319 20 70359 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I can remember coming home from school to find my mom and dad where sat on the sofa. everyone was quiet and as i began to wonder i turned around and looked at the television, we had the 24hour news on i saw the first photos of the attacks. i had a horrible feeling inside of me, i couldnt believe that someone could do that and kill all those people and put thousands more through pain and wondering whether there loved ones where still alive or had escaped. I used to live in manhatten, so close to this terrible insident. even though i wasnt in the states it seemed that the whole world stood still in shock. as it began to sink in, i sat down and hugged my family happy that i had them all with me but all the friends i made in NY and many worked around that area. as it turned out no one got hurt that i new, soon after we went to visit and stayed with my best friends parents. All i can remember of the day was coming home and watching it on tv then crying for all the loses that people had on that sad day, i made my mom turn the tv off as me and my sister sobbed over that amazing day that im sure no one will forget and im sure that i will be telling my kids about how and what happend. im still left wondering though, like millions more why would someone do this!? 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 story11618.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2005-07-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 62.254.0.14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: As usual, I was about 15 mins early for my class. I exited the subway and saw the first tower on fire. I decided to walk block closer and find out what exactly had happened. I overheard someone said that a plane had crashed into the tower. I have to admit, I did not believe it. After standing there for about 20 mins, I decided to skip class and stay the two blocks away from the towers. I knew I couldn't walk away, I had to stay. I stood there long enough to witness about 5-6 people jump out of the towers - talk about having your heart drop to the floor. I thought to myself, "I wonder what it's like having to choose between a loose loose situation - stay in the building and have my body burn to ashes or jump and hope that my family finds my body, so they can have some closure. Standing there for those few hours was like watching a movie - it all seemed so unreal. When both towers fell down and everyone and everything had to leave the site, it was like hitting the rewind botton on the remote. To me it was all in slow motion. What I had witness that day did not sink in until I got home and starting crying uncontrollibly. I knew I had to do something to help. I signed up to do some volunteer cooking and cutting so the workers can eat at ground zero. After volunteering from 12 midnight to 7am, someone ask for help to carry some boxes. Not many raised their hands for that. I did. I turned out that those boxes was going to the Command Centre where all of our Major Heads were. It was the most amazing experience of my life. I was estatic at the thought of doing it again, and so I did. I am grateful I got the chance to have closure in a couple of different ways. Most of all, I have incredibly amazing friends who helped me work through the anger and hurt I felt towards the people who had done that awful crime. I had to understand that God was still in control and that unfortunately, that is the way that many of us know how to deal with conflicts - hurt and kill. I would like to let people know that there is a God and that he is still in control. If you would like to know more specifically what helped me, please contact me at: msoman74@yahoo.com 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 story2374.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. 198.83.126.44 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My bedroom window faced due east right over 2nd avenue. MY old apt. was right by NYU medical on 34th. It wasn't uncommon to hear ambulance sirens blaring early in the morning. At the time, I was between jobs, so I was just getting up. Some friends and I had been up late watching the Giant game on Monday night. I can still remember sitting around watching the game and eating wings. I woke up on the 11th to a continuous roar of sirens. Before I evern put the TV on, or spoke to anyone I sensed that something was wrong somewhere, because it was a continuous stream on ambulances and frie trucks shooting down 2nd avenue. Then, about 5 minutes later, my girlfriend told me to put the news on because she had been on a bus going to work in midtown and had noticed groups of people starting to gather around TV's through store front windows. A woman on her bus started hysterically crying and carrying on because her husband worked in one of the towers. I remember getting dressed, and trying to call my dad on Long Island. I luckily got through, because by 9:30, it was almost impossible to get through to anyone on the phones. Cell phones didn't work either. As I was watching the Today show, I remember them saying that there were 2 ore hijacked planes, and that one of them was still coming to Manhattan. I didn't know what to do with myself. Should I stay in my