255 20 70359 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I live in Woodside with my wife. I had returned to New York after living in California for several years. I've been through the earthquake of 1989, the first WTC bombing, my first marriage and a few more incidents so I must admit before the immensity of what had occured dawned on me I was a bit jaded with disasters. At 8:48AM, I had just gotten off the 'F' train at West 4th Street and was heading up to my job on Hudson St. At 7th Avenue, I noticed one of the guys from Black Belt Locksmiths staring at some smoke coming from one of the towers. "What the Hell is happening now?" I asked. "Some idiot smashed thier plane into the tower." he replied. At the time, we were both under the impression that it was a smaller plane that had hit, as the view didn't really show much damage besides the smoke. I recalled someone flying into the Emipre State building years ago, and brushed the incident as stupidity. The building was certainly damaged and some people were most likely dead, but nothing too out of the ordinary for New York. Like I said, jaded. Arriving at work, I noticed a bunch of the others surrounding the T.V. and that CNN was broadcasting coverage of the crash. I mentioned that I saw the building, and they said no, the other one was just hit too. There was some time after that in which my mind couldn't exactly put it all together; how could 2 planes do the same stupid thing? I suppose the idea that the planes were deliberately flown into the buildings was still nuts to me at the time. Then the Pentagon got hit. That was it. Everybody starting boing bonkers, trying to figure out how they were going to get out of the city. Outside, people were coming from downtown coverd in ashes and debris, looking like war refugees. City vehicles were trying to head downtown on the same street, causing jams sometimes. I'm surprised nobody got run over. Some vehicles coming back from downtown had people hanging off the, others looked like a bunch of debris had fallen on them. The smoke was the worst thing. The sky seemed dark. And it just didn't stop coming. One of the executives had a sister living across from City Hall and was scared for her, so she and her husband split. Then some of the others were going to try and drive out of the city. Next a few more headed for the trains. Finally, at around 2:00 PM I left myself, taking the 'Q' to the bridge stop in Queens and walking to the '7'. I don't know why, because although I do believe in God I don't have much of a religious inclination, I went to church and prayed before I went home. I cried, but I don't know why. Not even now. I don't need to have it explained to me. I'm kind of in tune with myself and sort of have an idea of where it came from. It's just been a long time since I cried out of helplessness. Today we still live in Woodside. We're expecting a baby in July. I'm still working downtown at the same job, but I'm hoping to pass the FDNY EMT exams and work on a bus helping people. I've been a volunteer with Central Park Medical Unit for about a year now (donations accepted at www.cpmu.com), but want to make a job of it as well now. Friends ask me why I want to do that sort of thing; was it because of 9/11? No and yes. I had wanted to be an EMT since I was living in San Francisco, back in 1992. I never followed through because I was never really motivated. Now, I WANT to do this. Where that came from, I don't know. Some of it may have to do with the world we live in now, some just out of finally getting off my ass and doing it. What still gets to me sometimes is how it really does feel like the world has changed. You hear about old-timers talk about how different things were back in thier days and I guess I never thought things would change that dramatically. How do I tell my kid about how life was like before the 21st century, before Code Oranges and shuttle disasters and gang wars? Will they even believe me? I feel old sometimes. I wonder if part of that comes from living through these sort of things. John D. Knox February 14, 2003 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 story9058.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. 2003-02-14 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.248.3.70 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was watching the news as I had stated earlier. I thought it was just going to be another day of work search for me. I already had the paper open, had already showered, and was sitting in front of the television set with my usual coffee and cigarette ready to start my day. Watching FOX5 news was always my routine. Dick Oliver the reported on Fox5 was about to do a report on some political stuff do to the primaries in NYC. He said "boy, that plane sounds low" and then he said something on the order of holy shit or something like that but he did freak when he say the first plane hit the first tower. I didn't realize the impact of a plane hitting the building at first. but then you were watching it all unfold. The people in the building, the smoke, how are they getting out?, I starting thinking about all that stuff. Then the second plane hit the second tower. My heart sank. TERRORIST!! I knew it was terrorist!! I started to cry - alot! My first reaction was why, why, why?? Why??? When the first tower crumbed I felt so horrible. I wanted my husband who was a constuction worker bulding a highrise HOME!!! I never in my life wanted to be close to the people I love the most than that very day!! I really was frightened. Then the second tower collapsed. I realized and said to myself that these people disintergrated on those floors directly hit and on that plane. Those on the floors beneath were crushed and above thrown. The lives were lost. My fiance Michael arrived home shortly after the second tower crumbled, the Pentagon hit, and the Hijacked plane in Pennsylvania. I said to