. As always, I feel this desperate sadness that I can?t help all the hurting people. But here, closer to home, there is Judy and Becca and Grace and the boys, grieving, and I can help them. God, look down on America tomorrow and show mercy. Hear our repentant hearts. Don?t forget us. Look out for us. Especially those lonely ones. ? Sunday, November 25, 2001 On the outside, everything seems fine. And maybe it is for some people. But I?m struggling. I don?t know what?s quite wrong. But I don?t like it. First, the news. I have to turn it on first thing in the morning. I have to know ? did we catch Bin Laden yet? What?s going on? Did anything else bad happen? I end up watching for a half hour, flipping through channels. Then there?s the World Trade Center. It haunts me more than ever. There are calendars, postcards, framed pictures of it for sale everywhere. I watch old movies, scanning for it. I read blurbs about it in old travel books. Sometimes I just stare at the pictures. I scan the news for the latest on Ground Zero. Have the numbers of dead/missing changed? How much debris has been removed? What will they rebuild there? I think about the people all of the time. Today on MSNBC Dan and I saw this report. They were six stories underneath, in the subway. You could see a sign that said "World Trade Center." You could also see a pile of debris. This man said 5 stories, each of which was spaced 14 feet apart, had been compressed into 3 feet when it collapsed. Three feet. I keep thinking about that. God, the people. At night, I dream very similar dreams. The buildings are crashing, or I?m at the rubble, or we?re talking about what to rebuild. I wake up and think, "they?re really not there anymore." And I didn?t even live in New York or even visit them. Ever. They weren?t part of my life. What?s wrong with me? I guess I still feel like: move on? How can I completely? How do we go on? We can?t act as if nothing ever happened. But we can?t live in fear. We can?t stay grief-stricken, and we can?t be obsessed, like I am. So what exactly do we do? I hope I?m not the only one who feels this way. I know it won?t always be like this. These are just?extraordinary times. I just want to do more than survive through 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 story635.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. 2002-05-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 146.96.95.21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My daughter was married on Sept 8 in a beautiful church wedding. Her Dad's birthday was the next day 9-9. On the morning of 9-11, I received a phone call from my best friend. She was at work and asked me to turn on the TV and let her know what was going on. The second plane had already crashed in to the World Trade Center by the time I turned on my television. Absolute horror filled my heart and mind. My daughter called a couple of hours later to ask if she needed to come home from her honeymoon. My first statement to her was to stay where she was because she was further away from the Oconee Power Plant that I was. I expected the plant to be hit next. What a terrible way to mark your wedding anniversary for the rest of your life. 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 story1088.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. 209.149.115.47 Annotation Annotations to this item. DOMESTIC Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I will never forget that day in September. I was off from work that day and I was ironing and listening to the radia, Litght 103.9 fm when they interrupted the program saying that a plane just crashed into the World Trade center building. I grabbed my remote and turned on the t.v. You see I am a native New yorker and this was my home. I'd only just moved to North Carolina 3 years ago. When I saw the World trade building on fire and the instant replay of the plane crashing in it, i thought, oh my God. The people in the plane, the people in the building. I started to cry. My children were in school. I tried to to N.Y. to my sisters and brothers house, still watching the news. I thought, what a terrible accident, then right before my eyes I saw the second plane run right into the other building. Thats when all h---,broke loose. I got down on my knees and started praying to Our father which art in heaven. You see, I am a true Clidg if God, so the first one I'm going to call is my father. I asked God to please help those people in the buildings, Lord, please let them ask for your forgiveness now for any wrongs they have done, and if they are truly your children save their souls now. 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 story5373.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sleeping in my aprtment in the East Village of New York City. My roomate came running in the door screaming. He worked at 99 Church across the WTC, he was there just after the first attack and watched as desperate people leaped to their death. (He never talks about it now and I can only imagine what a horrible vision that was). I woke up and was stunned, I had just been laid off from my dot com job (which seems like a totaly differnt era in history) and had been cashing my unemplyment check at 7 WTC - the smaller bulding that fell after the towers. I couldnt believe it, I was stunned I truly believed we were under attack and truly saw the world for what it was- a dangerous place. But luckily, no one I knew was in the WTC.....Or so I thought. A buddy was on the 96th floor of the South Tower and didnt make it. I found out the next day. Terrance Aiken had three kids and a wife who loved him...THis guy was a hillarious guy always ready to party and tell some funny story about being a black dude living in Staten Island in NYC. We had been talking about a trip to Ibiza that last time we saw each other 2 weeks before the attacks... But now due to ignorance and hate he will never walk this earth again. Life is precious, there have been trillions who have been here before and will be here after us, but human life is still precious. We are all going to die someday, whats the point of killing? Live for the moment and keep dancing while the music plays...... 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 story979.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. 2002-08-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.192.234.108 Annotation Annotations to this item. WTC, attack WTC, pre-911 Personal connection to someone at site Victims NY:3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: AN EVENT IN LIFE WHICH I WILL NEVER FORGET. IT ALL STARTED AS A NORMAL DAY. I WAS STANDING IN LINE FOR COFFEE WHEN A MAN CAME OUT OF NOWHERE AN SAID THAT A PLANE HAD JUST CRASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. EVERYONE LOOKED AT HIM LIKE HE WAS CRAZY. ALL HE KEPT SAYING WAS "OH MY GOD A PLANE JUST HIT THE WORLD TRADE OH MY GOD I DON'T BELIEVE IT". AFTER I GOT MY COFFEE I WAS WALKING TO WORK WHEN I BUMP INTO A CO-WORKER. I TOLD HIM WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED. HE TOO COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. ONCE UPSTAIRS I TOLD EVERYONE ELSE. THEN WE TURNED ON THE T.V. AND ALL OUR FEARS WERE CONFIRMED. EVERYTHING AFTER THAT HAPPENED SO FAST. NEXT THING YOU KNOW EVERYONE WAS EVACUATED. I STAYED A LITTLE WHILE WATCHING THE EVENTS ON T.V. AFTER THE FIRST BUILDING WENT DOWN I DECIDED TO GET OUT THE BUILDING. BUT, LIKE ALOT OF PEOPLE, I DIDN'T GO HOME. I WENT STAIGHT DOWNTOWN. I VOLUNTEERED MY SERVICES BECAUSE I KNEW THAT I WOULD BE NEEDED TO HELP RESCUE PEOPLE. MORE IMPORTANT I NEEDED TO HELP. WITHIN MINUTES I WAS CHOSEN TO HELP SETUP A MAKESHIFT HOSPITAL AT STYVECENT HIGH SCHOOL TO AWAIT THE INJURED. BUT NO ONE CAME. THERE WERE NO INJURED ANYMORE. FOR HOURS ALL WE DID WAS WASH OUT THE EYES OF THE EMECENCY WORKERS WITH SALINE SOLUTION. A NURSE RECRUITED US TO GO INTO GROUND ZERO TO CLEAN OUT THE FIREMEN,POLICE AND RECOVERY WORKERS EYES. I NEVER IN MY LIFE EVEN IMAGINE THAT I WOULD WITNESS SUCH DEVASTATION. AFTER A WHILE I FINALLY TOOK A GOOD LOOK AT MY SURROUNDINGS. I BROKE DOWN AND CRIED. TO THIS VERY DAY I STILL CRY. TWO INDIVIDUAL THAT A KNEW ARE GONE. ONE NEVER TO BE FOUND AGAIN. WITH ALL THE HURT THAT I FEEL, I ALSO FEEL LOTS OF ANGER 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 story709.