318 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: Our World Came Crashing Down Today we watched in horror As our world came crashing down. At first we thought, "An Accident?" And then we find we're wrong. The towers stood together For such a long, long time. They had been strong thru other attacks, But today came crashing down. An airplane, no two. We cannot believe our eyes. Oh, no! Two more! Hijacked in our skies. The Pentagon was next, In a cloud of smoke and fire. Disintegrated, And then came crashing down. An empty field near Pittsburgh, Soon engulfed in flames. Brave pilots and passengers who defied, And then came crashing down. Millions watched in horror, As thousands more just died. What reason can there be To have our world come crashing down. EMTs and medics, Firemen and police, Gave their lives for us, As our world came crashing down. Can we survive this horror? As we have times before? We can and we will, REFUSE to have our world come crashing down! Author Heather Colley http://members.myecom.net/members/nursecol/ 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 story698.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-31 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.68.69.51 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sitting at my desk when my supervisor came in saying that a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. I, like many others, pictured in my mind a small Cessna-type plane crashed into the exterior of the building. We all went to our computers to see what we could find out. Many of us couldn't even get on-line because the circuits were overloaded. By the time I was able to get anything on my screen, what I saw was so horrific that it hit me like a thunderbolt. I still, to this day, get that feeling every time I see those moments related on my television or computer screen. We don't have access to a television in our office, so one of my co-workers put on her radio so that we could at least listen to a live commentary of what was happening. With each horrible event that followed, everything around me became more and more surreal. I could not believe that this was really happening. After the second tower went down, I had to just sit and try to take in and validate in my mind what had just happened. My supervisor's daughter lives in New York and worked not far from the World Trade Center. She called when she could on her cell phone to keep us abreast of what was going on where she was. As anyone can imagine her mother was quite worried. As for me, I finished my workday and had to go home to an empty house. My husband was on a remote fishing lake in Canada, totally unaware of what was happening here at home. He was not due to come home until the following Saturday. Also, both my daughters live in large cities, one in Chicago and one in Seattle. There was a lot of talk about possible future terrorist attacks on these larger cities which really had me upset. I talked with my daughters every day and they assured me that they would do everything humanly possible to stay safe. So there I sat, night after night, worrying about my immediate family - praying for their safety. If wasn't until my husband got to Customs on his way back from Canada that he found out about the attacks. I can't explain my relief when he called to say he was on his way back home. I guess that my situation made me think about the people who searched for their loved ones day after day, knowing that they were probably gone, yet not wanting to give up hope. I pray for the victims and their survivors, and also for our country. I pray that we will always remember how important our freedom is, and what a great country we live in. I pray that the unity we have found through this tragedy will always remain. I pray that we will win the war on terrorism, and will find peace, not only for our great country but for the world. Thank you for taking the time to read my account of what happened. I think it's good for all of us to let our feelings out in the open. God bless 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 story6226.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. 131.156.255.251 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 art class on 9-11. I was just laughing and joking with my friends when one of the secrataries from the office came in. She pulled me into the art office. I thought I was in trouble. The first thing she said was your dads okay. I thought, what is she talking about, what happened to my mom. She said there was an accident and that 2 planes crashed into the twin towers and one in the pentagon. I just started to lose it, I was crying and couldn't think at all. My dad works at the pentagon and I was so afraid. She kept telling my that he was okay and I coudn't tell any one what had happened. So I went back to my seat and starred into space, I was so scared. Then I called my mom and asked how my dad was, she said he was fine and that she had talked to him. Even though he was okay, I was still very scared. I don't know what I would have done if I lost my dad. I'm so thank full that nothing happened to him, I love him so much and I wish that no one had to go through the pain that day. My heart goes out to the victums of 9-11-01. 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 story9185.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. 2003-04-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.55.220.240 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: When I first saw what happen it didn't really hit me just yet. So as the day went on and I started watching more on the live broadcasts, I relized that even though it happen in New York it affected each and every American in the world,and it makes me mad to know that so many people lost their lives because of some cowardless act. We didn't asked to be put in a position where would have fear taking planes or just doing oridary things. I would like to say that 9-11-01 changed everyone's life young and old. It's a day that no one would ever forget. So my prayers goes out to everyone who lost a love one 1 year today. God bless America. LATONYA MCCLAIN 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 story2714.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. 12.146.244.197 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: It was a bright September morning and all was going well. I had joked with my friend on the bus about how we both hoped that the other had a bad day. It turned out that the day would in fact turn for the worse. I was in my first period Spanish 1 class at Washington Irving Middle School when an announcement came on the P.A. system informing everyone that there had been a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. I?d hate to admit it now but it really didn?t phase me at the time. I remember walking down the halls watching sobbing middle school kids stumbling around looking totally hysterical. I remained calm, which seems very odd to me, and probably to most other people, because if this type of event happened now, I would totally flip out. I strolled around the hallways acting totally nonchalant about everything asking various friends if they had any more information. No one knew any more than I did. I guess the full impact of the historical event that unfolded before our very eyes didn?t hit me until I witnessed actual footage of the planes colliding with the towers. At this point I became a little more?concerned. I really did not know how to react. I spent most of the school day thinking about what had just happened and biting my nails. When I was informed of the attack on the Pentagon, my first thought was of my cousin Heather. I was very close to her. She worked at the Pentagon and was pregnant with her first child. I got a hold of a phone in the guidance office and called my mom. She delivered the extremely relieving news that she was running late and just missed the blast. Her office was in very close proximity to the point of impact. I guess negative things happen so we can appreciate the positive. Now on the third anniversary of the September 11th attacks, I am so grateful that my two-year-old cousin is here, even if I have to help potty train him. 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 story10978.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. 2004-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.250.106.37 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 running late for work and took a later A train from Far Rockaway. We switched from express to local at East New York, which isn't out of the ordinary for a rush hour commute. The first inclination I had that anything was going on was when I overheard a peice of conversation "...a bomb went off..." I didn't know what to make of it but thought something might have happened in the subway tunnel. When we hit the High Street stop the platform was flooded shoulder to shoulder at which point the conductor came over the loud speaker, "Ladies and gentlemen at the present time we are being held in the station." I can't remember why I finally decided to leave the subway car, from an announcemnet or on my own initiative, but I still didn't have any know anything at that point. The platform was extremely crowded and there was a lot of confusion. I actually called my job and left a message saying that I didn't think I was going to be able to make it in, due to a subway problem. I was completely unprepared to ecounter what I found when I came up ground. The sky and area was smokey even being on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge. People covered white with debri in suits and office clothes, every conceivable emrgency vehicle was racing towards Manhatten, and thousands of people were frantically trying to find a way out. The crowds at every bus stop numbered in the hundreds. I remeber kind of walking around telling myself to keep calm and not to panic. I finially stopped someone on the street and asked what was going on. "A plane hit the twin towers," at this point actually both planes had hit and one tower fell but there was no radio or television readily available. My first reaction is hard to put into words, my stomach dropped and I remember thinking to myself "please God let it have been an accident." Around that time the second tower fell. The first thing I did was get quarters and head back into