Michael, "We gotta do something, we gotta help, we gotta go give blood or something, they need us - not tommarrow - NOW!" Michael and I went to the Community Blood Bank of Bergen County. There were literally thousands of people there. It was amazing and beautiful! THIS IS WHERE MY STORY GETS MORE UPLIFTING, I HOPE. About the Blood Bank, well, there was a 8-1/2 hour wait which meant that we weren't going to be able to give blood on the 11th. They told us to come back on 9/12 at 2 p.m. we did. Both Mike and I gave blood. Again, the turnout at the blood center was amazing!!! After giving blood, both Mike & I thought that we nhadn't done enough. So, we had heard that there was a Command Post set up at the Jacob Javitts Convention Center in NYC were volunteers were needed. Off Mike and I went! We helped out all we could. But, its not what Mike and I did but it is who we ran into. Both Mike & I were there from 9/12 through 9/14/01 loading trucks, serving food, & whatever else was needed. That not the point!!! The point was we met people from everywhere!!! From all walks of life, all races, religions, cities, states, countries and even continents!!! The people were just amazing!!! WE WERE ALL HERE TO HELP. TO DO WHAT WE COULD. TOGETHER, FRIENDS!!! To Make good of a very bad situation. Most importantly, I think the most beautiful and amazing acts of selfless courage and heroism, we believe there during that day & the days after were show from both The Finest and The Bravest, from NY and all surrounding areas, including DC and Pennsylvania. To all those affected our deepest heartfelt sympathies to you and all those how volunteered - Thank You!!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4292.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. 206.203.33.242 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: I remember that I was wearing khaki shorts and a green sweater that day, because it was getting cooler in the moutain town. It was the first day of my first year of high school, a new school at that. It was only my third night being away from home, because I was going to a boarding school. I walked into Mr. Grady's geometry class, and a kid said that some guy flew his plane into the WTC. I thought it was a small plane or something, and there wasnt any damage. I even made a joke about the yankees. An hour later I walked into the common room of my dorm, and two kids, a cleaning woman and a carpenter were standing at the TV. What is going on, I thought. TVs shouldn't be on during the day. Thats when I saw the smoking tower 1. Scary. I didn't know what to think or say, I just studderd. The cleaning woman could only say 'My God, My God" and Garrett, the other student, sat crying. I asked him if he was ok, and then he told me his family lives in NYC, near Times Square. I then watched helplessly as tower 2 was hit, and thats when the cleaning woman yelled. I still didn't know what to think. How could this happen to us? We are Americans. The land of the free, home of the brave. Planes just don't hit into buildings. About an hour or two later, a larger crowd had gatherd arorund the 27'' TV. A teacher came in to tell us there is a school meeting in the chapel. I walked up to the huge, ornate chapel building with my two friends, one from NYC and one from Maryland. We walked up the stairs and sat on the back terrace of the chapel. The huge room was not quiet, kids were chatting and mumbleing about what was going on. Only some of us actually new. Thats when the Head Master told us that there was an accident in New York. He told us that attendace for the rest of the day was optional, and we can go to our dorms if we wanted. I went back and tried to call my Dad in Washington DC. No one answered. I then got a call from my Grandma to tell me that my Dad was out of the city, helping to clean my Granddad's house, because he had recently passed away. That was the biggest relief of my day, knowing my Dad was 50 miles away from the city. That was a bad day, and for the rest of my life I will remember who I was with, what I was wearing, and what happened. 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 story10842.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. 2004-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.188.16.21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had graduated from Ohio State University and I was living at home for the summer, looking for work. On the morning of 9/11 I remember walking through our kitchen and looking at the clock, which read 9:24 a.m. I went into the den to catch the news and saw the first tower of WTC burning. What I didn't know was that I was viewing a replay, and I saw the plane fly into the second tower. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Shortly thereafter, CNN was showing President Bush speaking at Sarasota when a man approached him and obviously informed him about the second act of terror. I knew this was going to be big when the President cut off his speech and left immediately. While I was watching the towers burn, news struck about the Pentagon. By now I thought that this was the beginning of WWIII. I called my father at work and told him to turn on the news. He'd already heard about the first tower, but nothing more. He was stunned when I told him about the Pentagon. I was so in shock that my initial reaction was to drive to a nearby town and enlist in the military (I had taken Air Force Officer Qualifying Test not long before). My girlfriend called and asked if I was watching the news. I drove to her house and we watched all day as the events unfolded. I remember feeling a constant lump in my throat that day, particularly when news anchors were breaking down and crying on camera. One of my college roommates lives 2 blocks away from WTC. I tried calling him all day, but to no avail. All phone lines were down in NYC. Thank God he was at Rockefeller Plaza at work. The next day, when I could finally reach him, he couldn't get back into his apartment and was worried that his place may catch fire, as fires were spreading in that direction. I could sense in his voice how completely stressed and worn out he was. He was still in the same clothes because he could not go home. I can't explain how horrible that morning was in words. Like millions of others, I was in complete disbelief. It's amazing how the stories of brave Americans lost their lives trying to save others. Everyday people trying to do their parts. I have extreme pride in America and I hope that we are able to resolve these issues without further loss of American lives. 