262 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: September 11, 2002. A year has past. Today as I turned on the news. Pain. Anger. Sorrow filled my heart. Those horrible memories of the planes hitting the twin towers will never fade. Tears filled my eyes. I remembered that day, like it was yesterday. I couldn't believe what was happening. My heart skipped a beat. I did not see the first plane hit, however I did see the second hit. I witness that moment. It looked as if it was a scene taken out of horrible movie. I saw people jumping out of the building. It was horrible. It was just wait to die or jump out. I don't know what I would of done. I can't explain the feeling of being so hopeless. I wished I was there. I wanted to go and help. That day is forever engraved in my mind. I will never forget it. The day America really stood for their name. We became United. Never had I seen so many different people fight for the same cause. I can honestly say that I am proud to be an American. Patriatism and pride fill my soul. Those who died that day, will not be forgotten. May their families be blessed. May we remain 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 story5684.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: I was at work in a large engineering/architecture office. One of our admin people said a plane had hit the World Trade Center and I immediately pictured that bi-plane that hit the Empire State Building years ago. I figured it was a minor incident. But people went next door to a doctor's office where there was a television and came back with the real story. I was in shock and couldn't bring myself to go watch on TV. I kept up my work . . .then people said "one of the towers came down" and I was really in shock. When I heard the other tower had come down I started to pray. The news about the Pentagon was also in the air. I can't remember when that news broke in our office. Mostly I kept working to keep my mind off what was happening. I logged onto the internet and the pope had an eloquent prayer on the Vatican's web site. I prayed harder. I had spoken with my wife on the phone a few times because she was watching it all on TV. I got home and hugged her and our little boy. She was pregnant then with another boy. What if it were them? What if it were me? As horrible as the day was, I was proud of how we all came together as Americans. 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 story6243.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. 216.250.92.246 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 10th was a day just like all the others. A boring day at school followed by an equally boring day at work. I got home at 5, ate dinner, and got online to type away. My friends from all over the country couldn?t afford the long distance phone bill it would take to call each other and neither could I. Hence the wonderful world of AOL Instant Messenger. Me: Hey Matt, how are things up in the great city New York? Matt: Just great. My moms last day for work is tomorrow and we are about to go out and celebrate. Sorry, but I have to go. I?ll talk to you tomorrow. That was probably the shortest conversation I had ever had with him in the three years I?d known him. No one else was on so I signed off and went to bed. The next day I went off to school and had Health class with Mr. Ruark as usual. We all were watching Channel #1 when one of the other teachers came in and told Mr. Ruark to change the channel to CNN. Just as he changed the channel they had a replay of the first plane crashing into the World Trade Center. ?Oh my God,? I thought, ?Matt?s mom is in one of those buildings.? The rest of the day was just watching CNN and waiting for school to dismiss early. When I got home, my phone was ringing. I ran to pick it up before the answering machine kicked on. I got there just in time. ?Hello?? I asked dumbly wondering who would call at a time like this. ?Becky?? I heard Matt?s voice and knew something was wrong. ?What?s wrong honey?? ?Mom was in one of the buildings when the planes hit them. . . She didn?t make it out. I don?t know what I?m going to do.? ?Oh Matt. I am so sorry. I know you will be okay. You can make it through. I have faith in you.? ?I know. I have to stay strong for my brother. I just wanted to let you know what was happening. I don?t want to tie up the phone lines for too long. I?ll talk to you in a week or so.? ?Okay. I?m here if you need me.? I couldn?t believe it. I never thought someone I knew, even indirectly, would be hurt or killed in the building collapse. It was devestating over the next month to hear the change in Matt. He had to grow up and become a parent for his 8 year old brother. He was only 17. It was still too soon for him to have to settle down, but he never once complained because he didn?t want his brother to think he was a burden. 9-11 had such a major impact on so many lives and made me realize that live could be very short and we have to appreciate every moment we have. 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 story10416.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. 