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. 2002-06-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.40.203.15 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 park ranger, I get to talk about history all the time. But it's not usually like this. I was preparing to go to a meeting in the city that day. The first remembrance I have of anything relating to the event was sitting around the break room table, when a maintenance worker I didn't know, talking on the telephone, said, "A plane just hit the World Trade Center!" Of course, it seemed so ridiculous. I headed up the stairs to find the folks in the office scrambling to put on a television. Apparently, others had heard the story too. For the next few minutes, we were all pretty much glued to the television, watching the events in New York City. When it was determined that it was not just an accident, there was concern for visitors and staff out in the park. I was at our headquarters building, just down the hill from the Washington Monument. A friend and co-worker was down near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. We in the office, were trying to pass on the information to our coworkers in the field, and I was on the phone talking with my friend down by the Wall, telling him what was going on in NYC. "You're not going to believe this! Two planes have hit the towers, and they have fallen down!" I was explaining what had happened, when he interrupted. "Oh my God. Something just hit the bridge!" And he hung up. We were all familiar with Reagan Airport being just across the river from our park and had frequently been asked questions about the plane that had crashed into the 14th Street bridge about 20 years ago. My friend, hearing a loud noise, disappeared to go investigate. Soon enough, I would see what he had heard on the news. I could walk outside the building and look across the river and see the smoke coming from the Pentagon. Management had us stay on site until about 2:30 that afternoon. By the time we left, there were few cars on the roads. My apartment in Arlington was just minutes from the Pentagon, so as I drove home, I passed the smoking building. In the next few days, one of the creepier things to affect us on the Mall was the quiet. On a normal day, the planes from the airport fly right over us, and often, while trying to give directions or explain the significance of a memorial, we have to stop and pause for the plane to pass over. But for the next few weeks, there would just be silence over the park. 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 story192.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. 2002-03-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.207.61 Annotation Annotations to this item. Gov't workers (non-military and non-rescue) 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: Semptember 11 September 11th was a national tragedy. It happened when I was in school. Some people had actually heard the news. They talked about the Twin Towers falling. When I got home that day and turned on the television, all that I could see were the two buildings gettting hit by the planes. That day was very scary because my uncle workedacross the street from the World Trade Center. Luckily, he was able to get away before the two towers fell down. The next day, he sent me an e-mail aboutwhat had happened to the World Trade Center. He said that it looked like a snowstorm. When hegot home on September 11th, he needed to take a shower for at least an hour to wash all of he ash and debris off. I thought that the ash covered streetswere kind of funny looking, but hte fact that all of that was from two buildingswas scary. The acts of September 11th were scary for anybody living in the United States of America. It taught us that lives can be taken in a split second and to cherish life because it only lasts for a short time. I learned that you need to enjoy life while it lasts. The fact that nobody thought of this before, is just as big a tragedy a the planes hitting the two towers. Many things shouldbe remembered because of September 11th. We need to rememberto be kind to everyone. People also should remember to treat people the way you want to be treated. You also need to remember that life can't be taken for granted and people should live their lives however thay want to. Those and many other thingsneed to be remembered about that day so everyonecan enjoy life. 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 story8458.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. 2002-10-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.60.58.139 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SUNSHINE FLORIDA DAY. I WAS ON MY WAY TO A SCHOOL APPOINTMENT FOR MY SON. I HAVE YET TO HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED, TILL WHEN I GOT TO THE SCHOOL. AS SOON AS I WALKED IN, I SAW PEOPLE AROUND THE ONE TV JUST STARING AT IT, LIKE IN SHOCK, DISBELIEF. AS I GOT CLOSER AND SAW THE IMAGES, I ALSO WENT INTO SHOCK AND DISBELIEF. I WAS LIKE WHAT IT'S THIS? IT CAN'T BE HAPPENING. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE. RIGHT AFTER HIS APPOINTMENT, MY SISTER CALLED ME, "ALL THE PARENTS ARE PICKING UP THE KIDS AT SCHOOL, PLEASE PICK UP MINE TOO." ALL OF A SUDDEN IT HIT ME, THIS PLACE, THIS UNITED STATES, WHERE WE HAD LIVED MOST OF OUR LIVES, WAS NOT SAFE ANYMORE. THIS WAS SOMETHING YOU WOULD HAVE EXPECTED TO HAD HAPPENED SOMEWHERE ELSE BUT NOT HERE, NOT AT HOME. AS I PICK UP MY KIDS AND MY NIECES AND NEPHEW, I REALIZED HOW SCARED AND HOW FRIGHTENED THEY WERE ABOUT THE SITUATION. I JUST HUG THEM AND TOLD THEM THAT IT WOULD BE ALRIGHT. BUT OF COURSE, IT'S NOT ALRIGHT, IT WOULD NEVER BE ALRIGHT. THIS WOULD BE A DAY THAT WILL FOREVER REMAIN IN OUR HEARTS AS THE SADDEST DAY IN HISTORY, BUT ALSO IT WOULD BE A GOOD ONE, BECAUSE THE NATION, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BECAME ONE AGAIN AS A WHOLE. NO MATTER WHAT RACE OR WHAT BACKGROUND, BLACK, WHITE, HISPANIC,INDIAN,ETC. WE ALL BECAME ONE NATION UNDER GOD INDIVISIBLE. 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 story4262.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: When I first heard about the attacks, I was in my English class. One of the students told me that the Towers had been attacked. My first reaction was "No way, he must be pulling my leg." After I had heard it more and more, I realized this was no rumor but had really happened. Our school board had forbidden us from going home and watching the broadcast on TV. My English teacher decided to break the rules and brought a TV into the class. One of the students cleared up the picture by making himself into an antenna by holding two ends of wire. The odd thing is: it worked. We caught the news report just in time to see the second plane slam into the side of the Second Trade Center tower. We watched in shock as the towers collapsed. As soon as I got home, I ran to the TV and turned it to the news. The odd thing was, I didn't feel sad. Or angry. Or upset. I really didn't feel much of anything. Just kinda numb. I had been to New York that summer and had been by the Trade Centers. I really didn't think much about them at the time. Now they were gone. It was a complete shock. 