the subway station to find a phone since there was long lines at every phone above ground. A police officer let me over the turnstile to a pay phone and I called my girlfriend who, luckily, turned on the news before she left for work herself. It took me over three hours to get back to Queens by Bus. I don't think the full horror hit me until I walked into my house and my girlfriend Shannon and my great aunt, who lived in the apartment below us, were watching the television. I got my first look of the planes impact and the collapse of the towers. At that time they were also showing video of the people from the higher floors waving home made white flags and jumping to their death. Not to mention the intial reports of the body count was around twenty thousand. It's hard to describe the panic that was everywhere There was reports of the other crashes and remours flying around the different networks, a plane crashed in PA, the pentagon was hit, there might be more terrorist in other planes. As I walked home from the bus people had brought radios and TV's outside and where alterantely listening to the reports and staring at the sky's, no one knew what to expect next. I spent the next 48 hours glued to my television and getting in contact with friends, family, and co-workers. I still have the New York Times from Sept. 11th. I pulled it out today and read it over forgetting that names like Osama Bin Laden and Al-Queda that are now synonomous with the event were not known yet. That Friday on my first day back to work, I remember my train passing slowly through the World Trade Center subway stop. The train was erily quiet as it crawled through the tunnel. I remember thinking about all the innocent victims buried under tons of debri who where guilty of nothing more than the wrong place at the wrong time, and trying hard to keep in my emotions. I still get chills every time I pass by the eyes that decorate the walls at the WTC stop. I've had trouble coming to terms with the enormity of the evil that happened but I guess the unity it inspired is a start. 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 story4380.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 208.168.43.100 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: A letter to my son written in June 2002 Dear James, Someday in the future. Someday when I?m gone. Hopefully some peaceful day, you?ll be sitting with grandchildren at your knee, explaining that yes, you were alive on 9/11/01 and yes, you did visit the towers while their great grandma Laurie worked there. By then, there will be few people that actually lived and visited the Trade Center. The attacks will be but a distant historical event, their cruel impact fully integrated, for better or worse, into our collective memory and experience. While it?s still a recent event, I write this letter to share with you, when you?re ready, how this global, geopolitical catastrophe affected our little family on a deeply personal and spiritual level. Today, I wonder how you?ve assimilated the attacks into your complex little four-year-old psyche. Did you experience a personal loss? Do you remember the thrill of riding up and down the enormous, cattle car, elevators to Mommy?s office on the 103rd floor? How about the family company Christmas parties or sleeping under Mommy?s desk as a baby? Do you have any recollection of riding the trains, the subways, the spectacular escalators? It was always a happy, exciting outing for us. I loved bringing you into my office, I was so proud to show you off to my colleagues. Afterall, my coworkers at the Trade Center supported me through the stress and elation of our adoption process. By the time we returned home with you, my office friends, and even the mere acquaintances, welcomed us with a warm embrace that can only come from someone who genuinely shares in your joy. For a period of time, they were part of our extended family and our network that helped make adopting you a reality. At a very young age, before you were even three, you could pick buildings out in the skyline ? the Empire State, the George Washington Bridge, the World Trade Center. Have you taken notice that we no longer engage in idle chat about the skyline when we?re driving within view? Do you still look for the towers on the horizon, as I do? On that horrible Tuesday, we ? you, your Daddy, and me, were settling into a family vacation in a sunny rental house, on the beach, in Loveladies on LBI. We were within sight of the Barnegate Lighthouse. We awoke to a beautiful morning. Much to your chagrin, I pulled you away from the TV, piled you into the jogging stroller, and off we went, in search of fishing bait and a good workout. We heard the initial reports of a plane hitting the North Tower while at the local bait shop. Assuming it to be nuisance piper plane, I made a mental note to call my colleagues in the building to see how inconvenienced they were. If power had been disrupted, maybe I?d be able to persuade some to visit us at the beach on this great day. By the time we returned to the rental house at 9:30, your Dad ran out to the deck with a panicky look yelling ?Do you know what?s going on??. The TV showed us both towers in flames and shortly after, we, and that includes you my innocent darling, witnessed the towers collapse. It was a sight that haunts me and I?m sure that you?re carrying that image with you somewhere deep inside too. What happens to a four year old who carries such an image? As we watched the towers collapse, my imagination kept running back into the building. In my mind, I was in my tiny little corner atop the world on the 103rd floor of tower two. I could envision the floor, the faces, the stairwells, the windows, all of it crumbling, violently ripping apart, feeding that insatiable inferno of flames. I cannot articulate to you, son, the pall and the fear cast over our country that day, as we watched the devastation in New York and at the Pentagon, not knowing what would happen next or how many terrorists were laying in wait to strike again. On 9/11/01, whatever trauma you experienced, you had to suffer it without your mother. I sobbed all day, as I tried to amass a mental list of names of friends, acquaintances and colleagues. I was awash in guilt that I wasn?t there and yet so grateful that I wasn?t. My mind overflowed with images of faces, snippets of everyday conversations, remembrances of simple kind gestures that were extended to me during my short tenure in the towers. All day, I tried to reach friends, sometimes reaching distraught family members or other colleagues, who had no more news than I. My cell phone rang constantly for the next few days with news of who was alive and who was ?still missing?. The emotions were monumental ? the utter elation of reaching a survivor was always followed by tragic news of senseless death. Survival and death, death and survival - over and over and over again. For weeks after the attacks, we euphemistically called the casualties, ?the missing? ? perhaps out of respect for families who still held on to hope for a cache of survivors tucked away in a subway tunnel. Perhaps it was that the fact the words themselves: ?dead?, ?murdered?, ?casualties? ?victims? ? conjured up images of a country at war. How could we assimilate such violence against so many friends and loved ones? For many of us, half of our friends were suddenly dead ? it gave life a sort of refugee dreamlike quality. Shock settled in. Back on LBI, your father implored me to turn off the phone ? but how could I? Each ring held the possibility that someone else survived. Each ring rang a death toll. I grasped that phone as if it were life itself. The loss was overwhelming and profound. You were a darling; you concentrated on a computer game for just about the entire day. I know you were trying to shut out the sight of your mother in great pain. As I cried and I cried and I cried, I did my best to be honest with you. I explained that Mommy cried because she was sad to see so many of her friends hurt. I tried to assure you that we would do everything to keep you safe; but I?m sure you sensed our fear, as I secretly packed up an emergency bag of essentials to carry in our trunk. Did you find it odd that Mommy could not leave the house without first checking CNN? There was about three months of funerals and memorials. In total I attended about 20 ceremonies. There could have been so many more, but I was getting so tired. In the office, we attended grief-counseling sessions; we cried quietly at our desks, gazing at e-mails from now dead colleagues; we remembered and shared stories and sobbed openly. We doubled up, making room in our offices for the survivors, the walking wounded, displaced from their offices at the Trade Center. We picked up files or assignments, handed on to us from the lost, telling one another that it was an honor to carry in on their memory. But, in reality, most of the time we felt the work insignificant, and the task just too sad to carry out. My entire industry was hit so hard. I don?t think it?s possible for others, outside the risk management and insurance community to fully comprehend how hard we were hit by the loss. On the heels of losing 500 colleagues (between Marsh and Aon), we had to also deal with the financial implications of assessing the damage at the scene, getting claims paid, understand the insurance markets? reaction to and future treatment of terrorist acts, while all the while attempting to help our clients assess the potential exposure presented by unknowable, unfathomable evil. Our minds, personally and professionally, were forced to try to contemplate, just how much worse it could get. Afterall, we?re in the risk management business. While experiencing a tremendous personal loss, our professional lives were quickly becoming unmanageable and our clients were needier than ever, with fewer of us to respond to them. It?s now June of 2002, and not a day goes by where we don?t talk about terrorism, the potential for more terrorism and the death of our colleagues. It?s our business and it will take a long time to heal. On a more personal level, by now you know that your father and I were in the beginning stages of our divorce in 2002. On 9/11/01, I now recognize that we were very distant during that vacation. We found ourselves unable to comfort each other during the pain and agony of the events