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 story838.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. 2002-06-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.103.46 Annotation Annotations to this item. Politics and politicians 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: It started off like every other day in NewYork. Getting ready for work. I boarded a bus bound for New York City like I do everyday.As I approached the Port Authority there was alot of commotion.I didn't know what was going on. And then as I walked by a coffee shop down in the Subway I saw a TV on, which showed the first tower in a blaze and the rumor was that a plane had crashed into the tower. My gut feeling was this was no accident. By the time I was in my office the second tower was hit and my gut feeling was confirmed. In the course of the day I felt helpless, I was worried about family and friends and prayed they all were safe. I can only amagine what the families are going through and pray for there well being. Thank You Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2664.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. 64.132.56.83 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had just entered the classroom when my co teacher gave me a blank look and pointed to the television that she had set up in the front of the classroom. We watched astonished by what we were witnessing. The students didn't quite understand what was happening as I now realize neither did I. The rest of the day was just one blur, connecting with people each with a different story, one teacher had a friend working in the building, one student's aunt or parent, parents coming to take children out early, and teachers leaving to pick up their own children early. I remember just wanting to hold all of my loved ones. And how much I missed having my fiancee to hold me and chase away the sadness. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8187.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. 2002-09-29 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: I am a native New Yorker. I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and lived in the NY metropolitan area for the first 35 years of my life before moving to South Florida. I visited NY in May, 2001, with a friend who had never been to New York City. We did the touristy things like going to see the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. My friend got to see the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center for the first and last time. That brought tears to my eyes the first time I said it after 9/11. A friend called me Tuesday morning, 9/11, shortly after the first plane had hit one of the towers. I had the TV on all day as I watched the second tower get hit, and then each of the towers crumble to the ground in succession. I was devastated. Being a native New Yorker, it really hit home. I had a friend who worked in the American Express building across the street from the Twin Towers. She was safe. My brother-in-law worked three blocks away. He was safe, too. However, I lost a classmate of mine, who worked in one of the towers. Although I did not know him well in school, I grieved for him and his family. When I was New York the previous May, I took an awesome picture, from Liberty Island, of the United States flag draping one of the towers. I shared that picture with all my friends and family. 9/11 is a date that I will never forget. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5019.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.176.163.207 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 shortly after 6am (west coast) on 9/11/01. The household was awake and getting ready for the day. I had to bring a housemate to court that day. She was 17 and living with me due to her mother's mental health issues. The phone rang as expected. My housemate's mother calls every morning to ramble on about her paranoia of the world and to make sure we understand all of the precausions we must take for the day. I believe her conversation went something like this: Make sure you guys are careful today, they put bombs at court, make sure Judy carries a sock with rocks in it incase anyone trys to get her, watch her good because they might blow up the building, they blew up the World Trade Center with planes, its on the news, they might blow up the court, blah blah blah. This information sounded a bit different from her normal so I stopped her rambling and asked "what"? She told me to turn the news on. I did. I believe no one in the house spoke for several minutes as we watched in horror. 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 story1121.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. 