317 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 would like to record a small act of heroism that occured following the events of September 11, 2001. It compares little with the heroics displayed by firefighters, police and the Americans on Flight 93, but it's worth noting. I teach a course in Humanities at Los Angeles Trade and Tech. The semester began on Wednesday, Sept. 5th. I informed my students that, among other things, we would be studying the origins of world religions. After class, one student sought me out and asked if the lectures included Islam. "Yes," I answered. "Why, are you a Muslim?" She said yes and smiled broadly, delighted that I at least knew the difference between the words "Islam" and "Muslim." School was cancelled on Sept. 11th. I knew my students would have a million questions the next day, so I prepared a special lecture. I researched the history of Palestine, because it was thought at that time that Palestinian nationals had been behind the attacks. I also prepared my lecture on Islam, and looked up information on Osama Bin Laden as his name had been mentioned as well. I wondered often if my Musilm student would attend. After such an affront by members of her faith, it seemed likely that she would want to avoid public exposure. I was wrong. She not only came to class, she sat in the center in the front row. As I talked about Islam, she offered the correct pronouciation of Arabic terms and clarification on political issues. She seemed anxious to let us all know that she and her faith were not evil. The action this student took to attend class that evening is the bravest thing I have ever wintessed personally. I don't know if I would have had the courage to sit in a room with 35 angry Americans at my back if I had been her that day. And by the way, she made an A. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1670.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-03 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 165.121.124.193 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've thought long and hard before contributing my story. After all, I am not an American and I was safe here in Australia at the time of the attacks. What finally made my decision for me was the fact that the events of September 11 have scarcely been far from my mind since. On September 11th I was in hospital. I remember being very uncomfortable at the time that I didn't have a room to myself (how pathetic this worry seems now) and that I had to share with three others. You know how it is in hospital. You get woken up at some ridiculously early hour. At 5.45am our time I turned on the television. I wasn't really awake and at first I thought what I was seeing was some kind of film or show. Unfortunately it soon became apparent this was all too real. Of course I was seeing it somewhat later because of the time difference. I have never been so grateful to have not been alone. We were all crying, suddenly our concerns seemed petty and ridiculous. The doctors and nurses were coming in and watching the television in disbelief, standing there for long periods at a time transfixed. And that was how the day went and it seemed to go on forever. Lying in bed, watching the coverage and tears, plenty of tears. Later anger as they showed coverage of the jubilation in the Middle East. Incomprehensible to every single one of us. Although this tragedy was not ours directly, it has affected us all the same. Life changed for all of us on this day. I have read the stories of those brave men and women who risked their life to rescue those from the WTC. I have read the stories of people who lost loved ones in NY, The Pentagon and Pensylvania. I have read the stories of those who were in any of these places as these events occured. I have read the stories of their fellow Americans who, as I did, watched all of this horror unfold on television whilst knowing that they, purely by virtue of being American, were targeted. And I have seen America stand tall in the aftermath. Be proud. 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 story2010.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. 2002-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 211.28.96.44 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 as a reporter at a small town paper, and my husband in a sheriff's deputy here in the county. He was off work that day and happened to be here in the office with me when our receptionist said that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I remember saying "On purpose?" and she said she didn't know. I remember the events starting to unfold after that, we started listening to the radio and I just went blank. Actually my thoughts were racing at the speed of light, but it was going so fast that it felt as if I could think of nothing at all. The reporter in me wanted to be there, covering it, seeing it first hand, taking pictures, and the part of me that wants to be at least a reserve police officer someday wanted to be there to help. All those people, I kept thinking, all those people are losing their lives. It was the most horrific thing to me, something I could've never imagined. The strangest thing about the event to me other than the obvioius is that the day before it happened I wasn't feeling well and I stayed home from work. My husband was sleeping and I was watching my soaps when out of nowhere I had this overwhelming urge that something was going to happen. I didn't know when or where or what it related to, I just felt so strongly that something was going to happen, to the point I woke my husband up to tell him. I was freaked out about it for the whole rest of the day, because the feeling was getting stronger. It is possible to know such things? Is it possible that when a concentration of evil such as that is about to make its presence known that people who are extra sensitive can actually feel it? I don't know the answer to that for certain, I just know what I felt, and I remember the look on my husband's face when he remembered that part of what I said was that whatever was going to happen would change everything. Those were the very words I used. We both still get goosebumps everytime we think about it. As it happened, and all day long with the images on TV burning themselves into my memory, I cried a lot, I cried for all those people and their families and indeed this whole world, for look at what it had come to! I got very upset thinking of those in wheelchairs who didn't get out because there were no provisions for such a thing, that really bothered me a lot. I didn't think I had enough tears in me to cry as much as I did that day and in days to follow. In our paper this week, which came out on Wednesday, we wrote various stories about 9/11 and one year later, I still couldn't shake the lump in my throat or the tears in my eyes as I had to write about that day. And I don't think that the tears will ever completely go away. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story6170.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. 207.144.6.49 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: AUTUMN IN NEW YORK by Paulette M. Glassman The silent screams of 3,000 people suffocating in a single, senseless moment of murderous madness echo in the void of an empty skyline and we who've survived travel a path from tears to terror, orphans in the city of our birth. New York is awash in tears. We comfort each other and create new rituals to give order to our emptied lives: we wave flags, light candles, sing, pray, come together for vigil, after vigil, after vigil. And still the pain comes. It is almost too much to bear. The one thing that everyone wants is what no one can have: our lives back. The way they were, the weeks ago that were another lifetime. We New Yorkers are built to be strong, and we will survive. But we, and our city, will never be the same. The world has lost a magical place. 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 story9767.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 141.155.107.33 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The phone kept ringing that morning. Karen and Melynda had left for class, and I never had class on Tuesday mornings so I slept in. The sound of the phone always startles me. I finally answered it, a little before eight in the morning. It was Karen's mother, hysterical and shouting. She works at an airline in Houston. I switched on the television, and collapsed on the coffee table, clutching my bedspread around my body. There was that long moment of "oh my god" and the longer moment of growing horror. I flipped through every cable news channel, looking for an answer. Most of the day, I stayed in front of the television, absorbing the shock and the terror and the pain. I thought of my friends in NYC, and hoped desperately that they were safe. It was not until the sun was going down, and the President went on the radio, that I left the house. We live under a flight path, and the silence of the sky was terrible. When I at last found my friends in a coffee shop by the university, we stayed there all night, unable to sleep. Just in case. 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 story1298.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. 2002-08-20 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 213.246.80.102 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: Greetings from New York CitySeptember 2001 Nan and I are okay. Thank you for all who tried to call, and those that e-mailed your concerns. We had a rough day Tuesday because Nans brother Bill works a couple of blocks from the World Trade Center. Hes a financial counselor. His building was evacuated safely and a tugboat took him back to his family in New Jersey. We couldnt contact him or his family by phone until 9 pm because of communications damage at the WTC. Nan has no other surviving close relatives and the thought of her as the lone Ezzo was frightening. I heard a low flying plane as I exited my building at a little before 9 am. We live on Second Avenue at St. Marks in the East Village of Manhattan, about 1 mile as the pigeon flies from Ground Zero. The noise was odd but I probably didnt hear it as loud as I might because I listen to NPR every morning on my commute, and had headphones on. I was on my way to vote in the mayoral primary before catching the N or R train to Times Square, nearest my work. NPR reported the crash, I looked downtown, and sure enough smoke was billowing out of WTC1. I cant remember whether I voted before or after learning of the initial crash. The voting took minutes and the train to work was normal except for the news related to the crash, which was hard to maintain in the tunnels. There was one girl across from me, and it looked like she had been crying. I thought only that she had a fight with her boyfriend, or something like that. I called Nan from my cellphone and told her to put on the newsa plane crashed into the World Trade Center. I came to work and those who were there early, like me, gathered by a small TV and watched the live pictures. We were all really dumbfounded and shocked, but somewhat detached. No one was screaming or crying, yet. Our boss, Bill, gathered us at together and said we could go if we needed to get home to loved ones, or stay at his place if we could not get home (many folks live in Jersey, Brooklyn or Queens). I call Nan and tell her Im coming home. I ask her to close the windows, put the air on, and slip a tape into the VCR. I wish I had thought of that earlier when I called to alert her of the disaster. Just then, Moshe, an intern and photography grad student, comes in with 35mm professional film shot from a Nikon 200mm lens on his rooftop in Williamsburg, a section of Brooklyn that overlooks Manhattan across the East River. It contained shots of the second aircraft, frame by frame, crashing into WTC2. Immediately, my reaction was, You have to get this to AP! He asked if he should get it developed right away at a place near our building. I said, No way! Its too valuable. They might lose it, or it could become damaged. Dont trust anyone with that film. I called 411 (you can still use 411 here in NYC) and asked for the phone number of the Associated Press. I had information immediately connect my call by pressing 1. I spoke to someone in photography that said to get down there ASAP50 Rockefeller Center on the 5th Floor. Christie, our photo editor, then arrives at work after witnessing the tragedy on her commute across the Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn. She comes with us and we take the fire stairs 15 floors to avoid waiting for the elevator. Its sidewalk rage kicked up a notch navigating the 20 or so blocks to Rock Center. I try calling Nan the whole way, but cell calls just arent going through. Traffic is snarled and barricades were going up. We get there just in time before the building closes to anyone without an AP ID. Moshe says it will take 12 minutes to develop the film; and they separate us and allow only him in the photo editing room. I am still listening to NPRfrom the walk uptown and in the AP building. The