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 story3764.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. 206.77.47.2 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: Sep.11th. 2001 (Recollections and reflections, written between 19th and 25th September, largely) A week and a day on from that Tuesday I saw a look of such devastation on the face of one of our fellow teachers- an American. From New Jersey, probably not far from Frank Sinatra?fs hometown. He can be serious about some things, like work, but what I saw tonight was a seriousness beyond the realm of work concerns. And when I asked him I wasn?ft surprised to hear him tell me how he wished he was there, in America, not here in Japan. To be there with family of course, but I suspect, to be there among other Americans, to make and feel common cause and grievance. Others had said the same- how much they wanted to be there, to do something rather than just observe from afar. I wasn?ft far behind them- I feel a kind of yearning to be in New York right now. Having visited there in ?f78, when I was about 14, New York became part of my psyche and my universe. Being Irish helps, perhaps. For me, New York was a place where I could find?cwell?cjazz, for one thing. In Times Square, the never-threatening massive surround of buildings gave onto a wealth of street-level sights and sounds. I found the streetside intimacy of two black musicians playing a dark and poignant music on an upright bass and a harmonium (of all instruments! –liberated from the music room in my Belfast school). I stood transfixed for ten minutes, gave money, and went into the nearest record shop and bought a cassette of Charles Mingus-The Atlantic Years. Over the three days we were there (my parents and I), I also purchased Jaco Pastorius?f debut album, and a record by my favourite musician John McLaughlin. I bought Guitar Player Magazine, which ran an interview with him from a shop, which, I was informed, made his guitar. This was a million miles from Belfast! New York to me was jazz- and pizzazz. And I was in awe of its giant buildings. I couldn?ft get enough of them. For me, The Empire State was by far and away the jewel in the crown. I think I really wanted to go up that one, but it been overtaken by another just a few years previous and, well, if we were going to go a big building in Manhattan, we might as well make it the tallest. The World Trade Center, I felt, lacked the Gershwinian 50?fs feel of The Empire –but it did have a height advantage. The superfast elevator speeded us up to the upper floors, and, taking one look at the interior of the cafeteria we arrived at I felt my disappointment confirmed, a little. The bar-counter was garishly illuminated with, looking back, what was a very 70?fs kitsch design. This, I felt, was not my jazzy 50?fs-frozen New York, but some new and plasticized proto-New York. I think there?fs a photograph of me, with that in the background, looking remarkably non-plussed. Of course, at the age of 14, there?fs an enormous variety of things you can summon your non-plussed look for. What changed things, however, was a trip to the roof. Not only was the vastness of the world below and beyond so immediately impressive, the other tower was there with us- tantalizingly close, and yet an abyss away. Other real estate suspended in these lofty heights with us. My eye roved over the features of the other roof, and then, sickeningly, slipped its gaze off the monolithic shape, down the fluted other wall, down the opaque windows, hurtling the abyss downward further still and the rest was out of view. I could feel my body crumbling, my backside bunch up, and my stomach crunch into itself, at the notion of how high we were. How vulnerable. I could see light aircraft flying out over the water, beyond The Statue of Liberty, below us. I made a kind of return visit there, just this week. I found a homepage which had virtual tours of sights in New York. By clicking on the digital photograph and dragging I could move around, and see up and down and all around. I could be up there again, in that high, scary, beautiful place?cwhich no longer existed. With these virtual views, either from down below or up on the roof, I could revisit, and tempt my senses with the reality of it. Of course, it only served to heighten the true reality behind the image. The violent, obscene destruction of it, and the sudden and cruel ending of the lives of so many thousands. For some, it would have been sudden. Perhaps an aural indication of something beyond the realm of the office interior, like a buzzing, growing suddenly in intensity. Some, no doubt, had time to turn around and look, to see the aircraft approaching. Was the visual enough, or rational enough, to convince the brain of its reality? A matter of seconds. The more you stared, the more it sank in. A matter of seconds. Not so for those on board the plane. Theirs was an ordeal lasting nearly an hour. Gripped by the violence of what the experience must have been I scared myself just the other night, lying in bed in the dark. I put myself on the plane and observed how I would react. Predictably, for a child of Hollywood, and my own indefatigable optimism, I have an inner-hero, a resource that merely waits within me, but of which I have no doubt will emerge on cue at times of need.?@?@But five days after the attacks, the self that I put aboard the plane was closer to what other instincts have told me along the course of my existence, that I may indeed be much less heroic or brave than I would hope. It was the violence that did it. Confronted with the realization of just how violent, brutal and impervious to humanity the hijackers must have been, I found myself becoming paralysed with fear. I felt my strength drain, felt my abject being implode, and my limbs lose all power. And that which I had become almost yearned for destruction as a release from this hell. This hell was the complete and utter breakdown of all my instincts to survive, and the complete betrayal of my identity. It scared me, terribly. I slept a kind of miserable sleep, emotionally exhausted. In the morning I looked back- perhaps after meeting with my kids or my wife, and, somehow, I knew that that me was not the real me. That, confronted with these bastards, I would do everything in my power to kill them. That I would ignore my fear, or translate the energy of it into a kind of battle-mode anger. I felt the comfort of this return to my inner-hero, however realistic it was. Of course, I told myself, to get to that point, the point where you can summon a fear-eclipsing anger, you have to have to be either someway confident of your chances, or just incensed and unwilling to go down on your knees. Regarding the first, if you believe there?fs a possibility that you may survive if you do nothing, then doing nothing will be very tempting for most. Until that Tuesday, this would have been most people?fs reaction to a hijacking. The idea that someone might hijack an airplane merely to convert it into a deadly missile seemed too inhuman to be real. Perhaps every passenger hoped these hijackers would be just like all other hijackers in the history of the world and have their demands and their threats but wouldn?ft necessarily kill anyone. Perhaps the hijackers gave that impression, although, of course, their actions may have been extremely violent on board, killing a passenger or flight attendant. The reason why the one flight which didn?ft hit its intended target was because the passengers learned of the hijackers intent via