of 9/11/01. It?s sad that I went 20 funerals on my own. I wanted to find solace in our marriage, but it just wasn?t there. There are a lot of reasons for this, that I won?t address here. What you need to know is that the devastation of the World Trade Center attack and the dissolution of our marriage, are inextricably intertwined in my fiber. The violent collapse of the Towers became a metaphor for me, enabling me to get in touch with the enormous grief left in letting go of a fantasy for our family. My time at the World Trade Center, came to symbolize a most beautiful period in my life. On the day that I first reported into my brand new boss at the WTC (my company had been acquired), I had to tell him that I was leaving town to adopt a baby. Off we went to Missouri, to adopt you James, not knowing if I even had a job to come back to. I didn?t care. It was such an exciting, happy time in my life. I knew that my life was changing forever, I knew that my new life as a mother would be happier and more fulfilling than it had been before you. However, I envisioned us as a close nuclear little family. As the trade center was falling, I was coming to the grips with the reality that this little nuclear family wasn?t what I pretended it to be. The image of the towers falling, became a symbol for the breaking down of my hollow image of our family. My grief, my tears, my loss was about so so many losses on so many levels. On that September day, my life was changing in many ways. It would not have been possible for me to imagine what it would look like going forward. I was contemplating, and coming to terms with, probably for the first time, that which is really important to me. Out of this period of terrible grief, I was feeling both a huge loss, but also gaining a feeling of becoming a more whole person. It?s ironic that loss and wholeness can be so connected. Just as the skyline is still standing, with a new silhouette, I am going forward, feeling wounded, a little frightened, but also more genuine and honest ? a better human being. I pray that others will also seek honesty and wholeness in their pain, which will surely result in a better world for you and your grandchildren. I heard one clergy say during one of the many services I attended post 9/11, that if, in our grief, we could just love each other a tiny bit more, then all those lives would not have been lost in vain. God bless, you my precious son. I love you so much, and today, I will try to love you even a little bit more. Love, Your Mommy Forever Love, Your Mommy Forever Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story10904.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. 2004-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.80.59.29 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: ?Our 9-11 Baby Born? In the wee hours of the beginning of Sept 11, 2001 my daughter was born. I should have known this would be an eventful day, being the date 9-11. Little Asia Marie was born weighing 9.1 lbs on this, year 1, of the new millennium. 911 seemed to be making its appearance early as my wife screamed ?Bryan!? for the last time, and launched forth the newest member of our family. It wasn?t until after I had gone home to get a few hours sleep that I awoke to the horrendous news of our nation?s 911 emergency situation back east. Our friend, Mary, was frantic on the phone, and I had no idea what she was saying until afterward, when I finally turned on the TV and watched for myself. What an indescribable event! I was filled with such mixed emotions. For me, this was a day of polar opposites: good and evil, life and death, joy and grief. Before returning to the hospital I stopped at the local florist and the man behind the counter enlightened me as to the coincidental connection between the calendar, the crisis, and the emergency code. Thoughts returned to my new little 9-11 ?baby-doll,? ?sweetie-pie,? or ?punkin?-head? (whichever term-of-endearment happens to eventually stick to papa?s perfect princess). What kind of world had she just been born into?! I joked with the man about what kind of girl this would be with such an ominous birth date. Earlier that morning our good friend, Janene, had mused over what other significant event in history I would find to attach to this auspicious family blessing. I?m known for doing that (she recalled such at the dedication of her own baby in my previous church). It was not long after the terrible news broke that Janene, herself, came through and countered with something she had discovered to help offset the profound notoriety of the day: Ethiopian New Year!!! Well, it seemed hardly equal in significance to what could now live in infamy as ?Terrorist Tuesday,? but they did both share space on the same calendar day. It got me thinking though, and I took to searching the net. When my daughter grows up, will the 9-11 date of her birth always be associated with the worst tragedy in US history? There must be something redeeming in the date that can be found which would speak to something more positive, and from which she may draw strength as she grows up. After much time spent clicking www?s, and perusing my many hard volumes, I came to write this piece. I found many movie stars and sports notables that were either born or died on 9-11 in various years. That wouldn?t do, really. Then I found some interesting tidbits that I thought might just be the ticket. While I found it quite chillingly coincidental that our Pentagon was nearly destroyed exactly sixty years (to the day!) after it?s initial ground-breaking ceremony (9-11-1941), I was encouraged that it has not been totaled, and that it would survive to be rebuilt better than before. But 9-11 has more often been a date of victory for us Americans. What has become known as ?The last Battle of the American Revolution? occurred on 9-11-1782, when a handful of patriot militia, with their wives and children, successfully defended Fort Henry against British Rangers and their Indian cohorts. Exactly thirty-two years later we defeated the Brits again in the Battle of Lake Champlain (9-11-1814). A month earlier the British had burned the Capitol and the White House!!! After our victory, it was only another couple of months before the war ended. It was this same ?War of 1812? that Francis Scott Key was inspired to pen our National Anthem. Speaking of which, it was on 9-11-1916 that ?The Star Spangled Banner? was sung for the first time at a baseball game in, of all places, New York. We have to admit that our recent tragedy has quite brought us together as a nation of flag-waving, patriotic Americans. Suddenly people are actually paying attention to our Anthem and are even learning the words! All this patriotism is laudable, and my daughter will eventually be apprised of these historic connections to her big day. I want her to be a proud citizen of this, the greatest country in the world, but I desire even more that she be a true citizen of the heavenly Kingdom of God. While Americans are, at least, learning the first stanza of this country?s official hymn, few are familiar with its last stanza: O, Thus Be It Ever When Freemen Shall Stand, Between Their Lov'd Homes And The War's Desolation; Blest With Vict'ry And Peace, May The Heav'n-Rescued Land Praise The Pow'r That Hath Made And Preserv'd Us As A Nation! Then Conquer We Must, When Our Cause Is Just, And This Be Our Motto: "In God Is Our Trust" And The Star-Spangled Banner In Triumph Shall Wave O'er The Land Of The Free And The Home Of The Brave! Nice song about our nation, fine song about our flag, great song about our God!!! It praises God for blessing us with victory and peace, and with making, rescuing, and preserving us as a nation that trusts in Him. You know, there is a lot of talk about God currently, but I fear our country has lost sight of what God it is to which these lyrics refer. What ?god? are we Americans trusting in, if any at all? Are these just words? The Bible teaches that there is only one true God, and that it is this God who came down and took upon Himself the flesh of man. He revealed Himself personally to us in the man Christ Jesus. It was certainly not the moon-god, Allah, nor the New-Age (anything-you-want-to-imagine) god, nor any of the mythical deities of the ancient Greek, Roman, or Hindu pantheons. It is the Savior-God of Biblical Scripture; the Triune God; the Living God; God! When my daughter matures, and sees the motto ?In God We Trust,? she will read it in light of her own knowledge of Him as we have taught her through Scripture. She will not think it means ?In Any-Old God We Trust,? but in the God of Jesus Christ - the only God that can be trusted in, because there is no other. Back to Janene?s ?Ethiopian New Year.? It occurs to me now that there is significance for us in acknowledging that particular 9-11 holiday, for it is in the book of Acts, chapter eight, that we read of the traveling Ethiopian who accepts Christ and is ?born-again? spiritually. Asia Marie will be ever reminded of that man?s conversion on her own natural birth date, and I trust she will, one day, be drawn to make that same decision for herself. Another thing about this man, he was a Gentile. He was but the beginning of the flood of Gentile converts into the Church that would soon outnumber the Jewish Christians. This issue was taken up at the Jerusalem counsel, chapter fifteen, where Jesus? brother, James, stood up and declared that this coming together of Jew and Gentile into one faith was, in fact, the long awaited ?restoration of ?Israel?? (ie, David?s fallen tent) as prophesied some 700 years earlier in, guess where?, Amos 9:11. There it is again! 9-11 is also the annual date that many Christians worldwide celebrate the feast of John the Baptist. John was the last of the old-time prophets under the Law, and he ushered in the New Testament covenant of grace by preparing the way for Christ. Jesus affirmed that John was the greatest of men, and a prophet?; ?Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet? (Mat 11:9)! Hmm, this is something else I think I?ll add to Asia?s ?positive stuff? list. Finally, We named our son ?Christian? for obvious reasons. We named his sister, Asia, for the continent where Christ was born (although Gina still swears it was simply revealed to her in a dream). It was in the chief city of Asia, Antioch, that believer?s in Christ were first called ?Christians? (Acts, chapter eleven). I remember having read somewhere that the meaning of Asia?s name had some relationship to ?fire,? while her middles name, Marie, according to every reference meant ?bitter.? My wife and I paused in astonishment at this unintentional combination, which seemed to correlate to the day?s news item; here we had ?Bitter Fire? coming to us both nationally and natally on 9-11. A stretch? Perhaps, but we do live in a 911 world, and I believe our daughter?s birth is a symbol of the awful tension between a fallen creation with fallen creatures, and our holy and absolutely perfect Creator. Those spiritually lost men who committed mass-murder/suicide on 9-11 sinned, and greatly so. They sinned against America, against humanity in general, and against God. We are offended and deeply hurt. How dare those foreigners do that to us? Yet, just a couple of nights ago, one of my own countrymen, probably a flag-waving, ?righteous? American, under cover of night, siphoned all the gasoline out of my van. You know how much gas costs nowadays! Certainly this pales in significance to the airline disaster, but it is indicative of the spiritual sinfulness and lost-ness of our own people. All over this land of ours there is daily robbery and rape, adultery and abortion, mayhem and murder; sin abounding by leaps. Even so, our people collect themselves and call upon their ?generic god? to give us comfort, and to defend us against those ?worse? sinners who trespass against us. 9-11 was a disaster for America, but worse yet is the ongoing 911 disastrous emergency of our citizens who continue to refuse the True God of the universe Who has the power to save lost sinners and make them fit for heaven. The Bible teaches that Christ did not come to condemn, but to save; ?Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already? (Joh 3:18). Did you catch that, ?condemned already!? Without God?s intervention we are already in a condemned state. Call 911!!! Actually, the call has been made, and the Great Physician has been sent. Only through Doctor Jesus is the antidote for ?spiritual anthrax? to be received, and it is free to all who ask. Whaddaya say?! Have you ?accepted? your medicine? It?s a fact that more people in the West have Bible-based names than any other, and Asia Marie is no exception. My daughter?s name does have a very positive, and Biblical flip side to that previously mentioned. Despite the literal meaning of ?Bitter? Marie, the name is really only a French-fried version of that belonging to the most famous of New Testament women, namely, ?Blessed? Mary, the human mother of Christ. And as for the ?fire? connection to Asia, it seems that this is only insofar as it relates to the fire-in-the-sky, the great-ball-O?fire (ie, the sun). ?Asia? actually refers to the direction of the rising sun. Coincidentally (or not), Jesus Christ is referred to in Scripture not only as the ?Son (S-O-N) of God,? but also as ?the Rising Sun (S-U-N)? who comes ?to us from heaven to shine on those in darkness.? Prophetically, the ?Sun of Righteousness? would ?rise with healing? (Mal 4:2), and heal he did, for it is ?by his wounds we are healed? spiritually (Isa 53:5, 1Pe 2:24). Yet, Heaven?s 911 must still be called; ?Everyone (fellow Americans?) who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved? (Rom 10:13). Asia Marie?s name, then, contains the Gospel message: the Savior (Sun of Righteousness), born of the Virgin Mary (Marie), crucified, rises from the dead bringing salvation (rise with healing)! Truly, ?Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children (including daughters) a reward from him? (Psa 127:3). As I conclude this article (written piecemeal over the past several weeks), I look up and can?t but help notice the calendar. Today it is exactly one month since the two events here written about had occurred. This day, one month ago, was 9-11. Addendum: this article is now posted exactly one year later. Today?s date: 9-11-02. Happy Birthday, my daughter! ~Pastor Bryan Griem Community Baptist Church Of East Los Angeles 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 story3418.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 think the best way to do this is to include sections of my journal from the days before, during, and after the attack The journal entry from September 11 was picked up on the front page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) and I signed the rights to the story over to them. However, they appear to be liberal in granting permission to use it, as my alma matter (VCU) included the story in one of their publications. Contact Andy Taylor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch and I'm sure he'll give you permission to use the story. Sorry about the screwy formatting, I just cut and pasted it from Word. Chuck September 6, 2001 Well, its almost 8 AM now, so I guess I'm going to head down to the cafeteria to get some coffee. So now I'm back and enjoying the Starbucks breakfast blend coffee. It is pretty good stuff. Went yesterday and met Sid, Woody, and Kenneth for lunch at that sushi buffet bar place Sid was talking about at the beach. It was damn good. And cheap, too. It was nice to enjoy their company, and Woody even helped me out with an algebra problem that I couldn't figure out as part of the precourse work for this FIRRM class I'm going to next week. Oh yeah, I need to talk about my long Labor-Day weekend down in the Outer Banks. First off, after an epic struggle with Taisia, I won out, and we departed Richmond at 5:45 AM Friday morning. There was virtually no traffic for the majority of the ride down there, and we did so well time-wise that we decided to stop for breakfast. Since I was on vacation, I cast aside my strict eating regimen, and dove into a breakfast consisting of buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and a buttermilk biscuit. It was glorious. That evening, after picking up Sid and Heidi, we headed to my favorite place down there of all times, Owen's. We had a feast fit for royalty, seafood of all types and description, served to us by a very pleasant waiter with a kind face and great smile. The food was absolutely magnificent. I being out of practice with such large quantities, left that establishment quite a bit slower than I had entered. Afterwards, Taisia and I retired early, before the others arrived. In the morning, as usual, we awoke quite early, well before anyone else. Taisia ran out and picked us up some dreadful coffee from the Texaco station, and we sat out on the deck and relaxed at the shore. Then we finally met the others for the first time, Mike, Robyn, and Doug. Mike is about 35, a couple inches taller than me, and built like a sherman tank. He has a cool face, that makes him look like he is a chronic wiseass, but he doesn't come across that way at all. Robyn is very cute, and has a waif-like body and short hair, which suits her. Doug is tall and of a medium build, with a face you just like right off the bat. Right away I knew we were going to hit it off with this group of folks. During the day, despite the mediocre weather, we headed to a beach for some swimming and fishing. That evening we ate at Sid's place, the 1587 club in Manteo. The food was stellar, and the company was extremely enjoyable. After dinner we walked down to a small dock with a patio out behind the restaurant, and we watched fish eat various creatures from the surface of the water. We had a lot of laughs and carried on a great deal, but fortunately no one was around to be disturbed. When we got home we sat around and talked before going to bed. Sunday's weather was greatly improved, and the day was spent on the beach for the most part. After returning from dinner, we all played Taboo with the homemade cards that Heidi had created. They all were of a sexual nature, which was pretty funny and added an interesting flavor to the Taboo concept. We really had a blast playing that game, and by the time we had tired of it, we decided to continue the fun with Guesstures, which is a modernized version of charades. We had even more fun playing that, and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning laughing and carrying on. I'm glad to say that the guys kicked the girls asses in both games, by the way. Monday morning came so quickly, and soon we were saying goodbye to our new friends, as they headed out immediately after the checkout time. Taisia and I, and Sid and Heidi stayed for the majority of the day, going back to the same beach we had been before, which was state park land. The beach was stunning, with no manmade structures whatsoever to mar the landscape, except the bathroom and shower facility off at the far end of the parking area, so courteously provided by the National Park Service. We laid out, and swam, and sunned, until about 3 PM, and then we showered, changed, and left the beach for the last time, lamentably. We went to Goombays for our last meal in the Outer Banks, and we gorged ourselves on various and sundry seafood items. I had a crabcake sandwich with fries that were out of this world, and we also had an appetizer of breaded and fried scallops that were killer. We all shared a couple of desserts that were pretty kickass, too. Then the time came to take Sid and Heidi back to First Flight airport, where we saw them off, and then headed on the road ourselves. Oh it was such a good time, I'm still lamenting the expiration of it. We hit it off so well with the 3 new people, and Mike and Robyn invited us to go out on their boat with them this Saturday. Mike is big into wakeboarding, and I'm really looking forward to going with them. I hope the weather cooperates. So, that gets the weekend events up to speed. This Tuesday marked my first day in the IT department. I moved my things from 12 to 13, and am settled in nicely up here. I've been meeting people while also preparing for this class next week. I have a fair amount of stuff to cover still, so I am going to wrap up this journal entry now. September 7, 2001 Its Friday, Yay! I am not happy to be here on a Friday but I guess that is the price you pay for having a 4-day weekend. We're on for boating with Mike and Robyn tomorrow around noon, and that also is cause for celebration. I am looking forward to doing that, and it looks like the weather is supposed to be good. This Sunday I'm leaving for NYC