guard lets me call Nan to say Ill be late. Moshe comes back out and asks us for advice on how much to charge. They like at least one shot; we see it on the screen, already scanned. My only concern is that he get on page credit in any deal he strikes. I thought a green photog like Moshe might get $500 for a good shot. Christies experience says he should get $2,000 per image for exclusive rights. This means he cannot sell it again to another agency, or use it commercially. He may, however, use it for personal artwork. After these discussions, I thought he might take $1,500; but I warned him not to be greedy because his first objective is to get them to use it and give him credit. We all agreed, and he went back in with the executive photo editor at the New York News Bureau of the Associated Press. We felt like we were at ground zero of the news; watching monitors and listening to reporters bark soundbytes across the room. Keep the line opendo not hang up was often heard. Moshe comes out with a sheet of paper. Its a handwritten invoice totaling $10,000 for exclusive rights to the entire roll. He made a good contact for future work. He may check out the negs to print at school for his own use, and will receive a high-res CD of the roll. We were stunned. We walked home. I walked 60 blocks downtown (about 3 miles) and Moshe and Christie walked across the Williamsburg bridge back to Brooklyn (about 6 miles). Nans isnt even home when I arrive around noon. A note says she couldnt wait any longer and had to get outside. Shed be back in a half-hour. I am glued to the set. Nan arrives and we hold each other, and she tells me of her brother Bill, and the uncertainty. We cant call out, but can receive some calls. I can call out on my cellphone, but maybe one in ten tries. We go outside and get some pizza a few blocks away. Many businesses have TVs set up so passersby can tune in. I cant eat, and still have a nervous stomach today while writing this. Nan leaves a couple of messages at Bills house when we finally can call out. The rest of the day was spent anxiously watching the news and cleaning the apartment. Local calls and e-mail worked fine, so I spent time staying in touch with some of you. Around 9 pm, we reached Bill and hear hes okay. Much relief. I call into work to take the day off to spend with Nan, watch the news, and try to process this tragedy. Nan goes to the gym as usual, and I spend more time trading stories with friends and family. Jill tells me of someone who saw $100 bills floating down from the sky. Some vault must have burst open and money flew with millions of other papers across the East River into Brooklyn. She picked up nine bills. Colleagues Brian and Ron, stranded in Manhattan, rented bikes to pedal across the George Washington Bridge into Jersey where family met them. My friend Barb used her brothers status as a NYPD cop to gain access to the rescue effort and took pictures. I went out during the day to look for a New York Times. Again, I wish I had thought of that earlier too. The air was acrid, but I did wear a cheap painters mask. Since no deliveries were made below 14th Street, my neighborhood was empty of the first issue reporting the terrorism. I traveled north to 14th, but a cop assured me that all stores were sold out, since all downtowners had to travel uptown to get one. I called friends on Long Island and Brooklyn to pick one up, but all stores sold out quickly. Jill is saving hers for me. At night I go out once more and the air is better. Reports of asbestos, PCB, lead, etc. are made because the WTC was built with lots of it during that time. I went to sleep with a bad headache. On Thursday I go back to work. I spend the entire day training someone, and for the first time, the radio is not on. A major project Im art directing and designing is a 52-book series of state almanacs, including D.C. and Puerto Rico. New YorkThe Empire State was the prototype, and will be among the first ten books printed. I spoke with the editorial director about needing a conference call with the client to discuss how well incorporate these events into the series, which is aimed at fifth graders. Questions such as how well show the skyline; how well tell the U.S. and state timelines; what detail in pictures will we show. We have an unique opportunity to communicate this to children; how will we do that? I am reminded of when I worked at Holt, Rinehart and Wilson (a large textbook publisher) and they had to rewrite the social studies books before printing to include the impeachment of President Clinton. You can imagine its not easy to tell to six graders. When I get back home, we watch more news, and have a relatively quite night. I read the Times I picked up near work. Streets below 14th are reopened to Canal Street today. I bought a Times on the corner. Subways are running in my neighborhood, and I took a normal commute to work. Yesterday, I walked a couple of miles to work. Boss Bill gathered everyone together to give thanks, have a moment of silence during a group hug, and sign a card to deliver to our neighborhood firefighters, along with sandwiches and fruit. Dozens of NYCs bravest died from our station house here in the Garment District. Our boss encouraged us to answer e-mails, phone calls, and take our time processing the tragedy. Our clients have also understood, and offered support and extended deadlines. I am coming in this weekend to make up some of the work lost. Nan and I have home improvements planned for the weekend, and well probably take Peanut to the park, as usual. Ive got over 24 hours of news from about 9:45 am Tuesday. I may look at some of the first few hours missed while at AP. Love and peace, Jeff 30 January 2003: P.S. I havent watched the videotapes I made of 11 September 2001 to date, but have seen several documentaries on the subject. 9 September 2006: P.P.S. I still haven't watch the videotapes, but have had many experiences relating to the tragedy, such as volunteering for the gallery Here Is New York: A Democracy of Photographs and exhibiting many photographs in anonymous group shows throughout 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 story20545.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. 