2004-02-04 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.199.149.100 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On the day of September 11th, 2001, a terrible thing happened and I remember that day clearly. My dad came into my room to wake me up and tell me to come downstairs. I didn't know why and I was too tired to guess. I stood at the bottom step of the stairs and stared at the TV with my jaw hanging to the bottem. I came down just in time to see the plane hit the second tower. I saw my mom stand up at go to the phone to call my sister at Stanford. Her close friend was attending school at Columbia in New York. Even though chances were that he wasn't there at the time, my mom couldn't help but worry. I watched for about half an hour after that and then left to go to my orthodontist appointment. The people working there even had thier TV on to a news channel. (which was EVERY channel at the time)After that I was dropped of at school I remember watching the news in every class. It took a while for the fact that thousands of innocent Americans had died in a matter of minutes to sink in. I will never forget that terrible day, and I'm sure no one else will either. 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 story8349.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. 2002-10-03 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.79.79.5 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 working at the time as a shipping and receiving clerk for a small chain of computer stores. I and several coworkers were working in the warehouse area, shooting the breeze and pulling orders at the start of the day. I had CDs playing because our musical tastes were too diverse to agree on any one radio station for very long. A little after 9 am, I believe it was, our delivery driver walked in looking a little stunned, and announced that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. We were all very surprised, and I wondered whether it had been some awful accident or maybe a despondent pilot deciding to end it all. But really, with so much to do, it was only a momentary curiosity, and soon we were back to work. The driver walked in a second time, and said that *another* plane had hit the Towers. The warehouse manager immediately said it was some sort of act of terrorism, that this was no accident. And for it to have happened twice---I found myself agreeing with her. We finally turned on the radio, and shaken deejays were reporting this latest news, and in a few minutes, someone from up front where the offices were told us the company president had turned on the television in the conference room, and that we were free to watch. He was not a man to do such a thing lightly, and I knew it was worse than any of us had imagined. So we all went to the conference room, and just stared in shock at the smoke billowing out of the Twin Towers, and the endless replays of the planes hitting them, then the Pentagon footage, which we hadn't even been aware of, and ultimately, the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. We were all standing there still when the Towers began to fall, and what had been shock and disbelief transformed into grief and horror. Many people walked out then, unable to bear any more; but after a while they'd come back, needing to bear witness to history, compelled to watch their world change before their eyes. The day took on a surreal quality. Nobody left to go home for the day, but suddenly selling computers didn't seem quite so important. Some people sat in shock and sadness, overwhelmed by what they'd seen. Others threw wild speculations back and forth, wanting to know *how* this thing could have happened. It wasn't until later that it all started to make some sort of sense, and a whole nation rose in anger; in those first hours it was quiet, individual, overwhelming, and we were all doing all we could just to cope. When I finally went home for the day, I watched the news footage over and over; I downloaded video clips of angles not shown on television. I looked at photos and clips of the Towers as they had been, and the wounded landscape that was now reality. I couldn't take in the fact that something that had been a part of my life for so long was just---gone. And made gone not by some bizarre doing of our own but by the worst kind of terrorism. Gone, along with most of the people inside, and everyone in every one of those planes used to bring about its destruction. I couldn't comprehend it. Rich, poor, famous, ordinary, male, female, gay, straight, white, black---everybody, all dead, indiscriminately, just because someone objected to the way we do things. I finally fell asleep that night drained, soul weary, feeling a national vulnerability I'd never felt before, and suddenly acutely aware of America's place on the world stage. It's better now. I'm not afraid of some other random attack on those I love. We had, for a while, a fierce national pride; and while that has banked a bit over the last year, it's not gone, and is far higher than it was 366 days ago. And while I do take issue with some of our policy, I revel in the fact that I *can* take issue with it; and I can say, still, that I'm proud to be an American. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4869.