and the FIRRM class. I am both pleased and a little wistful to be finally going back out on the road. So lately what's new? I worked on Tyson's brakes the other day, replacing the drum shoes in the back for $40. I think I undercharged him, but that's okay. I'll have a customer for life, or as long as I want him anyway. I wish I could line up some more people to work on their cars, because it is good money. And tax free. And easy, for that matter. At any rate, I need to get busy working on this precourse shit. I'll report back sometime next week. Or maybe the week after that. I must remember to take this computer home with me, and to pick up my train tickets before I leave here. I'm going to do that right now. September 11, 2001 Well, today began exactly like yesterday, but I'm sad to say that it didn't progress with the same tranquility as the previous day. I'm in New York City attending the FIRRM class as part of my commissioning process, and up until 9:10 AM today that was exactly what was happening. I was sitting in class, trying to pay attention to the teacher, and follow the concepts he was presenting, which dealt with the term structure of interest rates. As I was looking out the window from time to time, I noticed that a lot of papers were falling from the sky past the windows. I remember thinking that it was probably a bunch of newspapers that had fallen off a rooftop or something. Then there was a loud boom, like a muffled crash or explosion, and my world, my being, will never be the same again. Looking outside, hordes of people were moving quickly in the same direction, towards the southern part of Manhattan. The class left their seats and pressed against the window, and then we all left the building en masse for the street. It was baffling at first to see virtually everyone moving in the same direction with panicked looks, and anguish on many faces. Then I heard someone say that an airplane had hit the World Trade Center. I don't know what happened inside of me, but I just began walking towards the Trade Center buildings, against the flow of literally thousands of people. I had to tuck myself in, and take the brunt of several impacts, as people trying to flee bumped into me. But I continued onward, and within a few minutes I was looking at the twin towers, each with a gaping hole in them and blackened floors, and black smoke and flames billowing out of them. The scene on the streets was chaos, and the emergency personnel were too stunned to pay any attention to the few people like me that were moving closer to the carnage. Eventually I wound up standing next to a building for shelter from the pieces of wreckage that continued to rain down, and I stood and looked at the buildings burn. Once I was ushered away, I headed down to the next block and cut over and moved back towards the towers. Heading down one street, I began to notice strange-looking debris all over the ground, and on cars, and draped across fruit in fruit-stands. Dimly, from somewhere deep within the recesses of my mind I knew these were human remains, but my brain didn't want to comprehend it, and instead I told myself it was damaged fruit. In fact, it was all so badly mangled and in such small pieces that you couldn't really identify what any of it was. Intermingled with these mangled bits of what I was trying to tell myself were fruit, were other items, flotation devices from aircraft, and pieces of fuselage, and a mangled cell phone, and bits of clothing, and shoes. All sorts of various items were strewn about everywhere. A limousine parked on the side of the road had a metal rod impaled through its hood and engine compartment. That was a sobering sign, as I was standing on the street next to it, unprotected. I wound up standing next to a guy in a suit who was trying to use his cell phone, and I told him it was useless, as I'd been trying to dial different numbers all along with no success. We then chatted a bit, and he informed me that a second plane had hit the other building, and that it was a terrorist attack. He asked me something that I can't remember now, and I wound up telling him that I was unfamiliar with the area, as I was visiting from Richmond VA. He gave a dry laugh and said "welcome to New York." He said his name was Rich. I shook his hand. It seemed like the appropriate thing to do, I guess. What is appropriate when the world is exploding around you? As we were talking, he looked up and said "oh no, another one jumped." And I looked up and watched a man falling backwards through the air, close enough for me to see his white shirt and tie, and black shoes. He was motionless and in a backwards sitting position. And he just fell and fell, it seemed like forever that he dropped through space. I watched him, frozen in horror, right up until he passed out of my sight behind part of the structure, and then there was an amazingly loud crash, perhaps he landed on a car, I'm not sure. I looked down at the ground, stunned and in disbelief, and that's when I saw the first recognizable item on the ground; a human foot. Rich asked me if I thought the buildings could possibly collapse, and I said that I didn't think it was possible, and I mentioned the time that a U.S. bomber had flown into the Empire State Building. And in fact the twin towers didn't look like they were weakened, although several floors were burning badly on each side of them. I really can't remember what I did for the next several minutes, I just looked around at the carnage, spotting more grisly remains, and pieces of aircraft, and personal effects, and the like. Then a group of firefighters passed by us, heading towards the building, and I remember looking into some of their faces, and wanting to tell them to be careful. I was looking up the street away from the twin towers, and I saw Rich and another guy who had been talking a little bit suddenly look terror-stricken, as they apparently were watching another jumper fall through the air. The sound of the impact was so shocking, and Rich actually grabbed the other guy for support, and said "oh my God, he landed on a firefighter." I turned around and saw the group of firefighters dragging the two away, the jumper in a deep blue pinstriped suit, and the firefighter who had been struck by him. The jumper's body moved in impossibly pliable ways, and I watched, transfixed, as they dragged them both past me. Eventually some security person directed us away from there, and I walked through the building nearest to me, and back out onto the street and up to another vantage point. I kept looking at people, and the towers, and trying to call someone on my phone, and just generally trying to cope with everything I was observing. Then the unimaginable happened. With a deep rumble and an explosion, I saw the top floors of the building drop down, almost in slow motion. I stood transfixed, as the structure dropped down upon the lower levels, imploding and careening towards the ground. Then the survival center in my brain began shouting the alert for me to run, run for my life. I ran down the street, my legs pumping as fast as they could, dimly aware of both the people running in terror in front of me, and out of my side vision someone who had fallen down on my left side. I was next to a building, and I headed for the corner of it, throwing my head over my left shoulder, I gave a quick glimpse of Armageddon coming down the street behind me, pieces of the building, debris, and a massive cloud of dark gray smoke. I hung a left, and the pieces of building blasted past where I had been just milliseconds before, like a runaway freight train. I dove around the corner of the building and underneath a steel door that was just inches from closing, behind another guy and a cop. I'll never forget as long as I live the sight of all the cops who had previously been trying to maintain order and keep people safe, suddenly all running at top speed away from me and the carnage. Inside the building, the air was clogged with debris, you could barely see or breathe. The young squat cop immediately shifted from being afraid and running for his life, to concerned about the welfare of all of the people now in his realm of responsibility. He asked if anyone was hurt, and ushered us towards a tiny office in the back of the building. Two garage attendants offered us water at a small sink, and provided us with shirts to put over our mouths and noses to breathe through. Outside it was black as night, you can't imagine the depth of the darkness. Then, after a few minutes I guess, the young cop was talking on his radio and said that we had to evacuate that building, our refuge. I again got that scared feeling, like we were in imminent danger of the structure collapsing. We got our breathing cloths in place, and proceeded out into hell. The black had given way to a dense gray, and the air was still chokingly thick with debris. We made our way to a deli where others were huddled, and inside we got more water, and I set about cutting up my breathing shirt with a large knife, to give to others that were without. People were frantically grabbing for the pieces I was cutting, not even mindful of the large and very sharp knife I was using. I had to keep warning them to please be careful and watch out while I was cutting. I couldn't cut and tear fast enough. After a few minutes one of the cops said we had to get out of there too. They instructed us to take as many bottles of water as we could carry. I stood there, with a bottle of water in my pants pocket, and dumping one into my eyes, and the young cop next to me was grabbing bottles, and he turned to me and said "its like we're looting the place." Then we left and headed out onto the street again. While walking, people were just coming up to me and asking if I needed water, if I was okay, everyone just seemed to be pulling together in this mutual moment of need. Finally I wound up at the entrance to the Brooklyn Tunnel. Cops were telling people either to go into the tunnel or to head towards South Street Seaport. I decided to try the tunnel, since that's where my sisters' place was anyway. The tunnel didn't provide much refuge from the debris, I found to my dismay. I kept the breathing cloth pressed over my mouth and nose and forged ahead, walking on the catwalk, just above the sea of abandoned cars. At some point I came to a crossover to the other tunnel, and I ducked