apt. on the 29th floor of an unprotected building, or dhould I go downstairs where who knows what could be happening. I walked out of my building and remember seeing peoples faces and body language. Everyone looked really confused. It was palpable in the air. Very tough to describe, but everyone was thinking the same thing, or was concentrating on the same event that was unfolding in real time. I noticed that people were already starting to walk uptown on 3rd avenue when someone on the street had mentioned that one of the towers had fallen. When I heard this I brushed it off as an impossibility. Could not be possible. I then stopped into various restauranrs and bars that were for some reason open along 3rd avenue and kept watching a bt more. I decided to go get my girlfriend who was working on 47th and 5th at the time. When I got to her, it was bedlam on 5th avenue. People everywhere, people in mass exodus heading uptown. I remember a woman in a car heading uptown yelling at everyone in the street to go to the nearest hospital and give blood, cause "we're gonna need it" I had a few interviews that summer in both towers. I don't remember the exct floors, but I do remember being above the sky lobby on 82. Crazy to think about that. I def. would have been up there had I taken on one of the positions, or offered the other. My girlfriend and I walked all the way up to her place on 73rd street. I went to Duane Reade, wheich was packed with people stocking up on water and canned goods and we watched TV for the next 48 hours straight. That night, the only place open for dinner was this Chinese restaurant on 78th. As I walked up to pick up the food, the surreal part was how empty and quiet the city was. Not a single car on taxi on the road. A few people walking around, but it was just like one of those scenes in a movie when they clear a few city blocks for a dream sequence. Beyond imagination. 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 story9400.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. 2003-07-31 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.230.138.240 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: I had worked late the night before so, I wanted to sleep in for a change. The morning passed quickly as I had a disturbing dream. I live near Galveston, Texas and, I was dreaming that the Causeway bridge was being targeted for bombs which kept missing and hitting the water instead. It was similar to the Pearl Harbor footage I've watched on the PBS channel on tv. Suddenly I was standing at the foot of the bridge and a man had his back to me and, he turned around quickly and laughed in my face with a sneer of a madman. The man was japanese and dressed in a red uniform. I looked at him in question asking, why? I awoke and lit my morning cigarette while looking for my remote control to the tv to watch the morning news. It was 8:47 am. The newscaster was announcing that the first plane had struck the WTC tower and was unclear whether it was an accident. I started yelling, "we are being attacked!" At the same time, I was thinking, who can I call? I woke my husband with my yelling and explained my dream and the reality that was taking place. We then watched in horror as the second plane struck the other tower. I was completely numb. You see, the Causeway in Galveston is the one true connection to the mainland and, it is a symbol of our connection to the world (Houston) and, a high point of the island. It is the most important land mark of Galveston. The japanese man and the bombs were a reminder of the Kamikazee which, is a representation of the hijackers choice to use the planes as a weapon. If only I had gotten off work earlier, I might have awaken sooner and, thought of someone to contact who would have taken me serious enough to prevent this tragedy in some way. My preminitions have always come true of events that I feel strongly about in my heart. Please forgive me for my lack of timing. 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 story5882.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.240.198.62 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: As a New Yorker living in lower Manhattan I was engulfed by the events of 9/11. Within hours I began to receieve emails and calls from friends and well-wishers all over the world. The outpouring of love and support was truly the silver lining in a terribly dark cloud. Here I am attaching a copy of the email I sent out during those first difficult days: Dearest Friends, I feel I want to share these observations with the many friends who are in my thoughts these days?. I imagine that sharing this with each of you is my way of feeling closer to friends and family in these difficult times? Tuesday, 9/11/12 .... I am safe and well, but it?s been a terrible, terrible day. As you know, my apartment is at the foot of Fifth Avenue with a clear, unobstructed view of the World Trade Towers. I stepped outside this morning at 8:50 on the way to the gym. It was less than 5 minutes after the first plane hit the tower and there was a clear view of all the damage, the flames and the billowing smoke. It was indescribably horrific...and that was, of course, to prove to be just the beginning. New Yorkers are at their very best in times of crisis