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.42.205.228 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 brother was home with a back ache. My boyfriend and I had been up sick much of the night, fighting a cold and had just fallen to sleep when my mom called to tell me about the planes striking the towers. We turned the TV on and watched, shocked and horrified, trying to make sense of what had happened. A friend of mine was in the process of moving that day and I hurriedly called her and told her to get her still unpacked radio out to hear about what was going on. What I remember most about September 11 was the confusion. What was happening? Was there really a plane going up the river, heading for the White House? Were we about to be invaded? Who was behind this? When would the threat be over? And most importantly, WHY would anyone ever do such a thing? We've learned a lot of answers in the year since 9/11/01, but we're all still left with fears of travelling, fears of strangers, fears of the tall buildings we once marvelled at. And questions. So many more questions remain. But fear wasn't all we were left with. On 9/11, a divided nation began to pull together. We forgot about the messy election of just a few months before. We realized that life is precious and all too precarious. We were reminded to treasure our families, our friends, and our way of life. We stood up, together, as a nation, and exhibited a newfound patriotism and thirst for liberty. We became a proud nation again. Out of the ashes in NYC, out of the destruction at the Pentagon, out of the debris of courage in that Pennsylvania field came a nation forever changed. And I was changed too. I'm a better person than I used to be. I don't hide love and affection anymore. I show my appreciation. I say "thank you," "good job" and "I'm sorry." I don't take my life, nor the people in it, for granted. The American WWII generation became a shining example of American courage. On Dec. 12, 1941, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto said, "I fear that all we have done is to awaken a slumbering giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." The slumbering giant has been awakened again. It's in all of us, in that fierce need for justice, tolerance, and peace. They tried to scare me. They made me stubborn instead. They tried to kill us. But they only made us stronger. We will shine again. 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 story6361.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. 144.189.248.170 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: I originally wrote this on September 12th, 2001. The day after the attacks. -------------- Not Just Another Day - by Patrick A. Gorman, Atlanta Georgia, September 12, 2001 As the song says, What a difference a day makes. Yesterday I remember dragging myself out of bed, looking forward to another wonderful day of dealing with customers. I got showered, dressed, and trudged to my pickup for the commute into work. I remember listening to the radio, hoping the music would help wake me up. Hundreds of miles to the north, thousands of people were doing the same thing, not knowing that it would be the last day of their lives. I had been at work for fifteen minutes when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. At first, I had no idea what had happened. I heard people several cubicles over talking in raised voices. I began to hear "Oh my God!" and "Have you heard?" We all turned on the news. Eighteen minutes after the first crash, the second plane hit. The news of what was happening spread like wildfire through the hallways of my office building. Everyone stayed glued to radios and televisions, spellbound and horrified as tragedy piled on top of tragedy. North Tower hit. South Tower hit. Then another plane plowed into the Pentagon. Government buildings everywhere evacuated, even the UN. And then, the ultimate tragedy: the World Trade Center collapsed with people still inside. Everyone in the office was stunned as we watched the secure lives we thought we had, crumbling into smoking ruins. Like the day Kennedy was shot, like the day the Challenger exploded, like the day of the Oklahoma City bombing, everyone is going to remember what they were doing when they heard about the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon: the worst terrorist attack in American history. Today I woke up to a different world. When my clock radio came on to wake me up, I didn't hear music; I heard footage from Bush's speech to the nation last night. As I got dressed, I listened to growing body counts. Hundreds dead in the Pentagon. Untold thousands in the World Trade Center, including over 300 firemen and policemen who were rushing to save lives, only to lose their own as the buildings caved in on top of them. When I got into my truck, the radio was giving the locations of drop-off centers for donations. As I drove to work, I studied my fellow commuters, something I'm sad to say I rarely do. Many of their faces showed the same numb horror that I was feeling. I'm sure a lot of them were probably listening to the same words I was hearing on the radio. And, like me, I know that many of them have friends or family who may or may not have survived yesterday. I can only imagine their stories, but I know that there are many just like them all over the country. In my rearview mirror I saw a young blond woman I named Wanda in the car behind me. Her eyes were red-rimmed and bruised from lack of sleep. I imagined her voice telling me her story. She moved here from Manhattan two years ago, and had many friends that still lived in that area. One of them worked at the WTC on the 80th floor. She had been trying to reach him all night, so far without success. A few miles further on, I saw an older man in the car to my right. He had a crisp salt and pepper mustache, and was balding. His name was Edward, and his son and daughter were both at the WTC the day before the attack. Ironically, his son was there to apply for a job. Thankfully, both son and daughter were fine. Ahead of me was Lisa. She was listening to the radio in tears as the number of dead firefighters was revealed. She didn't know anyone in New York, but her husband of less than a year was a fireman, too. She sobbed as she thought about all of the spouses of the firefighters