inside to see if it was clear on the other side. The air was just as thick with debris in the other tunnel, but inside that crossover I took my first clear breaths since the collapse-apparently this area was part of the air-handling system within the tunnel. Daylight was streaming in from somewhere above, and without even consciously thinking about it, I knelt on the floor of that tiny room, and thanked God for watching over my dumb ass. I enjoyed a few more clean breaths of air, and then emerged from the crossover and continued. I walked on and on, seeing few people along the way. I gave one of the people my water bottle, for him to take a drink from, and we continued walking together. Finally we got to where the cars ended, and from there we walked in the roadway. Ultimately, I ran into a bunch of detectives, in suits, and I walked with them, while the other people that I had been with got on a bus that was slowly backing its way out of the tunnel. While walking with the detectives, a cop drove up and we all piled in. He drove us the rest of the way out of the tunnel, and then left us at the mouth of it. I walked slowly towards the toll plaza, and then the overwhelming feelings began to flood in, and my emotions crashed upon me, interspersed with brief footage inside my head of what I had observed just a short while before. I wept as I walked, and two kind policemen came up to me and comforted me, and gave me a bottle of juice, and talked with me for a while. Their looks of concern, kind words, and hands on my shoulders helped me to calm down a little, and I gave them my information, and then asked them how to get to fourth and Pacific. They gave me directions, and some more words of comfort, and then I headed out for the last leg of my journey. Walking along Atlantic, I turned around as I heard a car approach, and two Spanish guys pulled up and asked me if I was okay. I said that I was and I asked if they could give me a ride. They told me to hop in. As we drove, the driver told me he was headed to the 59th street bridge, to pick up his wife. He said he'd drop me off before he turned. They said something about how we were all going to have to pull together now. They took me about a mile and a half, and then dropped me off, and wished me luck. Then I walked for blocks and blocks, pausing every so often to look over my shoulder at the huge pall of smoke that was rising above Manhattan. It was surreal in Brooklyn, because no one here really knew what had just happened in such close proximity to where they were. People were just going about their business, for the most part, talking, laughing, making phone calls, walking along the street. None of them knew what had just transpired a short way across the river. I walked, and wept periodically, not paying much attention to the people on the street, and they not paying me any mind as well. Finally I made it to Fee's apartment, where I now sit, trying to comprehend what has happened. Watching it on T.V. is just making it more unbelievable. I've seen footage of the second plane hitting the building, and I've seen footage of the buildings collapsing, but I still cannot fully grasp it all. I keep feeling like I'm going to wake up from it, and it will all be a nightmare. The human remains, the personal effects, the pieces from the aircraft, the guy falling, the panic in the streets, the buildings collapsing, it will all just be a nightmare. I wish I could wake up from this. September 17, 2001 Well, that last journal entry was something else, wasn't it? The further away it gets, the less real it all seems. That journal entry made it virtually unedited onto the front page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Since that time, I've been working at wrapping my mind around all that I've seen and heard, but I haven't been very successful. After showering and changing in Fee's apartment, I was shocked at how normal and unruffled I was. I came out of the ordeal completely unscathed, and that has added to my disbelief of the whole situation. I've received dozens of phone calls and emails from people asking if I was okay, complimenting me on the story, and just generally reaching out. From meetings, to work, and even just random people like Taisia's work, everyone has been wishing me well. The time that has transpired between that Tuesday and today is somewhat of a blur. I've been having a hard time remembering what day it is, and what I've been doing, and my sense of time has been skewed as well. I haven't done anything for my employer since last Tuesday at 9:15 AM either. But that hasn't bothered me too much in the whole of scheme of things. Well, I'll try and do a recap of events after I returned to Fee's apartment. My step-cousin Schuyler came over, after he learned from Fee what I had been through, and that I was alone at her place. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see a familiar face at the door, after all that had happened. We hugged, and it just felt so good-I'm so grateful to him for having done that for me, walking across the Manhattan bridge and coming to see me. We talked for a while, and I recounted the story to him, and he graciously listened even though I'm sure it pained him to have to hear it. Then we watched the television together in silence for the most part, both flabbergasted at what we were seeing. After the initial shock wore off, we talked some more, of what exactly I can't remember, but it was all dealing with the days' events, of course. I think that will be mostly what I talk about for a long time to come. Eventually we decided to try and find something to eat. We walked down some streets in Brooklyn, and on the way to a neighborhood with some restaurants, I found a charred piece of paper on the sidewalk. It had blown there all the way from Manhattan. It had writing on it that was related to some real estate court case. Maybe it was from one of the many doomed law offices that once occupied the WTC. We finally found a place to eat, with seats inside and outside, and the front of the place was opened up because it was so nice outside. You could smell hints of the fire everywhere, and not the warm and cozy smell of a fireplace, but the unsettling smell of a bad fire, a structural fire. It was unnerving. But people were there and eating, in fact the place was mobbed with diners, all chatting and eating, albeit in a somewhat subdued fashion. We ordered some food, and we sat and talked. When the food arrived, we both ate voraciously, I'm ashamed to admit. I discovered I was famished, despite everything that I had seen, heard, and experienced. After returning to the apartment, we found Fee and Brian sitting on the railing waiting for us. They had called while we were there, to let us know they had found a way out of Manhattan on a subway. So we went inside and continued talking. Eventually, Schuyler left, and so did Brian, and Fee and I stayed up watching the news and talking. I went to bed fully expecting not to be able to sleep, or to be plagued by awful incarnations of the horrors I had witnessed. Again I am ashamed to admit that I was not so burdened. I slept soundly, and until quite late for me, almost 9 AM. Upon awaking, I can't remember what I did, or at least I can't differentiate what I did on that day versus what I did for the remaining mornings I was in NYC. Drank coffee, watched the news, ate something, talked to Fee. It was all the same for the rest of my time there, I think. Thursday arrived both quickly and not fast enough. Fee and I got on a subway after having some coffee and something to eat. A bagel I think. Then we went to Penn Station, where I got my ticket transferred and then Fee and I went to a Dunkin Donuts place to hang out until the anointed time. Parting company with Stinky after so much time together and so many tragedies' shared was hard. We hugged and told each other that we loved the other, and then I walked down the escalator towards the gate. I helped a lady who was hauling a tremendous amount of luggage, and helped her stow it in the overhead rack, and we sat together. Her name was Daisy, and we talked a great deal on the ride home. She bought me lunch, and it was nice to have her as company for the trip. She said she was going to mail me copies of the New York newspapers that I had failed to be able to get copies of. I'm so relieved to say that the train ride was uneventful. I made it back to Richmond right on schedule, at 4:30 PM. Taisia was waiting for me, with a homemade sign welcoming me back. It was really nice to see her. She had a bouquet of flowers for me, and we hugged and kissed, and then she took me home. Home. I couldn't believe it. Just as I had left it, even the lawn didn't look like it had grown a bit since I'd last mowed it. Nothing had changed here, not one single thing. No indication here of what had happened a few hundred miles away. Events that threaten to change the entire planet. Since coming home, I've talked to and seen so many of my friends. Yesterday, Sunday, I went dirtbike riding with the whole gang of racers, minus Steve Sumner. Almost the whole old roadrace team, Tim, Steve Shoul, Me, Scott Nelson, and Bobb Seitz. It was great to see them all. We went to a motocross track down in Sussex county, about an hour south. I took Taisia's CR, after having raised it back up to its normal height the night before. The day was stunningly beautiful, the weather was absolutely pristine, and there were tons of people there. The track was not too terribly challenging, which was good considering how lousy a dirt rider I am. The CR ran great, and I had a pretty good time flailing about on the track, although I was one of the slowest ones out there. I managed to get the bike up in the air pretty good a few times, which was a lot of fun. I crashed a couple times, but nothing too bad, and I'm not hurting that much today, although I am a bit sore. It was a nice diversion, even though the horrors were never far from my conscious thought. Watching the little kids ride around the track was the best part, I think. Those little shavers were so great, doing their darndest to make it around the track. And when they'd crash, unless they got stuck under the bike, they would jump right up, and pick up their bike, and hop back on, and kick it back running and off they'd go! I almost began crying just watching them, because it brought me so much