and today was no different. All the trains, subways, buses, cabs were stopped (at least in this part of town) so the ONLY way to get anywhere was to walk. The streets were teaming with people either just being together on the streets or walking their way about town. You could easily spot anyone who was walking up from the trade center because they were covered in what looked like volcanic soot...some with small wounds wrapped in handkerchiefs or make-shift bandages....and many, many people walking around dazed or crying or just shaking their heads talking to themselves. The entire area feels like a war zone. The only vehicles on the street have been the emergency vehicles or the trucks carrying medical supplies, oxygen tanks, etc to the hospital. Several police cars drive around with the windows blown out. The Air Force had fighter planes patrolling the skies. The Red Cross and Salvation Army trucks started arriving later in the afternoon. They put out a call for blood and the streets soon filled with lines of people 4-deep from one avenue to the next...people waited as much as 7 hours in line to donate blood. With my years in ER Psych I went to volunteer at the hospital which is 2 blocks away and is the primary receiving hospital for this tragedy. They also asked if I could help translate (I could help with French or Indonesian of course) but in the end they were overwhelmed with people volunteering and I decided to come back in a day or two as people loose steam and can appreciate fresh replacements. I had had plans to have dinner with some dear friends but since many restaurants and shops were closed (the banks also closed by about 10:30 and the primary elections were called off) we decided to have an impromptu dinner at my place instead. It was good to be surrounded by friends this evening....this was not an evening to be alone. It will be so strange to wake up tomorrow and just have a hole where the Trade Center has been. It?s always been a special pleasure of mine to be able to step out my front door and see the Empire State Building to the right and the Twin Towers to the left...I will miss them...and the sense of safety that has been shattered forever by this experience. Perhaps the most eery thing of all has been all the people who have NOT arrived at the hospitals. With expectations of approximately 20,000 people in the Twin Towers, the hospital has only admitted 130...With the exception of these few and the few admitted to some other area hospitals, all the rest lie under the rubble....what a gruesome, horrifying picture...what a gruesome, horrifying experience. Well, I should try to get some sleep. It?s hard to imagine what I will see when I close my eyes, but whatever it is, I know it is far, far less to deal with than so many people around the city tonight...in the midst of all this horror, I am so fortunate. Hold someone you love just a little bit closer tonight. Barbara WEDNESDAY; 9/12/01 ??.It is as horrible today as it was yesterday but in different ways. With the primary triage hospital just 2 blocks from me, this neighborhood is now the epicenter of human activity...The information center for people searching for loved ones is on the next block so there are lines of hundreds of people, some sobbing, most just numb, lined up behind police barricades waiting their turn in line to enter the makeshift facility to ask if their loved one was one of the few to be admitted to one of the hospitals or, as is most likely, how they can learn further about those who are, until now, unheard from. There is such a heaviness in the air... Today trucks full of rubble roll by fairly regularly, but still no ambulances? The smoke continues to rise, but the wind has shifted?today we smell and breathe the smoke in a way that we did not yesterday. To sit in the middle of all this and not be able to be helpful is, for me, almost torturous, but the reality is that there is so much personnel (hospital, army, Red Cross, police, etc.) that there is no real need for additional people. I am extremely impressed with how well organized everything is and how smoothly it all seems to be running. People continue to be helpful, accommodating. Walking next to the endlessly long lines of people searching for loved one are people offering bottles of water, snacks, fruit, sandwiches?whatever they can find to help ease the burden of those suffering the most. Things do not always run smoothly but everyone understands that the city is "winging it" and trying its? very best. I spend some time each day on the streets to remain in touch with this unphathomable reality, but mostly I just stare at the television or spend time with friends. We have all sought one another out. This is not a time to be alone. In addition, the outpouring of concern from friends and family around the world has been extraordinary. It is the only way that I know sometimes that this is not a terrible personal dream...not something that I am exaggerating and dramatizing... but truly a cataclysmic event that is affecting people around the world. I have been having a strenuous debate with myself about whether or not to go to San Francisco tomorrow. I am booked on a flight from Newark to San Fran...the identical itinerary as one of the hijacked planes. It is most likely