telephone. They realized the plane was only good to the hijackers as a missile, that there would be no demands and threats, so those who decided to act had indeed reached that point where the fear had to be eclipsed and if success meant death, at least it was not the death the hijackers had intended. I surmise then that the passengers of the flights which crashed into the World Trade Center Towers were very probably unaware of their destination, at least until it was too late. At the most, they had only a minute to realize. It took me more than a minute to realize what was happening. Tuesday had been the day of typhoon no.15 in Japan and, starting late at work, I?fd watched it in all its glory, through the window, and on the TV, earlier that morning with the kids. The morning was a little stressful, actually –a combination of not being able to go out, Ken crying, and Leo resisting all entreaties to do something, like draw pictures, instead of lying about watching TV or asking me to turn it on. Things improved with a ?gtrip?h to the nearby secondhand bookshop. Interestingly, I picked up, for the pittance of a hundred yen, the CD of the soundtrack for ?gTitanic?h, and when we got back to the house, Leo suddenly became absorbed in the idea of ?gTitanic?h. It?fs not the first time. Titanic is up there with ancient Egyptians as fascinating for Leo. He said that listening to this music made him want to cry ?ga little?h, he added quickly, ?gmaybe?h. So I couldn?ft resist his entreaties for me to put on the movie, which I have on tape. I showed him the iceberg scene and a few others, but I refused to let him see anything too scary, like the destruction of the ship itself. ?gWhen you?fre older?h, I said. Little did I know that the very next day he?fd be watching real scenes of destruction involving, invisibly to his eyes at least, the death of many, many more souls than died in 1912?fs disaster. The next day I told Leo, ?gThis news is bigger than Titanic.?h To him, perhaps, they were only images. There was no dramatic music to accompany them. ?gIt?fs like a movie,?h everyone said. Well, the hijackers, or those behind them, were certainly thinking like Hollywood directors. Until Tuesday, it had almost become a genre in itself: the destruction of New York on screen. Independence Day. Godzilla. Deep Impact. Armageddon. AI. And I?fve just read they?fre not going to release an up-dated version of H.G.Wells?f Time Machine, at least not before they modify it somewhat, because ?gthere?fs a scene in which fragments of the Moon fall on New York City.?h Always spectacular and always thrilling, and you always leave the cinema knowing full-well that New York is of course completely untouched and perfect. Not only perfect, but beautiful. Bold beauty. The same bold beauty, totally distinct and totally itself, which attracted the filmmakers, and the hijackers, too. They might see the World Trade Center as a symbol of capitalism, but New Yorkers would see it as a symbol of their city?fs brash, enormous pride. I turned on the TV at 10pm to catch the news (aired in a choice of Japanese or English) and find out about the typhoon. What I saw, however, was a giant burning building, looking unreal. And then I saw an aircraft crash out of view behind it, which confused me, as much as it did the woman commentator. How can this be a recording of the ?gaccident?h when the building?fs already on fire? Meg was upstairs trying to make the kids sleep and initially resisted my request for her to come down- but I insisted. She?fd gone up the building long ago too, before we?fd ever met, and so we both felt a sense of some connection to the giant structure. The shock of destruction was soon supplanted, however, by the realization that this disaster was no accident, but the product of human intent. That human beings had actually reached a point where the wanton destruction of innocent, non-military people in vast numbers had been reached. Now, as I write that line, I feel the need to pause. It?fs not the first time innocents have been killed in such numbers, or greater. Look at The Crusades of the Middle Ages; the Conquistadores in South America; look at the Holocaust; the Japanese massacres in Nanking and other places; Rwanda; look at what the US did to Japan- the cities they bombed were not military compounds, but places where civilians lived. And died, suddenly, on a massive scale. The ?gmitigating?h factor of ?git was war?h, of course, puts it in its own category, distinct from what happened on Tuesday, but it was still heinous in its own way. Arguing that it was necessary to end the war, how necessary was it to drop a second? So, yes, humans had killed in massive numbers before. But what happened on Tuesday was, and remains, completely in its own category. And it happened live, on TV, for all the world to witness. It had shock value as spectacle even before we knew anything about the number of casualties. There was known to be about 50,000 people who worked in the World Trade Center on any given day. Could it really be, we asked eachother. And could people really have intended to do such a thing? And why? My mind filled with all these questions and attempts at answers. One of the first things that came to me concerned George Bush as President. Was it possible to conceive of an American President less interested in, or even aware of, the rest of the world than he? His policy of ?ghands-off diplomacy?h in the Middle East occurred to me with frightening forcefulness- if this was Arab violence, it was a rude tap on the shoulder to Bush, to say ?gYou can?ft ignore us.?h Bush, with his eye firmly on his navel, looking up only to imagine a miraculous shield protecting him and the US from the nasty big world out there, was probably the most shocked man in America on that Tuesday. Strange how, just that day, with my kids, we?fd watched the iceberg scene from ?gTitanic?h. Power, size, disregard for ?gout there?h, the US was cruising along nicely in thrall of these. Nobody could see it coming, least of all a government which seemed to care so little about the rest of the world. As the shock settled down and desire to make sense of it took hold, I could find myself choosing any number of potential causes, or a combination. Reading the newspaper helped, too- I needed to absorb as much as possible, because this was not merely an American thing, it was a global attack. One thing, however, was sure- the essence of the attack was hatred. Terrorism, it might be argued, is a form of communication. It is a way, albeit an abominable and unjustified way, for people to draw attention to themselves and their grievances. So when a Hamas member walks into a disco full of young people and detonates the bomb strapped to his body, killing 20, he, or rather Hamas, is making a statement. It says: ?hWe have a grievance, a grievance which you Israelis are not addressing. And because you are not addressing our grievance in any shape, manner, or form, and are continuing to repress us and deprive us of what we believe to be ours, and of our dignity, we do this. We do this because you have not listened to our entreaties, and you ignore the voices of our people. Do not ignore us.?h It is a dirty, disgusting, debased, and debasing, language, the language of terrorism, but one born of desperation, and a degraded sense of humanity. I pick up the paper, read about the suicide bombing, express my heartfelt disgust and anger at the murder of innocents, and, then, accuse Israel, and America, of helping to create the environment which led to this.?@?