happiness, but at the same time I have this unbelievable weight on my chest all the time. Everywhere I go, everything I do, all the time, it is like my soul is weeping uncontrollably. I talked with friends, reminisced about old times, made jokes and did my standard routine, and had everybody laughing, but inside my soul was weeping. I just can't stop it. And so rarely do I show it outwardly. Every now and then it bubbles to the surface, but for the most part it is just inward. So here I am today, Monday, September 17, 2001 and I am going out in the canoe on the James tomorrow. I really should call work now, but it is too late. I guess I'll just have to be sure to call sometime tomorrow morning. I'm planning on going back to work Wednesday, and making the rounds for the rest of the week. That way, I'll only have to do that sort of thing for 3 days, and then I can go out on the road the following week and be completely anonymous. So I'm going to take tomorrow as my last mental health day, and then I am going to try and get back into a normal routine. I was just thinking about a picture I saw in the paper. President Bush and NYC Mayor Rudolph Giulianni were together, and Rudy was looking like he was going to break down and cry, and Bush was looking into his eyes, and had his hand on the side of Rudy's head. It was very touching. Rudy has been such a pillar of strength for the city, and I think Bush is rising to the challenge on behalf of the nation, too. I still haven't progressed to the stage of wanting revenge yet. I know we need to do something, but I'm still not ready to jump on the bandwagon of people crying for vengeance. I don't have the thirst for us to go over and do what I saw done to human beings in NYC this past Tuesday. So there you have it, getting things just about up-to-date in the old journal. Who would have ever thought that a piece of this journal would be front-page news? Life is crazy sometimes, I guess. It is only ten to nine right now, but I am already so tired and anxiously looking forward to going to bed. I wonder if this is the night where it all comes back. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story598.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.169.240.132 Notes Notes about this item. Revised story is posted as #612 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 on september11, 2001, when two planes crashed into the World Trade Center.I was at school.A plane also flew into the Pentagon,damaging the one side of it.Another plane crashed in Pennsylvania into a field.That plane was probobly going to fly into a Goverment building but the passengers foughtthe terrorists.This is my story on this very sad 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 story8498.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. 2002-10-18 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 husband and I had JUST started our vacation. We flew to London on United from Newark on September 10. We then flew to Madrid on Iberia. We were just leaving the airport when my husband got a call on his new cell phone from his friend. He said that a pland had flown into the World Trade Towers. Like many people, we figured it was a small private plane. We were in the cab on the way to our hotel, when our friend called back and told us it was a jetliner. We checked into the hotel and immediately turned on the TV to CNN. I was horrified to see the towers just collapsing and the repeat footage of the planes flying into the towers. Then the news reported that the pentagon was hit and showed footage of that site as well. About 15 minutes later they reported about a 4th plane going down in PA. When they said it was going from Newark to San Francisco and that it was United, I KNEW that I knew at least one of the crew members. (I fly out of Newark for United.) I was upset before, but when I heard about 93 I almost became hysterical. We then started calling people back home because we knew people would be concerned, especially since I work for United. Then we tried to get some sleep as we had been up all night. (Neither one of us sleep well on planes.) Later that day I called a friend of mine to try and find out who was on 93. My husband asked if I really wanted to know, but I NEEDED to know. I found out about half the names and checked to see if any of my really good friends were there, they weren't. As it turned out I knew 4 out of the 5 f/a's. My husband and I stayed in Spain and tried to enjoy our vacation the best we could. We were basically stuck there, so we decided to make the best of it, but I couldn't put it out of my mind for a second. We constantly tuned in to CNN when we returned to our room to get the latest news. The people in Spain couldn't have been nicer or more sympathetic. We cut our vacation short by a day and flew home. We returned to the states via London and we stayed the night in the West End. (Which is the Arab Quarter.) We were a little shocked to see the Islamic Cultural Center for the UK right next to our hotel. Now we just laugh about it. The most upsetting site was upon our arrival back into Newark. We saw the smoke rising from the Towers spot and then to see the same sceeners at security was VERY upsetting. These were the same people who allowed those monsters to get on the plane and murder my co-workers. Nothing had changed, despite all the talk on the news. I returned to work in October. I flew until mid-December and now I am out on maternity leave. The job has changed and will never be the same again. One of my best friends is quitting because as she says, she signed up to be a stewardess not a cop and martial arts person. I am saddened by her decision, but I am hanging in there. I feel to quit is to give those ugly people another victory. They took away my sense of security in this country, I will not let them force me out of my job. (I also have 13 years invested and I don't want to start all over again some place else.) But now when I work I look at the people a little more and try to see what is going on. My husband and I intend to travel again after I have our baby. We love to go to new places and we will not sit home out of fear. Is it a different world for me? You bet. But I am willing to try and make the best of it. 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 story780.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. 2002-06-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.193.22 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: This day of September 11 2001, will be etched in my mind forever. My oldest son Joseph, was entering the AIR FORCE, preparing to go, but had not signed his final papers to go yet. He and his recruiter were playing phone tag.Well while at work in a preschool setting, another teacher heard what was happening on the radio. I was too busy to talk and went back to my room. Another teacher came into our room and told us about the towers and that there were other planes still flying around. Well that's when the "terror" struck me. I went running to use the phone and call my son at home, who was only working part-time while preparing to go.I asked him if he heard what was going on, and he said yes. I asked him if he had signed his final papers yet and he said yes,he had just signed the night before. The answers were not what I wanted to hear, but I knew there was no going back. Joe also said," Mom if you don't want me to go I won't", so I knew there was nothing we could do about it.We are a very close family. After we hung up he had called his brother's grade school to make sure they were ok.And that he was home if they needed to come home.The secretary told me this later,and I never asked Joe to call, but he wanted to know that his little brothers w were ok.Joe left for TEXAS on Mon. Oct.8 with lots of support and love, we also had a going away party for him.I guess the hardest part was that I never thought that while I was holding him as a baby that I would be watching him walk away like that for the military, especially during a war.He mostly signed up because one of his good friends had joined and their recruiter was a friend. His reasons for going in were to get an education, travel,make money,and a career, because he knew college wasn't for him.Well that day put a whole new light on things,the not knowing if they would let him go in to be an electrician, or wether they were going to train him for combat and send him overseas. Luckily so far he finished basic training, graduated tech school with a "B" average and is working on DoverAFB in DE.He is very independent now, bought a car and drives home very often.I believe that the angels were watching over him the whole time because I have a few up there. I have also become very spiritual in this past year because I knew that I couldn't be there to keep him safe anymore, which had been his dad's and my job for so many years.How do you let go of someone you carried for 9 mo.,raised for 19 yrs., in a matter of minutes? I had a very traumatic childhood, and I swore that my children would have better, and they have. Well that is my story, one that I never thought I would have.We know it was the best decision he made, and we are all very proud of him.We didn't fall apart at home because he would not have wanted that.I have a few words of advice to parents out there. Don't be afraid to raise nice, caring, sensitive children, especially boys, because it will be worth it. They won't grow up to be "wooses", they will make you proud and they will be glad you did what you did!Thanx Kathy. 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 story7470.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. 2002-09-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Going to school at NYU Law, a good mile and a half from the Trade Center, it was not until I began receiving emails from people back home that I realized people might be worried about me. Realizing how many emails I received, and how often I needed to tell my story, I felt it necessary to take my digital camera and html editor in hand and compile my "Longest Week" to place on my webpage. For anyone who wanted, they could read my diary entries those first few days and see what I saw, through my camera's eye. The website is: http://www.geocities.com/chenopimp/tradex.html 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 story3547.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. 