207.237.248.107 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: Has it been 5 years? Blessings to all of you. Soon after 9-11 I moved to Arizona. I was unable to fly back to Michigan, after 9-11 I did not want to fly, until I had to go home and help my parents. My father is now in an assisted living environment and Mom lives near him in a senior apartment. I was glad to find the new planes are well pressurized and very secure. When I first got settled in Arizona I helped out with the Emergency Response Team. And assisted with the National Night Out. We do not meet as much as we used to. And many people have gone in different directions. I live my life to the fullest and love everyone I meet. I believe we are all connected. Regardless of our background or religious beliefs. Peace be with 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 story20629.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. 4.240.42.231 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'm a 15-year-old high school student, so on September 11, 2001, I was making my breakfast and the sack lunch I was going to take to school. By chance, I turned on the radio. The first thing I heard was "It's been confirmed, a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center." Now, I hadn't ever heard of the WTC before, and the only thing I knew of that had to do with world trade was the riots that had happened in Seattle a few years earlier. Seattle, as some of you know, is about an hour and a half from where I live. So, thinking they were talking about Seattle, I raced upstairs to wake up my still sleeping mom. She, of course, knew what they were talking about (The WTC, I mean) We turned on the TV and watched, shocked, as the second plane smashed into Tower 2. Mom just stared at the screen, shocked, and said "This looks like something out of a bad Independence Day movie." By the time I left for school, the Pentagon had been hit and the first tower had fallen. At school, we cried and comforted each other. The TVs stayed on all day. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. No one knew what would happen next, if another attack would occur. Names of possible targets sprung up: Sea Tac Airport, buildings in Seattle, the Golden Gate Bridge, LAX, the nuclear power plant near Walla Walla. When the school day ended, I raced home and turned on the TV. All my life, I have never felt such a feeling of helplessness. As I'm involved in a lot of theater, I know quite a few people in NYC, some via the Internet, and for all I knew, they could have been dead, and I had no way to reach of them. When my dad came home, he found me curled up on the couch, just staring at the screen. I was so numb, I couldn't even cry. That night, as I expressed my frustrations of being helpless and wanting to do something, he drove me to Wal-Mart, where we bought rolls of red, white, and blue ribbon. I spent that night making patriotic pins and passed them out September 12 at school. (Today, September 11, 2002, I am proud to say that almost everyone I gave a ribbon to was wearing it.) I sent one to our city mayor and received a thank you. I sent one to the President and the First Lady, and was surprised to actually get a personal answer later in March. I also went on the Internet later that night on September 11 and sent out an e-mail to all my friends, telling them I was worried and that I hoped they?d reach me soon. After three days, I had heard from all of them and found out that one had sustained a fractured wrist and had to be treated for smoke/dust inhalation, and that her father had been killed. My friends and I rallied together around her, sending her e-mail greeting cards and, in one case, virtual flowers. But the rest of them were alive and unhurt. On September 11, 2001, I saw my country and home attacked. But on September 11, 2001, I saw Americans prove we will band together, to overcome all obstacles placed in our path. I watched Americans come together and stand strong, showing the world that they can not bring us down. We are the United States of America, and united we stand, one nation, under God, forever. To anyone who thinks they can destroy us and our pride, I say this- Fat chance. To those who thought they could hurt us through the attacks- Watch out. We will find you and you will pay for what you have done. And to all victims of September 11, we want you to know: We 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 story4950.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. 12.230.13.162 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 finished assisting in oral surgery on an AIDS patient. I was taking the IV from her arm when I heard about the first plane hitting. I thought it was just a freak accident. Minutes later I heard of the other plane, then the Pentagon and the other plane in the field. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I said, outloud, "you never know when it is going to be your last day or someone elses that you love", and turned to the AIDS patient and realized what I had said. She turned to me and agreed. I will never forget what that day did to America, but I will also never forget how every American joined together to help and pray. God Bless America and ALL the different people who make her up!!! 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 story5393.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 live a few blocks from my office, which is on 57th Street, and had my 85 year old mother visiting me. So, I was planning to leave for work about 9:00 am. I was getting dressed and watching the Today Show. The program was interrupted for a live feed showing the WTC burning and instantly I knew the building had been attacked by terrorists. My cousin worked in the building when it was bombed in 1993 and I knew this was no plane accident. I was horrified and completely in shock as my two family friends worked for Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower. I began screaming and calling my family members who also work in the City...telling them what was going on and insisting they leave their various office buildings immediately. I was panicked that their buildings would also be targets. I called everyone at my office, which is directly next to the General Motors building and told them to evacuate the building. By this time the second tower had been hit. My brother kept calling and calling our friend Joe Sacerdote at Cantor Fitzgerald. But there was no answer on his phone. The unreality of the situation was beyond comprehension. No one I called could believe me when I screamed that the building just came down and disintegrated. (When they later saw the tape on TV, then they understood). About 15 people, friends and family, came to my apartment and spent the day...some on into the night as they could not get home. Everyone had cell phones and they rang continuously. All three of my television sets were on, with