@If both sides have intelligent leaders they read the language behind the horror and, after a period of necessary delay, they initiate or resume or restart dialogue. Often, one of the elements in this process is the amount of violence that has been used to push the situation to this point. In a very crude way, the crude way that politics has become in the Middle East, it comes down to numbers. If a handful of people have died the delay will be short- if it?fs twenty the delay may be very long, but it will be only a delay. Of course there?fs no ?gacceptable?h number of deaths in any conflict, but in people?fs minds perhaps there?fs a kind of unspoken agreement about how much too much is: a point of horror past which dialogue cannot endure. To do so would defeat the purpose. ?gTerrorism?h is the language of the desperate forcing the power-broker to dialogue. Call it political terrorism, because the end, if not the means, is political. If, last Tuesday, the hijackers had hit only the Pentagon, the use of a civilian aircraft and the death of its passengers would have been deplored, as indeed the destruction of the building and the deaths of those within, but it would have been in some way recognizable as an act of political terrorism. Attacking the World Trade Center, however, coupled with the use of civilian aircraft and their passengers as deadly missiles, went veritably beyond the pale, completely off the scale of what we know as terrorism. It was by no stretch of the imagination an act of political terrorism, in the sense in which others can be interpreted. There was no statement in these acts which might seek to push people to some sort of dialogue. The latest casualty-count stands at well over six thousand people missing or dead. It could have been much higher even. Innocent non-military civilians, running the gamut from billionaire executives to unskilled deliverymen, and of nationalities of over sixty countries. This act was meant to humble the superpower that is America. Carried out with inhuman spite, the end could never be dialogue, but just to express hatred, and to instill fear and hatred in the hearts of Americans. Hatred of America, certainly. Burning and intense. The question persists: why? Today, George Bush gave an address to Congress in which he tough-talked about all this and how ?gterrorism?h would be stamped out etc. etc.. I didn?ft find what he said necessarily all wrong. I felt he was giving eloquent expression to the nation?fs feelings, and doing so with a language that matched his office (he avoided saying he wanted bin Laden ?gdead or alive?h!). He spoke with a determination and a focus which I felt was justifiable and laudable. But on the question of why the terrorists hate America he was a little more than disingenuous. (To paraphrase) ?gThey hate our freedoms, our way of life, our values.?h In my book, a totally inadequate answer to the why question. He might have mentioned, for example, how, for ten years, since the Gulf War, America has starved Iraq with punishing oil embargoes, resulting in the deaths of so many hundreds of thousands of children. How they have routinely bombed it in the course of those ten years, with no regard for the civilians down below. He might have touched upon the fact that America has, particularly since Clinton stepped down, done nothing to ameliorate the politics of the Middle East, and indeed has tacitly and overtly condoned and supported Israel?fs suppression of the Palestinians. He could also possibly have referred to the fact that the U.S. government was happy to use the Afghani people and fighters to do what it hoped they would do, namely push back the Soviets – that they supported the very people they are now accusing of terrorism. That the U.S. armed and trained the forces in Afghanistan, and possibly even their latest Most Wanted Man, Osamu bin Laden. And if George Bush had really wanted, he just possibly may have made some tiny reference to the fact that ?gterrorism?h, in 99% of cases, is a phenomenon born of some grievance, some political mess which must be addressed as a political mess, beyond the realm of Gordian-knot-cutting military action. Eradicating ?gterrorism?h necessarily entails addressing the causes of the various groups involved in such activity. (The British Government certainly tried to destroy the IRA militarily without addressing the politics for long enough. It was a fruitless and ill-conceived enterprise.) How about even just a word from him on just how unequal the world is, that while such political, economic, and social inequality exists in the world, you will always have something we call ?gterrorism?h? Just one word, Mr Bush? Is it just bad guys and good guys? This time, it has to be admitted, the ?gbad guys?h are actually very bad indeed. What they did was psychopathic on a massive scale. What they did was to instill fear in the world. The stage may have been America, but the reverberations are being felt in every country. No-one can feel safe. It is an act which perverts humanity. How they might claim to justify what they did in the name of their god is pure blasphemy. In their world, humans are unequal: there are believers and non-believers. The latter, for them, are lesser things, and so whatever they, the ?gbelievers?h inflict on them, is OK. Death. Injury. Maiming. Humiliation. Violence. Intimidation. All of these are OK to these supposed ?gidealogues?h. Inflicting pain on others is OK. Killing other people?fs dreams is OK. Ending the life of a four year old child is OK. I saw her picture on the TV. Her mother was Irish. I?fd read about this only two days after the event on the Internet. The mother?fs brother had been in the World Trade Center and had just escaped. Unbeknownst to him, his sister was one of the passengers on the second plane to crash into the WTC. Forty four year old, beautiful, a flamboyant looking woman, like some latter day Maureen O?fHara. Then they showed her daughter, who was with her on the plane. Four years old. She possessed the inherited good looks of her mother, but she had her own incredible cuteness. She was beautiful. What a life she would have had. There was a voice-over by the father, who was not on the flight, saying how, when out walking with his family, everyone would stop and say how adorable and pretty and cute their daughter was. I know how that feels because I have two adorable and cute kids myself. I looked at them after hearing that father?fs words and wondered how profound his grief must be. Grief is something I learned about just a few brief months ago. The loss of Meg?fs mother left a gaping hole in the family. After the immediate shock and the trauma of her passing, and after we?fd observed many of the rites and ceremonials special to Japan, there was merely her absence to dwell upon. Not a feeling that necessarily pushed me to tears –the tears were part of the early shock and trauma. No, just a feeling of unconquerable silence, a simple, sad realization of reality. That realization had crept up on me previously as hopes for her recovery had slipped away, so I suppose the beginning of my grief had been the harsh countering of my hope, and that was difficult because the hope that I had built was strong. With that experience inside, the later feeling of unconquerable silence was one, which, no longer able to destroy my hope, was, in some way, an erosion of my innate optimism, my positivism. I tell myself it can never do that, of course, not really, because that would be a legacy counter to what was truly important –her life, not her death. That her life, not her death, was the reality which should affect all our survival and continuance. Her joy and her positivism could never die, as long as we carried it in us. I feel I want to say something like this to even some of the people who lost loved ones. To that father, and husband, for one. There?fs