64.12.104.184 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: On september 11,2001 i walked into my second period class and Ms.Canon said that a terrible had happen two planes hit the World Trade center, the Pentagon, and one landed in a field in Pennsylvania.We didn't watch the news that day the teacher wouldn't let us because it was to horrible for us to watch.If you would.ve turned on the t.v. every station was about what had happened that day and how horrible it was.One of the teachers told us that a girl started to cry once she found out what had happened.It was so sad that alol of those people who were all inocent had to die because fo those terrorists.In fifth period which was Social Studies told us because half of us had no clue what was going on. My mom was so worried that she left work and came home and for about a week all they showed was the planes and the many people that were hurt.After school whyen i went home all i watched was the news I can see people jumping out of the buildings people screaming and running.Over 3000 people died and many that were hurt and in critical condition.Everyone says that the plane that hit Pennsylvania was headed for the White House.I will always remember that day as a horribe day that i ever seen in my entire 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 story8081.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. 2002-09-23 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.175.105.14 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 co-worker Karen came into my office and told me that a plane had struck one of the towers in NY. A few minutes later she returned, her face white a ghost, and told me another plane just struck the other tower. I told her she must have misunderstood the announcer on the radio. We pulled up the TODAY show on the net. What we saw horrified us. We sat at her desk, with tears in our eyes, watching the story unfold. When the plane hit the Pentagon, we were is complete disbelief. We kept hearing reports about another plane which lost contact, and no one could find. That of course was the plane that crashed in PA. These things were happening all around us, and we couldn't believe it. I had to step outside of the office to have a quite cry. I walked around all day in a "shell" of disbelief and grief. The phones that usually ring constantly in our office were silenced. If was the most upsetting day. How could this happen here? Who is responsible? What is going to happen next? Is there another plane we don't know about? What a horrible, horrible 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 story4245.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. 24.104.32.170 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Like most Americans I will never forget what I was doing when I heard the news. I had been married for exactly one month and had just woken up and walked downstairs my new husband got up earlier than me each morning to watch a little news before heading off to work. I looked at the tv screen as a picture of the first tower that was hit was being shown and I looked at my husband and asked "what are you watching?" you see I had assumed he had popped in some video. He told me he was watching the news and that one of the world trade center towers had been hit by a plane, I was in disbelief and then before my very eyes we watched as the 2nd tower was hit. I spent that whole morning in front of my tv, praying, crying and in utter astonishment felt my very core being shaken. I still lift the survivors in New York and DC up in prayer but I truly believe that we are all survivors. 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 story3530.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. 12.231.182.11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On September 11... I was at home in the morning getting ready to go to school. When i got to school everyone was talking about some twin tower being hit. I didnt believe it but then it was showing it over and over on the news(I saw through the glass window for science). When I heard about the tragedy... I was feeling bad for the east coasters and tourists. This tragedy thing made me feel even more bad when they kept on showing the pics of what happened on news... when it's already been a while after it ever happened. The other thing that was kind of even more disturbing was when it was a while after the 911 there was an anthrax threat thing. So everyone was more careful with checking their mail. My parents got mad when I got the mail... usually they would want me to get the mail for them. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3672.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. 164.116.126.247 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: Just one day before the eleventh of that month I thought I was the most unfortunate man to walk the earth. Besides,I had just gotten out of a Texas prison 3 days earlier and during that time of incarceration I lost my wife, step kids and all I knew about this world out here. I thought "how am I going to readapt to this world now that I finally have paid for my wrong doings?" I basically literally had nothing to lose after my release so I thought about just starting a "new life" somewhere and where else better than to do that from scratch than in a city like New York? So for those first few days I thought about spending any money I had on the first airline ticket I could get to New York. So before I just up and left I wanted to spend some time with family and a friend I still had back in my hometown of Midland,Texas. I remember the night before the attacks clearly...a nice calm night out talking and looking up at the stars sitting in a quiet backyard lawn and watching east bound airliners fly by and telling my buddy that my time was near for me to be on one of those headed toward New York City. It got late out so I decided I was going to stay over so I wouldn't have to walk that long way back home. I woke up in the morning at about 7:45 central time and got up and cleaned up so I could do some morning exercises. I was about to head out the back door but I just had to know what the weather was going to be like the next few days on the east coast so I would know what kind of clothes I should have when I went to New York. As I turned the t.v. on I channel surfed for the weather channel and I got one of the news