groups of people fixed and staring, without speaking, in front of them. About 9:00 pm some of the group wanted to try to get to Penn Station to make their way home. I took my car from my garage and drove down Fifth Avenue to get them as close as I could to 34th Street. I was stopped at 42nd & Fifth by the police. My friends got out to walk, and I made my way back to 63rd St. The silence in the Streets was eerie. It gave me goosebumps; barely any traffic in the streets, hardly any people outside. A police officer stopped my car on 42nd and Third and asked me to take a group of people as far uptown as I could get. They worked at the United Nations. They were so appreciative. I bought bottled water and some staples as everyone was panicked and we thought no food delivery trucks would be allowed into NYC. We also got word that no one probably made it out of the Towers alive as another of our friends, a police office, was down at Ground Zero working on the recovery effort. We went to the Promenade on 63rd St & the East River and saw the smoke and kleig lights down at the site. My windows became covered with soot. I stayed awake all night looking at television and answering the phone, that rang and rang with bad news about our friends at the WTC. My mom said it was worse than Pearl Habour. 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 story985.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.105.75.242 Annotation Annotations to this item. WTC, attack Struggle to get home Personal connection to someone at site NY:3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: On September 11th, 2001, I was at Barker Central School. Barker is out by Lake Ontario. I was in my sekent period study hall when my teacher got a phone call. He was in shock and didn?t say anything at all. He just hung up the phone and turned on the television. The World Trade Center was smoldering with a lot of smoke. Then as we turned up the volume we had heard that a plane had been hijacked and had crashed into the north tower at 8:48 a.m. We had to go to our next class and my next class was Global Studies. When we got there we had heard that a second plane crashed into the south tower eighteen minutes later. Then a third plane was seen over the Pentagon and crashed down into the western part of the Pentagon. A fourth plane was forced down by the passengers in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. In all 266 people perished in the four planes and several others died elsewhere. When I got home my mother had heard something on this radio station and thought that they were just kidding around. Then my aunt called my mother and asked her if she had heard anything about the crashes. There were people jumping from buildings. People were fleeing from the scene like the world was coming to an end. Some Americans feel they are in a war with an enemy they do not even know. Today there is a lot more security in the airports which is a good thing. When Osama Bin Laden does another stunt like this one we will be ready for him. I am glad that we got more safety in airports today. In the country of Afghanistan there are U.S. troops over there trying to kill off all of the terrorism in that country. If Osama Bin Laden is not afraid to die like he said on his video tape that was on national television then he should come out of hiding and fight like a man. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat, but they have failed. I thought I would never see someone or some country use airplanes as a missile to fly into a building and kill themselves and a lot of people. The estimated number of American?s death from the terrorism that struck the World Trade Center, Pentagon and the people on the airplanes was about 3,200. I have thanks to all of the FDNY firemen and the NYPD police who helped out in this tragedy. This is a day I will never forget and no one should. 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 story754.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. 2002-06-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 168.169.8.36 Notes Notes about this item. story Submitted earlier #744 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The day hadn't started out well for me at all. First, I was wearing a new pair of shoes that had already chafed the skin off of my heels. Painful. I underestimated the time it would take to get to work, and ended up being fifteen minutes late. I was exasperatingly shy, so it took me another five minutes to get up the courage to actually ask for my boss. Luckily for me she wasn't too mad. So I hit the grindstone, feeling the day might actually be of some use. At 9:15, we were called to a staff meeting. Typical, happened every day, I was assured. But it also meant walking the entire length of the mall to get to the other half of the store. (Long story). So we walk past the guy who runs the newspaper stand. He looks up and says almost casually, "Hey, didja hear the news?" We hadn't, so he lowers his voice dramatically. "Planes hit the Twin Towers. They're gone, destroyed." It took me a moment to remember what the Twin Towers were, before my mind treated me to a flash of just about every picture I'd seen of the World Trade Center. Hard to believe anything could put a dent in those things. This was a joke, and a rather nasty one, it had to be. But the entire staff of the store was talking about it when we arrived for the meeting. Low, urgent voices. "Have they found survivors?"..."Who did it?"..."They hit the Pentagon, too?" The staff rooms were always crowded when I took my morning break and my lunch break, with the radios tuned to news channels. As far away as British Columbia, Canada, the shock of Sept. 11 was being felt. I remember working all day in a haze, eager to get home and see what this was about. For the next week, I stared transfixed at any TV screen that featured the Towers - which was all of them - as they burned. It just seemed impossible to knock down those buildings. And to try and think of how many people died...no, that was just too much. Now, September 11, 2004 approaches. The TV is laden with documentaries about the attacks. I've watched the towers fall too many times already, yet it's impossible to look away. This year, hopefully, the people who died on 9/11 will not be forgotten. 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 story10793.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. 