and police in New York who are now widows - something she?s always prayed that she'd never be. But that seems like less of an impossibility now. Last night, she and her husband signed on to http://www.firehouse.com to make a donation to the families of those firefighters who lost their lives in the effort to save others. (this is a real website - check it out.) Further on, I saw Tim. Unlike many of us, he wasn't on his way to work. Tim's sister, Kate, was on Flight 175 out of Boston, heading to Los Angeles on business. Her flight was the second plane to crash into the WTC. With all flights grounded, he was forced to spend the night driving from Virginia to be with his grieving mother, who saw her daughter?s plane explode on live TV. On the sidewalk, I spied Roohi, a young Muslim woman walking to work. She walked in a daze, numb with shock over the violence that had been delivered upon the country she has called home for the last two years. Besides the senseless tragedy, she had an additional concern: fear that she and her husband would be targeted by those who would wrongly blame the Muslim religion for the attacks. As I turned onto Highway 9 in Alpharetta, the disk jockeys on one of the rock stations in Atlanta were chatting with their normally talkative traffic reporter, who had literally not said a word today except to do traffic. They asked him about it, and he broke into tears on the air. I got choked up too - again. That's been my state since this whole thing started. It's too much, just too much. This amount of death is incomprehensible to me. Around me, everywhere I look, everyone I talk to, all I hear about is the disaster. The news sites keep splashing photos of the second plane plowing into the WTC. My coworkers are stunned. My friends are horrified. Everywhere there's an underlying anger that vibrates in the background like the beginning of a dog's growl. What am I feeling? Despair. Grief for those who lost their lives. A need for justice, competing with a desire for blind vengeance that leaves me feeling ill. As I struggle to deal with the emotional fallout of this horrible disaster, I can only wonder, and fear, what the future may hold. But one thing is sure: our world just got a little darker. I think I?ll light a candle. 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 story2830.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. 161.114.88.76 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 created a spiritual reteat center in the mountains of western Maryland. We do not have television and I rarely listen to the radio unless I am in the car. So, it took a member of our staff coming to work the morning of Sept. 11th to give me the news of what was happening in NYC, at the Pentagon and in a Pa. farmland area not far from the retreat center. At first, it was difficult to believe that such a penetration of the safe, secure atmosphere that we cherish in the USA had been penetrated. As the truth of it all began to sink it, it also became apparent that it would be important for the communities in which we live to gather together and speak about the tragedy, pray for all who were involved in any way, reflect upon the spiritual aspects of such a tragedy. Because I am a clergywoman, it seemed critical to begin to get the word out that such a gathering would happen that evening in the little town of Hancock- all who wished to come together would be welcomed. As it turned out, nearly all of our congregations held separate services that evening, and, by Friday night were gathering as a whole community, across faith traditions. It is one of the most important times that the citizenry has gathered. Our praying together, reflecting together, weeping together, covenantlng together will always be remembered as a moment of grace, a time of being connected to something much larger and more significant than anything we had, heretofor, experienced or imagined. Margee Iddings 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 story798.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 146.96.92.54 Annotation Annotations to this item. Religion DOMESTIC N-YHS 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 witnessed the entire event from our home in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia where I live and work.) We are US Citizens who live in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where I run a computer business. We are about 14 hours ahead of Eastern Time, so we were just settling in for the evening of September 11. I was shutting down my computers and heading for bed. My wife, Dana, had just turned the TV on to see what was on the news before going to sleep. She called me into the living room. There on CNN was the image of one of the Towers burning, and the reporter explaining that a plane had hit the tower. At that point, the supposition was that some idiot had either accidentally flown his plane off course, or that it was some dramatic suicide. They had no idea of how big the plane was. After watching this for several minutes, we saw flame erupt from behind the wreck site. The announcer assumed that this was an explosion of fuel from the plane that we were watching burn. A few minutes later they received the report that another plane had in deed hit the second tower. I remember thinking right away that it was a terrorist attack, and wondering how long it would take for them to say it. It took the presenter a couple of minutes to get up the nerve, but he finally said that we were probably witnessing a terrorist attack. My family and I watched as the towers collapsed and