a lot of grief in America right now. Yes, people die on massive scales in earthquakes and natural disasters, and the country in which it occurs is traumatized also, but this is different- someone actually inflicted this grief on purpose. This act was a body blow to America. And to their very American sense of pride, to their positivism, their optimism, and their confidence. America has a ?ghero culture?h –the need for heroes is an integral part of the collective American psyche. The charity concert set up soon after was called ?gTribute to Heroes?h, not to victims. In another country, we?fd be talking about victims, not heroes. Of course, there were many heroes that day. Members of the New York Fire Department, the Police, the Emergency Services, ordinary people who went back to grab someone and lead them down the stairs, the teachers at a nursery school who grabbed all their kiddies and, bunging them in shopping trolleys, got them all away from lower Manhattan as fast as they could. The firemen rushed into the buildings with no thought to their own personal safety. Over three hundred of them died. In the charity show, between each performance, a famous person, often famous for being a celluloid hero, would address the audience and tell of one person?fs brave act. For a non-American like me, while it was moving in many ways, I wondered why they felt the need to translate the tragedy so completely into a roll-call of heroes. Perhaps it was the need to have heroes, especially at this time of great loss. On September 11th, America watched in shock and helplessness the destruction of their cities. A sense of collective vulnerability and fear suddenly entered the American mind: it sat uneasily with the self-image of strength and pride and heroism. There was no Superman or Arnie Swarzenegger: no-one to help as the destruction, fear and panic unfolded. Hollywood movies suddenly (or not so suddenly) seem so childish now. I wonder how audiences will react to ?gsave-the-day?h blockbusters after this. (Or to violent movies. What was witnessed on that day was a kind of super-violence. The images, and the imaginings of what it must have been like for those on the planes or in the buildings, like those poor souls who chose to jump to their death rather than be consumed by flame, will live on in people?fs minds. Violent movies may not enjoy the same acceptance and popularity of before.) Yes, there were many heroes that day, from firemen to businessmen to nursery school teachers. Many, many heroes. But there were also many, many victims. Concentration on the hero element as opposed to the victim element bespeaks a psychology which may delay people?fs ability to terms with the reality of that day. Now they?fre talking of the possibility of biological or chemical strikes. They?fve grounded all 3,500 crop dusters in the US as a precaution. One of the main hijackers was a frequent visitor to the mini-airport where the crop-dusters flew from, asking all sorts of questions about how much weight in chemicals they could carry etc.. People in New York are buying gas-masks! What is happening? What will happen? What will war entail? Right now these thoughts course through my mind and the minds of so many others on the planet. The newspaper has become an essential daily purchase, and every night we watch the TV for news and developments as the forces amass on all sides of Afghanistan. The population of that country is miserably poor, and largely innocent of any wrong-doing. They are the next victims, but their suffering began a long time ago, and they are unlikely to receive the sympathy and outpouring of grief which has been given to those who died in America.?@?@The Taliban and bin Laden are viciously unconcerned with such diurnalities as getting food to the people, improving facilities and working on an infrastructure. The former seem more more concerned with imposing a debased and debasing form of Islam upon the people. The burqua-clad women, deprived of all education and work, are an indicator of how backward and inegalitarian the Taliban are. And bin Laden, with his eyes firmly set on the destruction of the Western world, no doubt couldn?ft care less about the lives of ordinary Afghanis. Otherwise, why invite such danger upon the people of which he is supposedly a ?gguest?h? He needs to be told, by an Islamic scholar, how far he has strayed from what he claims to believe in. To claim what he does in the name of all Muslims is an attempt at manipulation of the masses. He is trying to confuse the concepts of politics with religion, cloaking his psychopathic hatred in a mantle of religious vision. He needs to be destroyed by words before all else, and before the eyes of all Muslims. To quote a recent article in The Independent, which attempts to clarify basic ideas about Islam: ?gThe Koran clearly states that ?eIf anyone murders an (innocent) person?cit will be as if he had murdered the whole of humanity?f. And Muhammad is recorded as saying that Muslim rules of engagement forbid attacks on ?enon-combatants, women, children, and men of religion?f; they outlaw attacks on the ?emeans of subsistence?f of those who ?eoffer no resistance?f.?h Of course, I don?ft think I really need to be told that mass murder of people, innocent or otherwise, is contrary to any religion, but it?fs good to see the words in black and white in Islam?fs holy book. These are the words that need to be expressed at the highest level, by the greatest and most respected scholars, at this time especially, and then faxed to bin Laden, wherever he is. Indeed, while they?fre at it, they might want to fax off a message from another leading Muslim, a person who is a definite candidate for America?fs greatest living hero, Muhammad Ali. He spoke on the charity show: ?gI?fm a Muslim. I?fve been a Muslim for 30 years. I want the world to know the truth about Islam. I wouldn?ft be here to represent Islam if it were the way the terrorists made it look?cIslam is for peace.?h Speaking in a voice trembling with emotion, coming from a body trembling from the effects of Parkinson?fs disease, what he said was quietly powerful and eloquent. He showed us not only the hurt that the attack itself had inflicted, but the terrible, awful doubt, fear, and hatred the attack may have unleashed- about Islam. These events have caused such division. ?gAnd?h, he ended, ?gif there was something I could do about it, I would.?h I wrote the above between the 19th and the 25th of September. It?fs now nearly a month since the attacks. From what I?fve read and seen, as I well expected, I?fm truly ignorant of the whys and wherefores behind these terrible events, and a naïve political commentator at best. Especially about bin Laden. I now see how the motive may be more to do with the stationing of American troops in the country (since the Gulf War) which houses Islam?fs holiest sites, Mecca and Medina. That?fs just one thing. There are so many other aspects to this, which I had no idea about, but, then, I?fm probably not the only one. What I wrote was a kind of therapy for me, just to express what was going through my head in the immediate aftermath. Because, while I live far away, while I?fm not even American, I still felt in a state of overwhelming shock. (Why do I talk in the past tense?) I was assaulted by images, and words which were not my own, and had to make my own voice heard, at least to myself. This terrible tragedy shocked me greatly. And those around me, my family here, and my family in Ireland, friends, my Japanese students, too, one of whom was in tears the next day. The loss of life. The destruction of a beautiful city. And the beginning of a fear about ordinary life, and the future. After