channels and I saw the New York skyline filled with smoke. I thought that maybe there was just a fire that was getting taken care of and it might just be some minor thing. So I went out to the back yard to begin some cardio. Well after about a few minutes of that my friends phone rang and I saw through the window that he ran toward the television as fast as he could to see what was on t.v. He called for me not knowing where I was and finally I walked in and asked him why he was hollering for me so much. "The World Trade Center has been bombed!" he said. I was confused. So needless to say we both were stuck to the television for another few hours. As we went to another friends home about and hour later we noticed not another vehicle other than ours was on the road for a long while anywhere, and everything was closed. I couldn't believe it, especially when I...me... thought I was having a bad life. I cried tears of anger, sorrow, and hate. "Is this what I came out to? A world of hate and murder?",I said out loud. It was very awkward coming out of a hell right back into another one. Or it seemed at the time. My heart goes out to all those who have to live the September 11th tragedies in thier minds over and over again and to those who survived the hellish nightmare. I am no one of great power, but with what my heart has to offer to anyone who needs a helping hand lets me know I am doing my part as an American trying to make things right with at least myself. God Bless this World. 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 story8143.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. 2002-09-26 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.48.158.1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I remember the moment all too well. A co-worker was listening to the radio and told me what she had heard..."a plane just hit the side of a World Trade Center tower...". At first, I prayed that it was a horrific accident, but my gut was making me feel much different. We had no TV in the building, so all I had was a radio and my own images. Then, another tower hit, oh my God, my gut was right. I immediately began to cry and pray. I wanted and needed to hold my husband and my kids. I needed to be at home with all of them. I called all my loved ones just to give me a piece of mind that everyone was okay. I asked my husband to take off work and meet me at home. I went home to be with my family. I told them things that I thought they knew and that I had told them, but I didn't want to live another day without knowing 100% that I told every single one of them how much I loved them, how proud and thankful I was that they were my family and how much I need them. We made an agreement to never take our lives or each other for granted. I finally turned on the TV for the first time, and the real vision was much worse than my mind had invisioned possible. I prayed that evening very differently. It changed from "thank you Lord and bless my family and friends" to a more broad.."Please Lord, watch over our country our world...". I also prayed that the overwhelming feelings of greatfulness and thankfulness for everyone I loved would never fade with the tragedy. I pray the same for America. Fortunatley, the churches were filled for days after the tragedy. Unfortunately, they became less filled as the tragedy diminished fromt he media. May God Bless America...from the men and women who defend it, to the people who try to run it, to the people who live in it. And May God Bless our world. May we NEVER forget and continue to pray! AMEN. 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 story6470.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.35.238.89 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: Middlesex NJ-My mother called me at 8:50 on the morning of September 11th to let my co-workers and myself know that a plane had hit the Trade Center. Not much more was known at that time so the meeting was cancelled as we ran to te radio. Noone really knew what to do after the second plane hit and one of my co-workers and Iwere already late for a meeting-so we left. Whitehouse, NJ-The first tower just collapsed-silence-tears-confusion...we left the meeting along with the business men + women we were visiting. The car-tower 2 fell-everyone held each other...people driving with dazed looks upon their faces..everyone rushing to embrace their families. My Nana's House-Bridgewater, NJ-I ran inside and grabbed my baby girl-holding her as I never have-because I was still able to. The rest of the day was spent watching the news...searching for family members in the city...earging my husband to hurry home. Raritan, NJ...we are home now...all together, holding each other...safe and sound. I went up to the attic to find my flag, I hung it outside...for the first time ever while 'God Bless America' played over and over in my mind. That was the day I stoped taking my status as an American for granted...That was the day I BECAME AN AMERICAN. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4310.