as reports of the hit on the Pentagon and the downing of the plane in Pennsylvania came in. After my wife and daughter went off to bed a couple of hours later, my son and I stayed up all night watching reports come in and following what was happening "back home". Watching it from so far away made it seem kind of surreal and story like. I guess we were kind of insulated by the distance. I don't think the full impact of what we were seeing hit us like it did to people closer to the scene. The next morning I went out to the Mongolian countryside to visit some nomad friends. They had already heard about it and were full of shock, questions and condolences. They had a hard time even imagining a building that big. And the loss of life was staggering to them. It was amazing to me that the event had even touched the lives of a family of Mongol herdsmen who lived out in the mountains in a round white tent, tending their livestock all 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 story1273.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. 202.70.33.7 Annotation Annotations to this item. Americans overseas Television Coverage INTERNATIONAL 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 lived in Brooklyn for the past year and a half while going to John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Right before September 11 I was considering transferring back home to Georgia State or University of Georgia. On September 11 I was at home in Brooklyn, I didn't have class on Tuesdays that semester and usually I tried to get out and explore in the city on my days off. But that day I had slept in and not followed my original plan, which was to take a Bath and Body Works gift certificate and a Borders gift certificate to the World Trade Center mall. My mother almost called me that morning, she realized that if she had called and woken me up I would have most likely gotten up, gotten dressed, and gotten on with my day. After I woke up that morning, I got online. My friend Emily from Georgia instant-messenged me, asking if I had heard about the World Trade Center. I immediately thought it was a joke that somebody at a radio station in Georgia was doing. I got an email from an old acquaintance asking if I was all right. Emily told me to turn on the news, but I couldn't because the antennae of the networks had been knocked out. I got the news online and was horrified...I was pretty sure that I could smell smoke from across the river. I called my mother in Georgia at her job, but her boss told me that she and the other women who worked there had gone to our church to pray. I must be a New Yorker, I took the bombing of the city as a sign that the world was ending. My best friend was at that time at the University of Southern California. I called her and she told me that she and her sorority sisters were just waiting, that they were sure that the West Coast was next. We talked about why this was happening, and I told her that I wasn't sure but the news had said that an associate of Osama bin Laden (whose name I had never heard before that day) was to be sentenced at a courthouse in lower Manhattan that day, and that was probably the rationale behind this. My sister and some friends of ours were in high school, when they heard they panicked, my sister was hysterical. They don't know Brooklyn from Manhattan, all they heard was New York City. The principal of one of the high schools where my friends go refused to allow the televisions on, because the news was "disruptive" - not surprising, as the general consensus is that the man is a moron. I called my sister's school and left a message for her, I called everyone I knew when I was able to get a dial tone. I sent out mass emails to everyone whose email addresses I had. My roommate is a NYPD cadet, I tried calling her cell phone but of course it didn't go through. I left her messages, "I know you're ok, but please just let me know." I was worried that she would have to walk home if public transportation wasn't accessible. Once I managed to pick up CBS out of New Jersey, and turn on the AM radio, I was afraid to turn the news off. I sat on my couch and just watched, helplessly, all night long. I prayed to the CBS anchors to deliver me some better news. I don't watch CBS much anymore, I think my subconscious holds them responsible for being the messengers of devastation. I even made a "date" with an acquantaince I'm not that fond of to go give blood, but it didn't happen. For a while after September 11, I tried to read about it. But I felt sick every time. One night, very late, on one of the networks, I caught sight of some footage I had never seen of people aflame, jumping from the towers. It made me sob in despair, that people had been caught in that situation of futility. I volunteered at the Billy Graham Prayer Center a few times, but the Prayer Center left New York after a disappointing volume of calls. The people who needed it won't realize it for a while to come. After September 11, I was more determined to stay here and not to transfer schools. I still love the city. 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 story451.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. 2002-04-22 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.2.55.