this, it seems anything is OK. That scares me. What disgusting event lies before us? What?fs next? I?fm asked if I agree with war. It seems too simple a question, as if there were an alternative, which might serve as a way of making the world a safer place. I certainly hope the perpetrators of this act are caught, at the very least. I hope also that if military action is carried out that it will not involve the deaths of innocent people. The situation is, after September 11th, that whether or not the States hits back, America, at least, has become vulnerable, and another terrorist attack, even more depressing for its inhumanity, is something we all have to expect, and hope and pray is prevented. I was talking to another fellow teacher, a Canadian, the other day, about how I was feeling. I introduced it by saying that when the seasons change I always feel somewhat off-kilter, and on the verge of a cold. Then I suggested that maybe this time it wasn?ft just the change of the season, that, I asked, ?hIs it just me, or do you feel kind of weird about all this, like something has changed, in a bad way??h She replied very easily to the question. ?gNo, it?fs not just you. Something has changed.?h Something has changed. The world just became a scarier place. Yesterday, at our kids?f Sports Day, they flew the flag at half-mast. Here in Japan, people know it, too. What happened in America happened to the world. Martin Connolly, 7th October, 2001 Isehara, Japan The following homepage contains the above essay, plus two others on events afterwards. http://www.nextftp.com/binboop/ 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 story1707.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. 2002-09-03 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 218.223.134.25 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: My opinion on what happened is that i think we should of struck back not gave them food and suplies to help them. I think that was the stupidest thing we did. America should not of helped them in any way what so ever. We should of nucked them the day that they had planes crash into our towers. When we bombed them, i think that would bring us much closer.That would make everyone fell just a little better. We should also get rid of everyone that eather looks arabian or has something to do with terriosim. 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 story7753.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. 64.18.33.4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was so unbelievable to hear what was going on. I had to hurry to finish putting on my makeup and rush in to work to find out what was going on. I turned on my radio and was listening to the disbelief and horrors as the second plane hit the second tower, then the Pentagon was hit, and then the plane crashed in PA (at least that's the way I remember it). We had TV's in the cafeteria and lots of people were crowded around them, including myself, looking at the live news broadcasts in disbelief of what was going on. And there were a few tears being shed by women and men alike. My first thought was, of course, my family. I went back to my phone and started calling my 7 kids (one at elementary school), my Dad, my Sister, and friends. I wanted to talk to them in person before the day went any further. My second thought was that maybe we should leave town because a nuclear tower is located at the J. J. Pickle Research Center right next to the IBM plant. But I settled myself down because I didn't want to add to my children's worry. I decided it would be best to stay and weather the storm, so to speak. No one could really concentrate at work, so I went out for lunch. You want to know what was really strange?? I noticed an eerie silence outside while walking out to my truck. There were no cars gunning their engines to pass each other. There were no airplanes flying overhead and making their passes to land at the airport. There were no honking of horns in fits of road rage. It was eerily quiet except for the quiet humming of car engines as they drove by, going the speed limit or slower. There's a railroad track right next to the plant, and no trains were going by either. Nothing was flying overhead, no tempers were being lost, people were frightened. Of course, everyone figured that we were just being cautious, but part of the reason had to be that we better be quiet before something falls upon us. Let's not bring any attention to ourselves unsuspectingly. When I picked up my daughter from day care and went home, I felt so relieved. What bothered me was that my husband didn't even ask how I was doing, considering the day's events. I felt hurt. I thought he loved more than what he displayed. Maybe he just figured that nothing would happen to us, who knows, but that is part of my memories now too. Yes, it was a day to remember. I don't look up in the sky every time I walk outside any more in dread of what might be coming at us. Flights returned to almost normal about a month later, just not as many flights. I was hoping that my children didn't have to live thru such terror and war as I did with Vietnam, but you never know what the future holds, right? All that matters now is that we learn from this and make our homeland safe and secure, and appreciate our families even more. Our family makes it a point to get together once a month and just appreciate being together. We used to wait for holidays, but not any more. We had to strenghten our bonds and our faith. We cannot let terrorists affect our way of life, our freedom, and our pride. We will not twist our religious beliefs as a means to a perceived justifiable end. God is always watching over us, I believe, and He will always be there for us. Say a prayer at night thanking Him for all the freedom he has given us. Keep God in our Pledge of Allegiance. We shouldn't turn our backs on what sacrifices were made to give us our freedom. 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 story3103.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. 216.40.192.238 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: It was just another day at the office until my boss came into the room. I was working at a federal bank in downtown Pittsburgh, across from the tallest building in the city, the USX Tower. I was in the computer operations room, which is virtually sealed off from the outside world. I first gained knowledge of the events of 9-11 when my boss came into the room and said that he was sending me home. I had no idea what was going on. He then told me about the planes hitting the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and the crash not too far from Pittsburgh, in Shanksville. This was quite a lot of info to take in at one time. Downtown Pittsburgh offices were evacuating in fear of an attack on the city. A skeleton crew was going to be working the computer room and I had to stay at work for two more hours to wait for them. It was very difficult. I could see from my window all of the roads packed with cars leaving the city. The roads were mostly clear on my way home. It was kind of weird to see downtown desserted. When I finally got home I spent the rest of the day with my family taking in all that happened on that tremendous day. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2044.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. 