that the decision will be taken out of my hands - that the flight will be cancelled - but if it does fly as scheduled I remain conflicted. Torn between a feeling of fear at how close this all hits home...not only in my line of vision as it unfolded and then in my neighborhood as it gathers, but also a duplication of the intended flight of a planeload of victims...this is very close indeed. I also have a certain reluctance to leave my hometown at a time like this, even though, in reality, there is nothing that I can do. On the other hand, I argue with myself, that if ever there will be tight, effective airport security it will be in the next few days, so the reality is probably that it will never be as safe from terrorists as it will be tomorrow. And the fact is that I have been looking forward to visiting with Karin and the family and I would be genuinely disappointed to cancel those plans. So, as I write this I am unsure what I will do. In writing this email to you, I follow the lead of my cousin Laurie who, with her family, recently lived through the wildfires of Wyoming. She routed a lengthy description of her experience which helped make it feel more immediate for me. I hope this helps you understand what has happened here. For certain, I find it helpful to share what is going on here with my "village". It's late afternoon and I want to go out once more before dark. ....Barbara At holiday time 2001I receieved a card from a cousin who gave news of her year and ended by saying it was a "joyful" year for her and her family... I responded (for myself and for all New Yorkers): Dear Anne and John, A ?joyful? year?.? We have had very different experiences of 2001. For me, this year has been the most difficult and painful year of my life. I have not yet recovered from the brutal, painful and lasting attack on my city and my home. There is not yet a day that goes by when I do not reflect back to those terrible days or try to adjust to the realities of my new life. The gaping hole, aglow at night from rescue lights and barren with blue sky during the day requires a recalculation each time I look up. New Yorkers still address one another as family, still understand unexpected outbursts of tears, still make way for emergency vehicles, and still maintain makeshift memorials at places of loss ? My neighborhood holds visions that, though fading from reality are ingrained in my mind? and in the mind?s eye of my neighbors and my community. We are still trying to comprehend what has happened to us. I was able for the first time yesterday to trace my running route which now ends at a broken and torn Winter Garden of The World Financial Center?the trees covered in ash, the windows smashed - a corpse of my old life?.and yet a life that was so recent that my ankle is still sore with wounds from jogging that very route. Reconciliation of the realities still eludes me. No, for all my good fortune, and all my good health, for all my friends who were unharmed and for all the bounties I enjoy, for all my trips for travel and all my visits with family, still, with all this, for me, this has not even been a ?good? year, let alone a ?joyful? one?.Our experience of 2001 seems worlds apart. 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 story10103.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-09-15 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 165.247.35.195 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I live in Sumner, WA and left for Columbia, SC with my best friend to celebrate my 17 year old son's completion of basic training at Fort Jackson, SC. He was graduating on the 13th of Sept. so we had arrived a few days earlier to sightsee and were planning on leaving the day of his graduation. We had planned to go to Myrtle Beach the day of the 11th and had risen early to get ready. Turning on the TV, everything seemed normal until the breaking news came through that a plane had hit the Trade Center. Like the rest of the country we assumed it was just a tragic accident and felt for the victims. Although that had the two of us surprised at what we were seeing, nothing could have prepared us for what was about to happen. As we listened to the news show reporting what was happening, I sat there watching another plane come into view. My initial thought was that plane should not be flying that low and they must be wanting to get a closer view of the accident. When suddenly there was a fire ball and black smoke coming from the second tower. Unbelievable! At that second there was no question this was no accident. Words cannot describe the sick and sudden quiet panic that came over me. Needless to say, we did not go on our usual happy selves that day. Confusion surrounded us trying to figure out our next move. Ft. Jackson went on high alert immediately and no one knew if we would be allowed on the base. I was scared for us as individuals, as a country and I was frightened for my child. But with the highest level of security, checking all bags and cars, they did allow us to come onto the fort for the ceremonies. And I could find no better place to be to feel energized by the patriotism. A calmness came over me by being around the military personnel that helped me through those uncertain days. Although we could not get