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I really don't have an exciting story to tell. I did not know anyone who was in any of the buildings, or planes, I do not know anyone who parished in the tragedy. I was at home with my best friend, Tammy , when we decided to see what was on our talk show before putting on cartoons for my 4 year old. When i turned on the t.v. we froze. We saw the smoke and wondered what was going on. We continued watching in horror as we found out what was happening, and then we watched the buildings fall. It was so devestating to watch, knowing so many must have lost their lives. Now the anniversary of this tragedgy has passed and even though I didn't know anyone who died, I couldn't watch to much t.v. that day, it was just to heartbreaking. I wish I had something inspirational to say to those who lost their loved ones, or to anyone who doesn't know how to feel or who to trust anymore, but all I can say is one day we will all be reunited with our lost loved ones, (I really believe that)and until then the good Lord will take care of us all, and if someone should try to harm us again, He will be there to take us home. 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 story7632.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. 2002-09-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.135.6.5 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 Rochester, NY and was working in Kansas City, KS at the time the attacks happened. It was ominous for the first few minutes after Tower 1 was hit, I couldn't believe what I saw on my first minutes surfing the web in the morning. I thought it was someone's sick joke. But then reality hit and I got angry. I then thought to myself and recanted that I flew through Ronald Reagan International exactly 24 hours earlier from when the Pentagon was hit. Then I got scared. As the week went on, it became abundantly clear that the airlines were shut down. This made things even more difficult since my Brother was to be married the Saturday following and I was the best man. Traveling became difficult as many of you know, I ended up taking a train home and spent many hours talking to many people about the tragedy that had happened and what our next action should be. I still to this day mourn the loss that we all have suffered, but I know that we as a Country will endure. God Bless America. By the way, I did make it home in time for the wedding. 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 story6227.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.236.239.236 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 the beginning of what I thought was an ordinary work day. I was in the process of sorting mail when I heard on the radio that one of the towers at the World Trade Center was hit by a plane. Another co-worker had come into my office and had said she heard the same thing. I thought it was bizarre that a plane could become off course and hit the trade center, but went back to going through the mail. Not long after that, the same co-worker came down to say that the second tower was hit by another plane. My heart fell, I knew. My 17 year old son had joined the Navy in January of 2001 and had done basic training and had done his special training and was stationed at Norfolk, Va. He was scheduled for a routine 6-month deployment on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. I tried immediately to reach William on his cell phone and couldn't get through, I then immediately called my mother is South Carolina. I knew if he couldn't reach me he would reach her. A while later the phone rang and it was William. He said that the base was on high alert (of course by this time the Pentagon was hit and the plane had gone down in Pennsylvania). Waiting to hear if his deployment was going to change. Hour-to-hour, day-to-day. I knew where they were headed. It was a mother's worst nightmare come true. The Roosevelt pulled out of Norfolk, Virginia on September 19, 2001 headed directly to the Mediterranean to participate in "Operation Enduring Freedom." The Roosevelt traveled down the Suez Canal and to the Persian Gulf, where, on October 16 it relieved the USS Enterprise and joined the USS Carl Vinson in the air strike against the al Qaida terrorist network and Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. The Roosevelt earned awards while they were out on deployment. They broke the record being out to sea for 159 consecutive days without going to port. William returned safely aboard the Roosevelt on March 27, 2002. While he was out to see he turned 18 years old and when he returned to Norfolk he returned as an 18-year old veteran. We now have some time to get ready for the the next 6 month deployment in wartime. 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 story2969.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. 64.30.8.226 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 6th grade on September 11, 2001. I remember during recess another girl in my class came up to me and told me a plane had hit the white house and the president was dead. Obviously, that was wrong but the whole day we were confused about what was happening. Our teachers were all talking to each other and kids were being taken out of class by their parents. None of our teachers would tell us what was happening, we heard them mention the World Trade Center, but i didn't know what it was. It wasn't until i saw the video footage on the news that i knew it was the Twin Towers. I went to a catholic school so in class all we did was pray the rosary. My mom didn't want me in school in all the confusion of what was happening so she picked me up at lunch. My dad works in DC so i was concerned but when i got home he was alread y there, leaving shortly after the plane hit the pentagon. I will never forget 9/11 and it greatly changed the way i thought about the world and other countries. 