170.201.180.69 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in mid town that day, after the towers collapsed I left the city and went home to New Jersey. The next morning I was back at the Javis Center ready to volunteer my time and services. At 10:00 AM I was riding on a bus full of iron workers to the WTC site. When we arrived I was shocked.. It was like a battlefield... WTC 7 was still burning..firefighters were on their ladders trying to put out the blaze. I met up with another volunteer named Craig and we picked up cases of water to hand out to the firemen. As we walked to WTC 7 passing in front of the Bank of New York I handed out the water to some firemen near WTC 7. On the way back Craigs eyes were about a mile wide. He said that a pane of glass had fallen from the top of Bank of New York and missed me by a second. It then dawned on me that this was dangerous. I walked around that day passing water bottles out, shoveling debris, unloading supplies from boats, putting ice on the victims remains. I left the site at about 10:30 that night. The next morning I was back at it..this time to work in the bucket brigade.I will never forget the feeling of joy as the men deep inside the rubble shouted out WE FOUND SOMEONE !! we cheered.. we sent up saws, water and everything they asked for.. however, the joy turned to sadness as a victim was carried out.. I helped carry this person with 5 firefighters to Brooks Brothers. As we laid the victim down the person in charge asked if it was a firefighter, they replied no... a civilian.. We left and headed back to the ruins... passing buckets.. when they blew an alarm.. and people shouted RUN !!! its coming down.. we took off running, it was difficult to run over and thru debris,but as we ran people warned others of what to watch out for (amazing). I had no idea what building was coming down, all I knew was I wanted to live and I was so upset at myself for not being a fast runner.. We ran to a little park off of Trinity Place.. where we gathered ourselves.. I had enough. I was mentally drained after all this. I felt very guilty because I couldnt take it mentally anymore. I had seen enough and I still dream of those sites. Thanks for reading Al Nardi 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 story9513.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. 2003-09-09 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.136.47.242 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: we were having a training session that day. that session ended quickly. we had other employees in from one of our branches in cleveland, oh. we heard what happened and they immediatly headed home. columbus,oh is not all that far from new york, just a skip and a jump. this hit home---too close to home. my father was a retired firefighter and he has now passed in 02/02 from a long illness. he wished he could help even tho he wasnt able. i feel for all the families that lost loved ones. when your in a firefigher family all firefighters are family. i am glad you are doing this because this is a part of history and our future familys need to know. they need to know that they should cherish what they have and love as much as they can. because someday the person you may love the most may not be there. love and cherish everyone in your life and especially your family, they are the ones that love you the most. 9/11 was the biggest tragety that has hit my life with the exception of losing my father. im still trying to cope with that. the only thing i can say is love your families close, they love you the best. 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 story8038.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. 2002-09-21 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: We are a group of fourteen friends, we all went to high school together in Chicago, in the 50's. Every two years we get together in the early fall, to reconnect and enjoy each other's company. In 2001, we planned a special trip to celebrate our 60th birthdays. After two years of discussion and planning we settled on Newport, RI as the place for our "mini-reunion". With the exception of four of us, most of our group live in and around the Chicago area. I live in Las Vegas, so flew into Chicago, and left with the group for Providence, RI. In PRoovidence we rented two big vans, and drove to Newport. We had rented three condos..a good time was had by all..until Tuesday 9/11/01, the morning we were scheduled to check out and fly back to the midwest. As a rule, we rarely turn on the TV during these get togethers..there is just too much to say and do. But for some reason I did turn on the Today show that morning, in one of the bedroooms. I then fogot about the TV, and left the room to help get ready for our checkout time of 10 am. After checking out, we had planned a day of shopping, and a long farewell lunch before returning to Providense for our 6 pm flight. Someone came into the kitchen were we were cleaning up and said: "Turn on the TV, a plane has just crashed into the World Trade Center". We watched in disbelieving horror, as another plance hit the huge tower. All had the same feeling that a bad movie needed to be turned off. WE quickly realized we were not going anywhere by plane that day. But we checked out by 10 am, and all fourteen descended on a small TV in the Condo Clubhouse. We took turns calling our families, to let them know where we where, and that we were ok, and watched the terror unfold. We held a meeting where it became apparent that approximately one half of us wanted to stay put, and the rest...well I personally felt that we should get in the vans and start driving inland. So seven of us left by 3 pm and drove north through Rhode Island and then upper New York State, before turning west toward Chicago. At that time we were not at all sure of what we might come across, we expected bridge closings et. Indeed, all roads leading to NYC were shut down. It was of course a beautiful sunny afternoon. As we drove through small RI towns, we saw many flags already at half-staff. Blood mobiles were set up in church parking lots, and town squares. Signs aking us to : "Pray for Peace" were evident in the small picture book towns we drove through. All this within just a few hours since the first strike on the WTC. We stopped for the night at a town on the New York boarder, Port Jarvis. The motel just off the highway, was jammed with travelers, it was a mess, phones were not working, or the lines were jammed, credit card machines and ATM's were not in operation. We were surprised at the ferocity of the attitudes of the people we met there; most wanted to simply "nuke the baastards". We checked into two rooms, and watched the TV in disbelief as the horror was replayed over and over. We left early Wednesday morning, and again headed toward Chicago. At every restraunt, and rest stop we heard stories of the general flight from the east coast, and New York City in particular. One woman at a Pennsylvania rest stop, showed me the new Jeep Cheroke, she bought the day before in NYC, as there were no cars left to rent. Those of us in the rented van repeated over and over;"thank God we rented these vans". The rest of our group left Newport on Wednesday, they included members from Tennessee, and Indiana, who were dropped off at bus stations along the way. The rental car company was terrific, they did not charge us for the extra miles we drove the vans. It was a long worrysome trip, we listened to NPR, read newspapers, and longed to be home. We considered how lucky we were, as New York City had been mentioned early on as one of or "choices" for the location of this reunion. I was the last of the group to get home. I was on one of the first flights out of Midway airport on Saturday, and arrived home in Las Vegas that night. God Bless America, Margaret Panke Solomon 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 story10457.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. 2004-02-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 172.198.229.36