2004-09-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.144.71.48 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 9-11-01, I stood in front of about 18 6 and 7 year olds in our first grade classroom. An assistant came to my door and told me that we were not to take the kids out because of something that had happened in New York. That's all that was said. Our T.V.'s were not working, and my radio was not on, so I had no idea of what was happening. I called my husband, who works at a major banking firm here in town, and asked him if he knew what was going on. He couldn't talk, he said, because his building was on lock down. No one could come in, and no one could leave. My heart beat faster and faster by the second. All he told me was that the WTC had been attacked and that the Pentagon was on fire. It was all too much too fast for me. I looked on the internet just in time to see the first tower collapse. From that moment on, I was useless as a teacher. All I could do was think about the thousands of people that were in that building. It was like watching a movie. I was 4 months pregnant at the time, and crazy thoughts started racing through my mind. San Antonio has major bases, and would be prime target for terrorists. I had to take hold of myself for my students. They didn't have a clue as to what had happened, and I wasn't prepared to address it with them. We did eventually talk about it. The hardest question I had to answer was asked by one of my little boys. "If those bad people flew the plane into the buildings, then how did they get out?" All of a sudden I had to address not only death, terrorism, and hatred, but now suicide. Too much. Too much for me thousands of miles away. I could only pray for peace for the people that it affected in a more personal way. I still do. God Bless you all that have to deal with people missing out of your lives, and especially for the babies of 9-11, that now have to grow up without a parent. I hope that they will know one day about their parents, and how they did not die in vain. 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 story4147.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. 165.111.2.53 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I will never forget the day. My son, David, had stayed home from school sick that day and since he was 15 years old, I made sure he was okay and left for work. About 9:00 my phone rang and it was David. "Mom, you will never believe this, but a plane hit the World Trade Center." I didn't believe him at first, but he said he was watching CNN and looking at the pictures. I could tell he was a little shook so we talked on the phone for awhile so I could make sure he was okay. Then, from the other end of the phone I hear David, "Oh my God Mom, another one just flew up and crashed into the other tower." I sat in disbelief, knowing now that this was no accident. David went silent on the other end of the phone as did I. Then I hear "Mom, I'm freaked." My stepson lived across the street from my office and I walked over after calming my son to see the images for myself. As I watched the news that morning tears came and remained for the remainder of the day. So senseless....... 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 story6223.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. 208.191.45.226 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: THERE WAS QUITE A FEW PEOPLE THERE. WE WERE SITTING THERE WATCHING THIS TERRIBLE TRAGEDY UNFOLD ON T.V. NO ONE KNEW WHAT TO SAY TO EACH OTHER. I WAS JUST IN AWE OF WHAT I WAS SEEING. I COULDNT BELIEVE IT. MY DOCTOR EVEN COME OUT AND ASK ME WHAT WAS THE LATEST AND I TOLD HER ANOTHER PLANE HAD CRASHED INTO THE SECOND TOWER AND SHE GOT BIG TEARS IN HER EYES. I GOT COLD CHILLS KNOWING THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN TO US, THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. I PLACED OUR COUNTRY IN GODS HANDS KNOWING HE WOULD HELP US ALL THROUGH THIS AND HE HAS. THIS IS A WONDERFUL COUNTRY AND MY FAMILY SAYS IM THE MOST PATRIOTIC PERSON THEY HAVE EVER SEEN. HAHA I HAVE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE EVERYWHERE. IN MY HOUSE, ON MY CAR. I LOVE THIS COUNTRY AND WE WILL PREVAIL BECAUSE WE HAVE GOD ON OUR SIDES. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME WRITE THIS TO YOU. CRYSTAL S. BURNETTE 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 story6713.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. 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: My grandmother has glaucoma. She was checking her eyes when I saw this shocking news on T.V. I called my mother immediately, because she works at the 42nd Broadway New Streeet Barbership in Downtown Manhattan. She is located only a few blocks away. Me and my grandmother walked out to safety. My mother walked out to safety with her boss Joe Proverzano. She wore an oxygen mask. She couldn't breathe in all the dust. My aunt picked us up at 48th Street and 2nd Avenue. We took the 7th train and came back home. My uncle found out if the 7th train was working. Well, my frined Jerry said "It's a disaster, that's what that is." We walked the dog and saw a bunch of traffic on the BQE lined up for Manhattan. The towers disappeared in billows of smoke and fire like the Bible codes predicted. The Bible codes are so right. The Pentagon was destroyed. I'm still surprised that the Chicago Sears Tower is left untouched, and the Malasian Singapore Skyscrapers. I don't know what else to add. Sincerely, yours Mikhail Fayn P.S. God bless American I was at the Winter Garden today and I voted on the crystalline towers. I bought a WTC keychain, and drew the original World Trade Center. I viewed the ground zero site. And it's trully heartbreaking. 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 story8953.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. 