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: On Sept. 11, 2001 I took my son to school for his first day. My son had arrived from vacation on a flight the night before. My family was very lucky I chose that night flight instead of the morning flight that they wanted or the plane would have been diverted. I was on a bus on Northern Boulevard in Queens going to work when I could see a immense plume of smoke directly in front of us in Manhattan. The bus driver and I looked at each other. He turned on the radio and we heard about the first plane crashing. First thing out of my mouth was "Terrorist Attack!" He looked at me like I was crazy. The weird thing was there was no reaction out of the people on the bus--it felt like nobody cared. I told the bus driver to stay safe and that's when we heard about the second plane--he started to cry. I told him to pray and I got off the bus. I hope his family was OK because he looked like he was in shock. When I went into work at the hotel it was pandemonium. People wanted to check out but where would they go. Flights were cancelled. People were coming in from the airports. Alot of crying. We took in about 300 + people from the airports. They didn't have their medicines, luggage, and many didn't know english. People came wandering in who had walked from the World Trade Center and were too tired to get to Bayside and Long Island. We let them sleep on the gym floors and anywhere else we had space. We set up a large dorm room for the people. Some people were calm and understood what we were trying to do others cursed us out. I felt really bad for the old people and the kids. Meanwhile the TVs were on and everybody was in a state of shock. I knew people who worked in the buildings My son was far from me at school and my brother worked in the immediate area. I was being pulled in all directions. I worked 72 hours straight and really never got to see the televised coverage. All I remember was praying alot for the emergency workers and the families at the site. We were working on adrenalin and when I finally got home days later at 3am there was silence in the house and I broke down and cried like a baby. Afterwards I remember the tourists wanting to go to the site. I have never been there and probably won't ever go. It should always be a place of reverence for all the lives that were lost and not as a place of curiosity for tourists. In the end I felt very comforted to know that New York and the nation pulled together in those immediate moments after. Every night I pray for all the people affected and I pray for peace in the world. DR 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 story21303.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. anonymously 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. 2006-09-24 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 70.19.74.218 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: SEPTEMBER 11TH WHAT CAN I SAY I JUST THINK OF IT AS THE DAY AMERICA STOOD STILL. I WAS AT WORK AT 7:30 AM CST THINKING THIS IS JUST ANOTHER WORK DAY WHEN MY FELLOW EMPLOYEES RAN IN AND TOLD ME THE WORLD TRADE CENTER WAS HIT BY TERRORISTS. IN MY MIND I THOUGHT THIS COULD NOT BE HAPPENING WE RAN TO THE WAREHOUSE TURNED ON THE RADIO AND LISTEN TO THE HORRIFIC EVENTS UNFOLD. ALL I THOUGHT WAS ALL THE LIVES THAT WERE WASTED THIS DAY AND HOW COULD SOMEBODY DO THIS TO US. WE CRIED, PRAYED AND HOPED FOR THESE HEROS THAT THEY WOULD BE FOUND. WE PRAYED FOR THEIR FAMILIES THAT THEY WOULD SEE THEIR LOVED ONES AGAIN AND THEN WE PRAYED THAT OUR GOVERNMENT WOULD FIND THE BASTARDS WHO DID THIS AND PUNISH THEM. I REMEMBER A PHONE CALL FROM MY PARENTS WHO WHERE IN AUSTRALIA THEY WHERE FRIGHTEN AND SCARED FOR THEIR FAMILY AND I WAS SCARED FOR THEM. I TOLD THEM NOT TO GET ON A PLANE STAY THERE AT LEAST I KNOW YOU WILL BE SAFE. WE WILL NEVER FORGET THIS DAY OUR HEROS WILL ALWAYS BE IN HEARTS. 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 story2786.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. 208.252.217.154 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 awoken by my alarm at 5:30 on the morning of Tuesday September 11th 2001. It seemed like any other, I rushed to get ready to catch the bus to school. My first period class began at 7:25, I ran into class with seconds to spare-not knowing that, on this day I was going to have far more to worry about than being late. Waiting for class to end our teacher turned to Good Morning America- as we were watching it those last few minutes of class we saw at 8:45 AM United Airlines Flight 175 crash into the South tower of the World Trade Center. In horror we all looked at eachother-looking around the room I saw shock all over my classmates faces. We all thought it was some horrible accident. The principal came over the loudspeaker and announced that we were to report to our homerooms, we returned there and sat and watched the morning news live from NY, at 9:03 AM- the second plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, then we knew this wasn't some horrible accident. Watching that second plane hit that building is something I will never forget as long as I live, it glided through it like the building was made of air, and then there was a huge fireball. Then I thought there are floors above where this plane had hit, how are they going to get out? As I looked at my fellow classmates most of us at that time only 15 or 16 years old, sat that and came to the shocking realization that our country was under attack. We continued to watch the news until we started seeing people jump from the buildings some holding hands, some women holding there skirts and dresses down as they were dropping to their deaths. All I could think was, these poor people, who would do this? I became terrified, I tried calling my parents but couldn't reach them. At about 9:20 we went to our second period classes, all of us in shock and disbelief, and many of us very confused. Then around the same time we were told to turn on our TV's again- we watched the President of the United States state words that I will never forget "The country has suffered an apparent terrorist attack." About 20 minutes later we were told to again turn on our TV's, where they announced that the Pentagon had been struck by a third plane. The room became silent, no one said a word, we now knew it was more than just an attack on our economic capital, it was an attack on our entire country-and we didnt know if we'd be next. Then around 10 after 10 we heard wispers that the South Tower had collapsed! By then I was terrified this was real, this wasn't something that was a horrible accident, we were being attacked, a country I always thought was undestructable, untouchable, and strong-and no one could touch us. Then we heard that