128.122.129.4 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 just going in to surgey to have a total left knee replacement due to problems with my Rumathoid Arthritis I've had since the age of 4 years. I am now 30 years old; I had no idea what had happend until after I was brought up to my room. My husband and parents were watching the TV in the waiting room when they saw the first reports of the first collision to the building and then the second. My doctors found out that the first tower had been hit at exactly the same time that they had started the surgery. They found out because they were going to do a press release about my knee replacement being the first one in Rockford, Illinois to be done using a procelaine replacement. When they contacted the newspaper office they were informed of what had just taken place. I on the other hand had no idea due to all the medications and the fact that I waas trying to wake up from the surgery. I kept seeing the images of the plane hitting the building and I couldn't figure out why they kept showing it over and over all day long. It wasn't until that evening that I could fully understand what had happened. I was so struck at the horror of what had taken place and I was so terrible sad for all the families of the people on the planes and in the buildings. I never felt so helpless and useless than at that moment when it all sunk in. I spent the next week praying that they would find suvivors in the wreakage, but in my heart I knew that it would be almost impossilbe for anything to have survied such a terrible act for more than a day or so. My heart truley goes out to all those who did survive and to the freinds, families and colleuges of those who were lost in such a meaningless act of terrorism. Yuo are all in my prayers. Dawn Behm 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 story5331.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. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I arrived at work ready to begin just another day. The conference room closest to my office had a very large meeting going on and suddenly the door opened and someone screamed that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center buildings. Everyone in my area crammed into that conference room to see what was going on. My most vivid memories were watching the second plane going into the second tower and then staring in disbelief as both towers collapsed. I could not believe this was happening in our country! I stayed glued to the television over the next several days. I didn't want to see the replays over and over again, but I couldn't seem to pull myself away. My sister is a flight attendant for United Airlines and lost several co-workers that day. My heart goes out to the families of those lost and to the bravery of those New York firefighters who risked their lives to save others. They are an inspiration to me every 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 story3490.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. 192.127.94.7 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 lying in bed, half asleep, when I heard a scream coming from my mom's bedroom. I paid no attention to it at first. "she must have dropped something or spilled something" I thought. As usual, I turned on my TV to watch the TODAY show. Complete chaos had taken over the moring program. I tried to wake up as quickly as possible so I could understand what was happening. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing! As I watched, the second plane exploded into the second Twin Tower! For a moment I thought I was still dreaming. This had to be a nightmare! Reality set in as my mother flew into my room, tears streaming down her face. The WTC and the Pentagon have been hit! Who is doing this? Why are they doing this? Is it over? Suddenly, the rest of the USA seemed to freeze. Business were closing. Airports were closing. The USA stopped. We watched as the towers collapsed. We watched as the news reported the downed plane in PA. Shock was replaced by fear. Fear was replaced by anger. Anger was replaced by sorrow. I knew in an instant that the world would never be the same; my life would never be the same. The affects of that day are still being felt. I am certain that they will continue to be felt for eternity. 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 story240.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.154.73.37 Annotation Annotations to this item. Television Coverage DOMESTIC Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I would first like to say that I do not see that the fight that we are currently fighting in Iraq is the solution to 9-11. I was sitting in class on 9-11 wondering why everyone seemed to be in such a panic and then when we were dismissed early I found out the answer. I was in complete and total shock when I saw those horrible images on the television. I, like most Americans, thought that this could never happen to us yet there it was in my face. I was so scared! I wanted to see some revenge for all the Americans that lost their lives that day for no good reason. Nothing but hate was evidenced in the events of that day. How can one set of people hate another set of people so badly for no reason other than their race. This day brought racism into a whole new light for me and many others. I did want to see the people responsible for that day brought down but in my opinion more American soldiers are dying needlessly today and every day since that war was declared than died to bring on the war. My opinion is my own but I say its time to pull out and guard ourselves from another attack like this. Guard our home not invade theirs only to rebuild it due to our damages. I love this country and I will never another day in my life believe that we are untouchable, but I will also not let these senseless acts of hate keep me from enjoying what life I have left. 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 story11726.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. 2005-08-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 72.4.14.17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11th was a totally normal day for me that year. School had just started, and I was liking sixth grade. That morning we were having our lesson as usual, when our teacher got a phone call. After answering the call with a look of confusion and slight alarm, he went to the back of the class and turned on the TV to the breaking news. We watched for an hour. I didn't even really pay attention... I didn't process what was happening. For some reason the information refused to compute in my head. One after another, kids from our class started getting picked up by parents. Since a lot of the kids' moms and dads worked for the government and in the Pentagon, the fact that the Pentagon was hit was especially troublesome. Then, my mom came and got me. When we got home, she told me she didn't know where my dad was. We tried to call him over and over, but the cell phone lines weren't working. Neither were the land lines. I sat in front of my house for four hours just waiting for him to come home. That's when it all hit. I cried and cried. He eventually came home, much to my family's delight. That day, we put up our American flag. It hasn't come down since. 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 story20823.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. 2006-09-12 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 was about to sleep that i occasionally turned on the t.v ...and saw the big heading " attacks on world trade centre.....i felt shocked ...i was like how come anyone dared to attack on U.S.A....and suddenly i felt pity for those who were in the building ...i think voilence of any thing is rediculus...i never appriciate voilence of anything...so when the next headline came it was thousands of people have lost their lives...i felt the same as their close relatives felt...though america is not my country but sharing others grief is in my personaltly....and many people of different countries who worked there also died.....i think distruction of anything ...is very cruel thing to do ...and america will do justicewith those who did that ....and if they are not going to be in justice then god will bring them into justice...some of pakistani did died... 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 story5462.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 206.214.2.53 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 remember waking up at 5:50 am PST, turning on the TV, and seeing Tower 1 with billowing smoke coming out of it, and hearing them talk about how they didn't know what happened, they just knew that there had been an explosion on the top quarter of the building. Then I saw the second plane hit Tower 2 and I didn't know what to think, say, or do. I was just sitting on my couch in disbelief that a plane had actually flown into the World Trade Center. When I was seven, I remember living in an apartment in Manhattan near the United Nations Building and going to the World Trade Center one day and just being amazed at the shear height of the towers. I went to the top, and out on to the observation deck and looked out and I could see all of New York City. It was and always will be the most amazing sight I have seen. I have wanted to be a firefighter for about a year now and seeing the 9/11 documentary on CBS last night has just fueled that aspiration even more. I still to this day don't understand how somebody could do something like that, religious issues or not. I will always cherish living in New York and getting to go to the World Trade Center. Nothing will ever be able to fill those missing twin towers in any (past or present) New Yorkers heart. Those towers were and are the pride and joy of any New Yorker who ever touched or looked at them. Visiting this website was part of a homework assignment for a senior contemporary world problems class but reading others stories made me want to share mine with you. God Bless New York, Washington D.C., the United States of America, and the modern free world. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story230.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.154.184.112 Annotation Annotations to this item. Firefighters Patriotism Television Coverage WTC, pre-911 DOMESTIC