home that day, or for several days after that, I felt a determination to keep calm and find a flight that would return us to our families. The Military would not allow the boys to fly home and they were put on Greyhound buses and told not to wear their uniforms. As for me and my friend, it took us another 3 days to get a flight and then 27 hours 6 different airports to make it home. Flights were cancelled and there was a lot of waiting in lines to get another flight. From Columbia, Washington DC, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco and finally Portland. From there I drove the rest of the way home just to avoid having to wait until the next day for a flight to Seattle. Of all those airports only Chicago proved to be the least patient and the most crowded (of course). I still carry that feeling with me today of how I felt on that fort. Although I worry a great deal about the military personnel having to fight, I am secure in the knowledge that they are ready and able to take care of business. 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 story7606.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.11.135.214 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: to the people i knew and worked with in the world trade ,ill never forget you. .it all started in 1997 when i got this job working for mcs business solutions fixing canon copiers.i had just finished a course for electronics at rets institute.this is what i wanted to do after serving in the us army from aug 1990 until jan 1993.as i flew back to nj from my duty station.the plane flew by the world trade on its way to newark airport.i looked at them like i always did when i was growing up from my bedroom window.what marvel!i finished the school,and took the test to see if i even qualified to take the job.i passed.then they asked us where did we want to work "we have different locations".i thought to myself wow i could work in ny,and not just anywhere,downtown.so i had an interview,and i got the job,working in the financial powerhouse that it is on may 12 1997. right after i took the job i had a baby girl born may 19th 1997,7 days after i took the job.my company gave me 3 days off,thank you .so after that i focused on training and becoming what i was,a professional copier technician.well now the years started to pass,its now 1999 and im a great technician,fixing copiers for companies in downtown manhattan.im working on an exclusive account,lehman brothers at 3 world finacial building.it was great.i got to be in there all day.they had a lot of copiers.it was known as an in-house account.a lot of floors,people and copiers.i worked there for about a year,then sometime in late 1999 me and another technician switched places his name was zack levy,he worked in the world trade account servicing our canon copiers.now i was the one working in the world trade with another technician,his name is derek morgan.i live in jersey and now my travel is better,i take the path in newark and get off in the world trade,the gave me an id card,and now i get off the and go right upstairs.thats when i begin to work with people and know the places and floors and whos machine is who's.we had two desks and two closets for copier parts on the 82nd floor of tower one,facing north.derek was there before 830 ready for his morning muffin.id go the 43rd floor and get breakfast and eat it while looking at the statue of liberty and the river,man that was a great view.what could be better than working in the tallest buildings in manhattan. ill always remember the time i met cory miller,who worked on the 101st floor for cantor fitzgerald.he was the one who called for service for the copiers up there,and also ran the stockroom from what i saw,also there was a girl named karen montague,she also worked on 101st floor.i see her on the way to see cory.that day i met him he was a little hesitant to let me touch his machines,but after seeing my work,he liked me a whole lot.then there were his pals that worked across from him,they were cool too.i dont know their names. then there was the lady from the 82nd floor her name is nancy nunez i fixed her copier lots of times. i mention them because i saw them alot,but i also saw many people and fixed many machines in world trade centers 1 through 7.chances are if you worked in those building i probably fixed your canon copier. so many days and hours spent in those buildings and not one day did i think of them being destroyed,until the day i went down to sublevel. i was walking to fix a copier there when i say the memorial that was built for the 1993 bombing victims.i stared at it,then i stared at it some more.i then said a prayer to god. i said "god please dont let this happen to me". fast forward to 2001.after working with people in those buildings for about 2 years i feel like were friends,productive friends.friends that laughed with me,got mad at me when the copier didnt work and id fix it and they'd be happy and thank me,and id thank them back.friends that chatted with me,i remeber talking to cory miller about some new speakers he bought from J&R in lower manhattan sometime in spring 2001 or so,he kept playing a song from silent bob strikes back and were listening and were talking about how the speakers were great,and i talked about