2003-01-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.205.183.223 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 witnessed history in science class, and my teacher had to turn on the T.V. to the new channel. I saw one plane hit the top of the World Trade Center and then a second plane hit right into the other Trade Center. All you saw was people jumping out of the buildings to save their lives. when the two planes hit there was a big explosion and there was fire and smoke going every where and they don't want to die. But most people didn't know untill the planes hit and they got cought in the explosion. After we watched the news. my teacher asked if anyone had any serious concerns. A few people asked why we were under attack and he was talking about how it is a terrorist attack. After,when school was over I went home, and turned on my t.v. and found out more than I had before. The news talked about how we are all under attack and about the other bombing in Washington D.C. in the pentagon and they bombed very important documents. I also noticed that people have been more pattiotic and more united. My life has not really change,I do however feel that the U.S. is more united. I never thought in my life time that we would have a war. I thought we were all done fighting wars and that our world was going to be in peace. But we wern't. No one thought we were going to have another war, so everyone was unprepared. I think the innocent people and victoms from the World Trade Centers could be remembered,Also, all the heros we had helping us to save lifes to all the innocent people should be deeply remembered. I feel bad for the people that were on the planes and called their families before they died.I think everyone should be remembered,except for the terrorists because they bombed ur U.S.A. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story8467.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.60.58.139 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My name is John Morgan Hamilton and this is my story, a story concerning something Ive been working on that has change the way I look at life, for myself and others. I created a sculpture in 2004 after spending a year in Iraq, in the United States Army. The Photographs with this e-mail will illustrate the construction, to the finishing outcome. Three months, working long nights and every time I set down, I felt the need to finish but I had know idea it was going to come out like this or the affect it was going to have on me and other who have seen it. So, I contacted the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation through a Welch, Gold & Siegel Legal, connected with Pre-Paid Legal Services. After mailed of a poster board with photos of the sculpture, it was time to visit to New York, to see ground zero and talk to the residence of New York and Manhattan . I drove to there and for three days, walking and talking to anyone, showing my photos and getting a type of responds, that had me in tears every night, in my room. I was encouraged by everyone I talked to with the photos, to continue and except nothing short of completing their dreams. When I set in my vehicle after those three days, for the drive back to Pennsylvania. I was drained from a three day emotional ride and the conclusion that, I didnt choose to make this sculpture - it choose me. To name a few Ive contacted about the sculpture; the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Veteran Outreach Ass, Pittsburgh Art Institution, Jack Gorgon of 99th RRC Public Affairs, Eureka Fire Recuse Emergency Medical (who responded to New York), Mayor Don Kinosz of Lower Burrell PA, Tamara Simpson of the Valley News Dispatch, and the Police Departments of New Kensington, PA. It has been a long and hard year, sometimes a depressing one, I just want it built, its been five years and nothing has happen for the families of 9/11, our nation.. I had the prototype on displayed at my Unit, the hole month of September 2005, sent out countless e-mails so everyone will know about the sculpture, the Double Light Tower (Monument & Memorial Site). I have some times thought how do we really feel about September 11, 2001 - Is it just a day to morn then forget after its passed - Is it about our nation, residence of New York, the families and victims of 9/11 when it only fits the moment. I can only hope you read this and contact me before the 30th on this month, the day I have dismantle the display. The Double Light Towers Sculpture (Monument / Memorial Site) was created in 2004, it displays the names of those lost upon the base, there is a light for every name on the base. On the top of one towers is a light shining to the sky and the other tower the United States flag and the flag dedicated to 9/11. This is my story, my journey on how this work of art has touched me and those who have been it, thank you for reading this e-mail and my God always bless you, our nation and my Military family. POC: Home Phone 412-727-1246 Cell-Phone 216-832-4277 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 story22498.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. 2006-11-25 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.116.197 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: Remembering September 11 Ron Maggiano Social Studies Teacher West Springfield High School Springfield, Virginia It has been one year since the September 11 attacks. Looking back now, I can see how so much has changed and how some things have not changed at all. Our lives go on in much the same way as before, with one dark exception. There are no civilians anymore. We are all on the front lines of this new war. We are all in this together. Tuesday, September 11, 2001, began as any other regular school day. I arrived early, opened my classroom, and prepared to meet my students. It was the second week of school, and my lesson plan focused on the Native American civilizations before 1492. My first period class went as planned. Students began by discussing the question: ?Should the Washington Redskins change their name, since it may be offensive to some individuals or groups?? They then worked on a geography activity using a map showing the location of various North American tribes. During the last twenty-five minutes of the class, students watched a documentary video on Native America civilizations before the Europeans. The class ended with the bell at 9:08 am. I dismissed my class and left my room for break and then my planning period. That was when I heard the news. As I was walking to the social studies workroom, another teacher, Jim, told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I asked if it was an accident, and what kind of plane was it. Jim said he was not sure and had only just heard the news. I thought it must have been a small private plane and decided to turn on the television in my classroom. First, however, I had to go to the copying center to reproduce some handouts for my next class. Several other teachers were in the copy room, watching CNN on a school television. I looked at the TV screen and saw one of the towers of the World Trade Center on fire. Stunned, I stood with my fellow teachers and looked at the surreal image of smoke and fire coming from the world?s tallest building. The announcer informed us that an airliner had hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. A few moments later, we watched in horror