around 10:20 another plane had crashed in a desolate area in Penn. I thought will this ever end? There are planes crashing all over the eastern US, I was terrified for my life, and that of my family-my father working in Rhode Island at the time, reached me by cell phone to tell me he was fine,and was coming to get me. At 3:00 pm that day when I saw my father and I ran into his arms, I cried harder than I ever had before, I was 15 yrs old, and I was completely terrified. I then knew we were a very easy target. Now 18, and looking back on it almost two and 1/2 years later, I think it made a lot of us, at least myself grow up a lot more quickly than we had to. I appreciate a lot more now, those who risk their lives everyday to protect ours, and especially those who were in those towers, innocent civilians instantly turned into heros. I will never forget that day as long as I live, my father later told me it was the biggest attack on American soil since the attack on pearl harbor almost a half century earlier. This day will never leave my mind, it seems like yesterday was the day that changed the America forever. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story10405.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. 2004-01-31 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.252.73.248 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: Front Row Seat to the End of the Innocence - By Ric Perrott The west bank of the Hudson River -- New Jersey's gold coast is what they call it -- was always a peaceful place to live. An escape from the hustle of New York City; it provides some of the suburban creature comforts while still affording proximity to the city, and some awe-inspiring views of the greatest skyline in the World. Of course that all changed on September 11, 2001. This is not going to be a dramatic emotional treatise which dwells on the immense loss we have suffered, it will instead tell of what happened to me. It is not going to be a call to arms or solidarity. It will simply be an account of my experience on that day, written in an effort to give some reality to anybody who might not fully understand what the people of this area were going through. Just the regular people, not the firefighters or the rescue workers, not the direct survivors or their families and not the families of the victims. Just the regular people who are trying to find ways to get through their regular days under a lot of irregular circumstances. I only wish I could forget for 5 minutes, or for 5 seconds. I believe that as a Nation, we should never forget; but if somehow I could be so lucky, I am asking that I be allowed to, if only for a few moments. The Tuesday unlike any that had preceded it began for me at 7:45 AM with a decision to finally turn the alarm off and get out of bed. My daily routine was completed 55 minutes later, and at 8:40 AM I left my building to begin my typical commute into the city. I live on the 32nd floor so at times the elevator can be slow to descend as it stops along the way to pick up more commuters. On this day I'd guess that I left my building around 8:46 AM. Most days it's a 4 minute walk to the PATH station and a 15 minute train ride into 33rd street and 7th avenue -- midtown Manhattan. That day the walk only lasted 2 minutes. At 8:48 AM a colossal thunder ripped through the morning haze and instantly shook dozens of weary commuters awake. I glanced to my left just in time to see a tremendous fireball explode from the north side of World Trade Center tower number one. I'm not sure how long I stood there, mouth agape in disbelief, but I believe it was at least 2 or 3 minutes. By that time a crowd had gathered along the waterfront promenade that encircles my building complex, and we just stood there watching the flame and smoke pour out of the tower, completely unsure of what to feel. Some folks whipped out their cellular phones, presumably to call someone either in the tower or near the tower. I calmly walked back into my building and rode the elevator back up to my floor, where I found my apartment purely on instinct--my mind still numb with what I had just witnessed--and went back inside. I picked up the phone to call the office to see if they had even known what had happened, and of course to tell them that I wouldn't be coming in just yet. I reached for the remote control to tune in CNN to see if they could offer anymore insight as to what had happened. As the television glowed to life I could see the flaming tower from a different angle. My living room window affords me a fully unobstructed view of downtown Manhattan and this would be the only day that I would regret it. The CNN anchors tried their best to report the theories so far; a plane had flown into the tower; a missile had been fired and struck the tower; a bomb had gone off on one of the upper floors. They frantically tried to get someone, anyone on the phone that could give them an eyewitness account. I hung up from talking with my employer and glanced out my 32nd floor window at the wounded tower bleeding into the sky. I caught something with my peripheral vision and everything suddenly began moving in slow motion. I know now that only 10 seconds or so elapsed from the time I saw the Airliner lurching downward and the time that it sliced through tower two and exploded, but I assure you that it seemed like 10 hours. In a perverse sort of omniscience, I was able to watch that plane eviscerate the tower from two completely different angles simultaneously. My own view out the window coupled with the south-facing view that CNN's camera was shooting, offered me a unique view of this impossible event. It is a vision that will forever be burned into my mind's eye. Every time I close my eyes, I still see it -- this most horrible of disaster movies. Now a sense of panic was washing over me, starting with the hair on the back of my neck and rapidly moving