how i took the family to dorney park,and he told me about a place in long island thats a waterpark and we even looked it up online.everytime id go to cantor fitzgerald me and cory would talk up a storm.we were cool,we exchanged aim screen names,his was jedinyte44,mine was livetildoa,and we would chat sometimes after work. now its the week before sept 11th i had went to fix some copiers for cory 2 times that week,and 1 of them was in the 105th floor. as i was leaving and seeing them for the last time,karen montague asked me to donate for diabetes foundation,i said ok and paid 2 bucks for 2 paper boots and i put my name in one and taped it to the wall,and she taped the other to the wall and she forgot to write my name in.so she looked and then she realized it and wrote it in.then i went into the elevator never to see them again.its friday sept 7th 2001,there werent any machines called in so my manager decided i could help out in the field.i didnt like that at all.id rather be in "the trade".so i went in the field and did my job.friday morning same thing.monday morning same thing.monday afternoon i get a call to fix a machine at the federal couthouse at 500 pearl st ,its 430 and i said to myself ill go in the morning,the call specifies that i need to bring a part with me to the call,so i go home. tuesday morning sept 11th.as i leave my house my and my fiance which i pregnant are having an argument about being late to work,and when i get to penn station,i leave her in the car without a goodbye or a kiss or a hug.and i hurry to catch my train thinking im going to be late,its about 755am.i get off on the platform in the world trade and i look at the clock and it says 825 am,so i hurry up and go up the escalators and through the mall,and just past victoria secret theres an escalator .that was my usual way to go to our office at 90 william st.i get there and theres a clock and it says 835am i think to myself "great im late".i take my elevator the the 11th floor and i walk to the parts room.i pick up the part for the call at 500 pearl st.,then i go to see my manager .he looks in out system and sees theres no call in the world trade.its 843 or so,he says go in the field if anything comes in ,youll go back to "the trade",i looked at him not liking the news but i dont argue.i say to myself "its ok a machine is gonna break down any day now,and ill be back in "the trade".just then my coworker calls me on the jobs nextel and says"the world trade is on fire".i said "what?"stop playing man.and he says " for real the world trade is on fire".so i walk towards the front of our office.thers a conference room we use with big windows,and when i look through them .they face the world trade and i could see both of them.and i could see a really big hole.i could see through the hole to the other side.i dont know what to think.all i know theres people on the top floors and theyre waving stuff and theres papers flying everywhere.then the people start jumping out.so i go to the back and make a call to let my pregnant fiancee know that i was ok.i went back to the windows.then all of a sudden a big explosion flew out of two wtc.i looked like someone set off a big bomb because all i saw was yellow water like orange fluid coming out of the building.i didnt know it was a plane.1 liberty plaza building was blocking the other side where the plane came in.so i thought it was a bomb.at this time i dont know what to do.i must have been in shock because i just stayed in the office for a good while.next thing i know i feel our building swaying.so we all try to run down the stairs ,11 flights,,by the time we got down there was smoke and white stuff coming into our building.we had to go back up,but the floors where locked so we couldnt get back in.we found exit on 3rd floor and we kicked the door in of some office and closed it behind us not knowing what just happened.we saw nuthing but black and white dust when we looked at the windows.we thought about what was gonna happenn to us.i thought about my daughter, my fiancee,and my unborn child.then the smoke started to clear and get lighter.so we ran outside and walked uptown.im looking back where the towers were,and i didnt see them there anymore.and i thought about my coworker derek who was there on the 82nd floor.and the people i knew there.thinking about what happened to them.i walk uptown for a while.alot of people on the street.trains didnt run.i waited a while,i called my fiancee at home after she got off work and told her im fine.that i missed her.i finally got home around 830-9 pm.clothes and shoes were dusty.i didnt know who lived or who died.my manager called me and said take the next day off.so on thursday he said come to work in lyndhurst,our refurbishing and training facility.we got some donated copiers and we fixed them for the port authority,they had lost all the machines in the world trade and they had setup a command post and they needed some copiers to do their stuff.monday sept 17th were back in downtown ny,backin the place i worked in and loved and had known so many people in such a short time.and god let me know he heard my prayer.he let me live .then my son was born 11-09-01. 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 story1072.