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 story20491.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. 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 just heard the news that something like an airplane had hit one of the twin towers in New York. I immediately turned on the T.V., while I was watching, it was true that a plane had hit the tower then as time went on another plane hit the 2nd tower, I woke my son and daughter-in-law because I thought it may be the start of war. We are truly blessed that war didn't take place that day. I pray for all the family that lost love ones on that day. May God bless us all. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2721.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. 12.46.1.122 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 librarian/teacher in an affluent bedroom community close to NYC. Many of our parents work in finance and, we learned, a surprising number worked in the WTC itself. I had no class the first period of the day and was preparing to teach a middle-school Latin class when the Assistant Principal came into the library and told me to turn on the television because a plane had hit the WTC. I immediately assumed that it was a small private plane, like the one that crashed into the Empire State Building in the 1940's. It seemed odd though since the day was gloriously clear. I turned on the TV just about 9:00 am. Stupefied, I watched the second plane hit and learned of the attack on the Pentagon. I watched the reports as long as I could but went to my class as usual, trying not to convey to my students the sense that anything was awry. I had two consecutive 40 minutes classes during which concerned parents came to remove their children from school and both of the towers fell. It became impossible to pretend that nothing was wrong and the administration gathered the older children in the gym and explained the situation to them. It was at this point that we began to realize just how many of our students had parents whose daily routines included some time in the Trade Center. Some of the faculty also had spouses who worked at the site. There was no way we could carry on with our normal class schedule, especially given the fact that fighter jets were routinely roaring overhead by this time. The Principal began the laborious process of notifying parents that the school would be closing early. Of course, we are committed to remaining at the school until all of the children are picked up so it was late in the afternoon before we actually were able to leave. By this time, we knew that we had been remarkably lucky. Not one member of our immediate school community was lost. The truly amazing thing was that several of the fathers of our preschoolers would have been at work in the affected areas of the WTC but for the fact that our Tuesday/Thursday preschool classes began that day and several dads had stayed home from work or delayed their departure for the city to see their oldest child's first day at school. While I had never worked in the towers, I had been to Windows on the World, attended meetings there and just strolled through the lobby on my way from the World Financial Center's Palm Court when I took the ferry across the Hudson. Even a year later, it is difficult to wrap my mind around that day. I find it hard to look at the skyline when I am driving to the city. I can't determine where Manhattan ends anymore. The school at which I teach is a parochial one attached to a church with a small graveyard and a recently built mausoleum. Today - 9/11/02 - I had to pull the shades in the library which looks out over that mausoleum. One of our town's 9/11 victims is buried in a crypt that faces our windows. Throughout the day, floral arrangements of rememberance were delivered and I couldn't bring myself to try to explain their significance to the second graders in my class. 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 story4788.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.37.191.125 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: How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience. I was watching the "Today Show" when the first tower was hit at approximately nine minutes before nine. I watched in horror as the news broadcasters suggested possible theories for the plane crash. Then, without a break in the broadcast, I watched as the second plane hit the second tower. Has your life changed because of September 11, 2001? If so, tell us how. I think the lives of everyone in the United States and throughout the world have changed because of the events of 9/11. We have lost the sense of security and well-being, taken for granted as an American citizen. It is much more believable and possible that innocent people anywhere, at anytime could be destroyed by random or planned acts of terrorists. What do you think should be remembered about September 11th? First of all, the cowardly and evil acts committed by people believing they have a right to do this. We should never forget the acts of heroism by NYPD police and firefighters and ordinary citizens. We can never be complacent about our national safety. Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th? Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th? Yes. I can't say that it has because I have always felt the same way about our nation's symbol, whether it be flown on September 11 or Armistice Day or any other day of remembrance. 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 story8810.