downward. My first instinct was to run, to grab my keys and get the Hell out of there, but I couldn't move. The CNN reporters were in a complete frenzy now, replaying the crash hundreds of times while I just stared at the carnage not a quarter-mile away from my window. I reached for the telephone to call my Mother on Long Island and assure her that I was ok. In the middle of that call I received a call waiting tone and took a call from a friend who happened to be on the New York Waterway ferry in the middle of the Hudson River, and had watched the last 10 minutes with the same horror as everyone else. We all assured each other that we would remain in touch and hung up. I turned to my computer which is always on and connected to the Internet. The next 30 minutes or so are essentially a blur for me. I remember pacing around my apartment, trying to get a handle on what was happening. CNN was not helping by spouting every theory that was proffered, whether it was hearsay or not. And the local channels seemed to offer coverage that was not much better. With the view that I had, the last thing I cared to see was replay after infinite replay. With one eye out the window on the hemorrhaging buildings, and another on my computer, I started to feel something. It felt a little like a miniature earthquake and I jolted my head up towards the window, through which I saw that tower 2 had begun to collapse. Never before in my more than 30 years on this planet had I ever been so completely and totally in shock over something I'd seen, but then again, I had never seen anything remotely close to this...New York City was crumbling right in front of me. By this time I was in a near panic as reports were now coming from CNN that the Pentagon in Washington D.C. had been attacked and that the rumor now was that commercial airliners had been hijacked and plowed into the Twin Towers as well as the Pentagon. The surreal image of a lone tower standing at the foot of Manhattan will live with me forever. I don't know how long I just stood there and stared out my window, wondering how and why had all of this happened, but it couldn't have been too long. Before I really had a chance to recover...tower 1 was coming down. A few more phone calls were attempted but not many were getting through. It seems that the telephone infrastructure had been affected by the collapse of the buildings and the cellular systems were being overwhelmed. Exploding buildings in New York City and no way to communicate is not a good combination. I turned to the Internet and email as well as Instant Messenger. I checked my email and there was a request from my friend Bill Shunn to check in on his website and let him know that everyone was ok. Bill had set up a so-called "Survivor Registry" on his site and had cobbled together a small Web-based program where you could enter your name and a short message. Within an hour it was being flooded with messages and even requests from worried family members. Passing the word as best we could regarding who was alive and ok and where the best place to go for information was how we passed the next few hours. Trying to help as many people as we could, and getting them the information they so desperately sought. Today, more than a month after the horrific events, I have witnessed New York City become stronger than ever. I have witnessed New Yorkers and non-natives alike give their time, their sweat, their blood and their resiliency to bring this city and this Nation back to its feet. These days, when I look out of my window, I try not to see the devastation. I try to see the spirit of the thousands that are giving so selflessly to restore confidence and faith to the people of this great city; as well as the spirits of the thousands that gave their lives. And as I'm watching the Yankees...The New York Yankees return to the World Series once again, I get the feeling that maybe, just maybe, we'll get through this ok, and we'll come out on the other side stronger, wiser, more compassionate, and united. 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 story20397.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. 2006-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.81.190.12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I work for FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) in Kansas City, Mo. Sept. 11, 2001 was a special day for me -it marked my one year anniversary with FEMA. I remember thinking that as I drove to work that Tue. morning (it was a clear day in the Midwest as it was in NYC and Washington, DC). I learned of the first plane from a colleague at about 8 am CST; didn't know it was an airliner and presumed it was a light plane that hit by accident. By the time I got to a TV, the 2nd plan had alrady hit. We were conducting training in house that day and it continued. A cell phone went off sometime around 9-9:30. The guy who answered it told us that the WTC had collapesed. We went back to the TV and learned of the attack on the Pentagon (also reports of a bomb outside the State Dept. that later proved false). I remember thinking that we were under attack ala Dec. 7 and that the series of attacks was akin to a Veitnam Tet Offensive redux. I am in the reserves and was thinking I might get called up (I wasn't). FEMA went on immediate 24/7 operations and I was on nights for two evenings (Tue. and Wed.). I drove home looking up at the sky knowing only military planes were in the air and wondering what all this would mean for me and my family and the nation. I felt different in a way I've not experienced before. My wife was at home when I arrived. We hugged and spoke a bit. Out son was almost 18 months and playing in the house w/the TV on. We were glad we didn't have to explain it to him but know we will someday. 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 story6225.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.3.152.35