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.36.222.209 Annotation Annotations to this item. Economic effects Personal connection to someone at sit Victims WTC, attack WTC, pre-911 WTC, worked in (ever) NY:2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Like most on the West coast, I received a phone call from another, in my case it was my No. 2 son, asking me if I was watching TV and seeing what was happening. Usually I would be up before 6am but not this morning. My TV was on and I thought something was wrong with it as I couldn't recognize what I was looking at. Look like a split screen still picture of nothing. As my son began telling me what I was looking at, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I spent all day at the TV with my family. It was like it wasn't real, a movie that was stuck and repeating not ending. I was numb for days. This event was all consuming. I had to see and hear about survivors, I spent days watching and waiting in front of the TV, waiting, praying, sharing with the news reporter and his or her interviewee, feeling every much they're pain and fear. I watched for new footage as more and more became available to make myself realize this was real ... it was happening before my very eyes. I lived thru the TV of the Viet Nam War as it became, it slowly seemed to become normal, seen at the dinner table day after day month after month year after year. This event must not become a TV spectacular. Our country was ATTACKED, thousands were killed. It would I believe have a very different feeling and NOT be forgotten if our news were as it was when Peril Harbor was attacked. Then my parents and grandparents had to wait for the bits and pieces of this tragedy. News reels came by movie theater's. The meaning of what was happening had time to sink in. It wasn't instant. It seems that in our instant, fast paced, living today, we are in a hurry to get on with things and sadly the flags that went up to show the world we stand united started falling off in about the same length of time our parents and grandparents were finally receiving their first newsreels of the events in their day. Let's reflect this day in 2002 to keep our standard high, fly our colors with and in respect at all occasions, teach our children about our flag, it's meaning, pick apart each and every color, strip and star and what they stand for and the proper respect and care so we are not just flag waivers but truly deep in inside each of us lets bring our hearts and with pride hold that banner high, salute it and always remember when ever you see it flying to stop, think, of all who passed to give us, you and me, the chance to be free this very second. And that there are those enemies who want and will try to take this all away from us. And I say NO you can't. I believe the quote "Victory belongs to those who believe it the most and the longest!" 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 story6035.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. 198.81.17.172 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was working at my computer and watching TV. The first reports of a small plane hitting the World Trade Center. I wondered how anyone could accidentally hit a building, but I figured that they would put out the fire and everything would return to normal. A few minutes later when the 2nd plane hit, I knew it was not an accident. My mind flashed back to my visit to the World Trade Center many years ago on a visit on business. I was on the 50th floor standing near the elevator. The door opened and several firemen, dressed in their fire equipment with axes and a fire extinguisher exited the elevator. No one seemed disturbed as the firemen went about their job to determine the source of reported smoke on the floor. Looking back now, I really have a great respect for the fireman risking their lives and for those that died at the World Trade Center. They are truly heroes. 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 story2772.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.69.166.6 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 WROTE THIS POEM AT ABOUT 1:00 AM ON SEPTEMBET 12TH 01. NEW YORK WENT UNDER DESTRUCTION NOW THE WHOLE WORLD CANT FUNCTION CAUSE MANHATTENS UNDER NEW CONSTRUCTION PULLING SURVIVING AND DIEING BODIES FROM THE RUBBLE WHILE NEIGHBORHOOD BUILDINGS ARE STARTING TO BUCKLE UH-OH AMERICA'S IN TROUBLE 2 MAJOR BUILDINGS COLLAPSED THAT DAY WHILE I WRITE THIS I SHAKE MY HEAD IN DISMAY THE PENTAGON HALFWAY FELL APART SHOULDVE KNOWN THIS WORLD WAS MESSED UP FROM THE START SAD THING TO SAY BUT WHAT TYPE OF HUMAN BEING WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS? AS I SEE THE T.V. I SIGH TSK-TSK-TSK WHEN THEY HIJACKED THOSE 4 PLANES IT WAS ATTENTION THEY TRIED TO ATTRACT NOW SOMEONE HELP CAUSE AMERICA'S UNDER ATTACT YEAH ITS A FACT JERUSELUM HAD A PARTY CELEBRATING AND STUFF WELL TRYING WHILE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WATCH THEIR T.V.'S CRYING CAUSE THEIR FELLOW YANKEES ARE DIEING OR ALREADY DEAD WHY COULDNT THEY JUST ASK FOR AN EXCHANGE OF MONEY INSTEAD? 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 story8872.