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-12-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.54.14.84 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 the hospital NICU feeding my daughter when one of the nurses came in and told us that she had seen on TV that an airplane hit the world trade center. A while later she came back to say that another plane had hit the second tower. I left the nursery to find a TV in the waiting room only to be horrified at what I was watching unfold before my eyes. I left the hospital to find my husband, and had a hard time reaching him. By the time that I contacted him, the first tower had collapsed. He had been in a meeting and had not heard yet. We live in the Capitol of Florida where the Presidents' brother serves as Governor. I feared that we may be next. My husband left work to pick up our son from preschool and take him home. I returned to the hospital to be with my daughter. The worst feeling was having to leave her that night, and the fact that our entire family could not be together in such a time of crisis. 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 story4909.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was normal Tuesday morning. I woke up at 5:00am and got ready to go the gym at the office. My wife Carol and I were newlyweds (September 30, 2000). She works in Manhattan but she had taken the day off from work for a doctor's appointment. I had a good workout. I showerd and got dress for work and was at my desk at 8:40am. A colleague came to my desk and said that a plane crashed into one of the Twin Towers. My first reaction was disbelief. I walked over to the other side of my building where you could see the Twin Towers. People gathered, screamed "Oh my God!" and started using their cell phones to call friends and family. I tried to call Carol but I could not get through. I just stood there watching the North Tower surrounded by intense smoke and flames. Then at 9:03am, I saw the second plane crash into the South Tower. People screamed "Oh my God! What happened?". I screamed "A second plane hit the other tower!". I became more upset, angry and scared. A feeling of helplessness overcame me as I watched one of the world's famous landmarks being destroyed right before my eyes. I went back to my desk and tried calling Carol and finally got through. She had been watching the news describing the tragic events that occurred. She was alone and asked when I would be able to come home. I told her that I was all right and as soon as management say it is safe to go home, I will come straight home. Another colleague had a radio on to listen what was happening. Then we heard that a plane crashed into the Pentagon. I had believed that we were at war. Then we heard that another plane crashed in Pennsylvania. Later we heard the South Tower had collapsed. Some time had passed and the North Tower collapsed. It took me three hours to get home. When I got off the train in South Orange, family members were waiting for their loved ones to disembark the train. As I walked home, I started to pray. When I got home, Carol was waiting for me. I thanked God that I was home safe. I thanked God that Carol was safe. I thought of others who didn't make it home at all. I wondered if New York would ever be the same. My deepest sympathy goes out to those who lost family, friends and loved ones. 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 story4384.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. 162.66.50.1 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 started my 9/11/01 as any typical day. My daughter had started the 4th grade at East Clayton Elementary(Ms. Griffin). My daughter went off to school and I was off to work. There was nothing on the radio around 7:30am, so I was listening to my CDs. I finally got to work exactly at 8:46am( When the first plane hit the World Trade Center). Normally, our office is buzzing with the latest gossip and work for the day. This day however was different when I walked in and saw everybody with a look of HORROR on there faces. I found out that somebody ran a commercial plane into the WTC, seconds later the other plane hit. I was in shock, thinking this has got to be a mistake someone has made a navigational error. I started thinking, the WTCs are right ahead, noone in their right mind can make such an error, this had to be on purpose. What I felt I didn't want to know, but unfortunately it was true. All of those lives lost, all of those families without there loved ones. All of those fire fighters and police officers LOST. SONS, MOTHERS, FATHERS, DAUGHTERS, NIECES, NEPHEWS, UNCLES, AUNTS, GRANDPARENTS ALL LOST. Only because of those not caring enough about LIFE and how precious it was to those who embraced the life that they had. When I got home that evening, I appologized to my daughter with tears in my eyes and she asked me with those beautiful, slanted, brown eyes and said, "Mommie, why did those people do that?". The only thing that I could say, "Babydoll, I'm sorry that I brought into a world that has no regard for HUMAN LIFE. GOD never intended on HIS children living this way..I am sorry." This hurt my heart to tell my 8 year old that, but she understood as much as she could. What PEOPLE need to understand is that LOVE consquers ALL. A PERSON can understand and feel but some PEOPLE cannot. May GOD be with you and your families. Because I know HE is with mine. 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 story11638.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2005-07-26 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.173.93.39