as the second plane hit the South Tower and exploded in a ball of fire. ?Oh my God!? someone screamed. I was stunned, and for a moment could not move. Then, I turned around and went back to my classroom. Along the way, I told other teachers in my department what had happened and told everyone to turn on their television. I spent my planning period watching CNN, hardly able to believe what I was seeing. When the Towers collapsed, it felt like the whole world was coming apart at the seams. I doubt that anyone who saw those Twin Towers collapse that morning will ever forget that terrible sight. The rest of the school day was like no other I have ever experienced in more than twenty years of teaching. As word of the World Trade Center attacks spread from class to class, more and more teachers abandoned their lesson plans and turned on their televisions for students to watch the dramatic and horrifying story unfold. I modified my own lesson plan so that students could work on their map activity while continuing to monitor the television coverage. When we learned a short time later that the Pentagon had been hit, many students became openly agitated and concerned. Our school is located in Northern Virginia only a few miles from Washington, D.C., and many students have parents who work in the District or in the Pentagon. Several students asked to leave the room to call their parents. I offered my own cell phone to any student who needed to try to reach a parent, even though students are strictly forbidden to use cell phones during the school day. At the start of fifth period, a student came into my class in a state of near hysteria. Her father, she said, worked at the Pentagon and she had been unable to reach his office. I sent for an administrator and explained the situation. The administrator took the student to her office. After a period of time, she reached the girl?s father at home. He had felt ill that morning and decided to leave work and return home. It was the luckiest day of his life. He later learned that the plane went through his office window. Another one of my students was also very concerned and with every reason. Her father was heading up the renovation of the Pentagon that had been going on for several years. He had taken a rare day off to attend his brother-in-law?s funeral in North Carolina, and was driving through Tennessee when he learned of the attacks. He turned around immediately and headed back to Virginia. We learned the next day that the father of two of our students had died on the plane that hit the Pentagon. One of those students had been in my class the previous year. Other students and teachers had similar stories to share in the days ahead. It seemed that everyone knew someone who knew someone who had been killed or injured at either the Pentagon or World Trade Center. I tried to be as reassuring as possible to my students while having serious concerns of my own. My wife works in the HUD building in Washington. I had tried to reach her as soon as I heard of the attack on the Pentagon without success. I left several messages for her, not knowing that her office had already been evacuated. As it turned out, she had been at a meeting in another building when the Pentagon was hit. The meeting was immediately adjourned, and everyone was told to go home. She was able to drive home safely before the general order to evacuate was given, thus avoiding the worst traffic jam in Washington history. Shortly before lunch, the principal came over the P.A. system to inform us that students who felt the need to check on parents would be excused from school and that parents could pick up students from school if they were concerned for their safety. We have a small minority of Moslem students at our school. Since speculation already focused on Islamic terrorists as perpetrators of the attacks, we were concerned that these students might feel threatened or afraid. To head off any such problems, the principal also announced that all students were to be treated with respect and tolerance regardless of their religious or ethnic background. I reinforced this in my classes, and I know that other teachers did as well. As far as I know, we had no ethnic or racial incidents of any kind at our school as a result of the September 11 attacks. In the days immediately following the attacks, I think we were all a little numb, if not shell shocked. Some students were kept out of school by their parents as a safety precaution. Televisions were kept on throughout the school day so that students and staff could monitor the latest news. Everyone was more on edge, more alert, and more patriotic than before the attacks. The day after, students did not just recite the pledge of allegiance as required by law. They stood and proclaimed it as though for the first time. And there was something else. We were angry. We were angry that someone would do this to us, to our loved ones, to children, and families, and single mothers and old people. A year later, I think that anger is still there. It is not a wish for vengeance so much as a desire for justice. President Bush said in his speech to Congress after the attacks, ?Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.? I hope and pray that it will. 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 story6365.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. 151.188.17.4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was working at my desk in the Adult Education Dean's office when my daughter called from home to say that a plane had flown into one of the WTC buildings. We all thought it was an accident until the second plane hit. I can hardly explain my feelings that morning...profound sorrow, astonishment, fear but, above all...a feeling of being cut off from reality. Could this really be happening? As the events unfolded, I cried for the victims, their families, their friends, and for our country. My co-workers hugged each other and gathered in silence. There was not much to say; we were in shock. I thought about New York City (I was born and raised there) and imagined the devastation created by this violence. I have nothing but admiration for all the people who were in New York helping during that trying time. I admire the passengers on Flight 93 and their resolve to fight back. It makes me so proud to be an american. Above all, I think about the families affected by this event. I can not imagine living with such anguish. 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 story8150.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. 169.139.172.2