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-12-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 69.0.17.21 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 live in Center Moriches New York but I was visiting a friend down Virginia Beach. I slept through the first plane hitting tower One. I turned the TV on just in time to see the second plane hit the other tower. I was stricken with fear, fear for them in the tower, for those on the planes, for my own sons (17 & 21) who were up in NY, for our President, for our Country. Still not knowing the extent of what would happen I called my sons in New York to tell them I loved them, where we would meet, if this turned Nucleua. I will never forget that day nor how much I thought about freedom. I'm proud to be an American and I hope and pray my Grandchildren, Anthony Adam Czerniawski III and Alexa Marie his sister, never have to know what that terror felt like. GOD BLESS AMERICA Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4878.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. 12.88.207.134 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: Sad Tuesday One day as I pulled into work I was asked if I heard what happened. Unaware of any significant events I continued to park my car. From the moment I opened the door I was asked if I heard about the tragedy? Still unaware of the events I saw a fellow employee plug in a TV. What I seen was so surreal it still hadn?t sunk in. Within seconds my girl called me crying, followed by my brother and my mother. I didn?t know what to think, seeing the replay over and over reminded me of a movie preview. But this was real. The more it sunk in, the harder it was to concentrate. Tears filled my eyes, but not enough to dampen my cheeks. Then, in front of a national audience two giants fell. Smoke traveled like a tidal wave through the downtown streets. For a moment, it seemed like time stood still. As my mind raced, my thoughts were engulfed with fear, sorrow, pain, anger and hate. I left work to go home to be with my girl. As I drove I cried, as well as other drivers on the road. As I got home I wished I could start this day over?. this sad Tuesday. 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 story1277.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.214.163.104 Annotation Annotations to this item. DOMESTIC Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was working that morning, when ive seen the terrible news on tv. and for a minute i couldnt understand what was going on...i was confused, it was like watching a horror movie, but in this case it was real. To this day, its very hard to comprehend why it happened, and realize the amount of pain that it caused to the victims families, and to them all my prayers. 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 story10786.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. 2004-09-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.148.115.198 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: CHARLIES SIDE OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER STORY PART 1 My workday started out in a pretty typical fashion. I got to my desk that morning around 8:20 and started working at my computer. I fired up all the different applications I normally used and checked my on-line version of The Wall Street Journal to see what was happening in the business world. I also started thinking about what I wanted for lunch. When did the day go from mundane to murderous? When I heard the first whoosh. It came from the ventilation ducts. Other sounds followed. A scratching of some kind on the windows. Then something that sounded like small pebbles being thrown against the windows. I decided to investigate. I turned to the window closest to my cubicle, the one overlooking New Jersey and the south side of the North Tower (WTC I). As I walked over to the window, I could see hundreds of thousands of blank pieces of photocopier paper floating by. It actually looked like a snow storm with large flakes of snow. At the window, I looked up and saw the North Tower on fire. There was a faint smell. It smelled something like jet fuel and grew stronger as time passed. I went to another window. From there, I could see the east and south side of the North Tower as well as the plaza below. There was a band of fire circling WTC I. I remember thinking that there must have been some type of explosion. A deliberate act of terrorism did not occur to me. Then I went back to the window closest to my cubicle and stood on the heating/air conditioner vent. I got as close to the window as possible so I could see as much as I could. Vast numbers of photocopier paper were still floating out there. Looking down, I could see the top of the Marriot Hotel and there was debris on its roof. The flames around WTC I started looking pretty nasty. There was a lot of black smoke. It was about 8:50 a.m. There were announcements on the PA system, asking people in WTC II, my building, to remain calm. We were told there had been an incident in WTC I, but WTC II was in no immediate danger. We were asked to let the people from the other building evacuate first. That made sense to me. If everybody evacuated, we would all get stuck in the bottleneck downstairs. I stayed put. But other people in my building didnt listen to the announcements. They left. I was hoping that my wife, Catherine, was still home but there was no answer when I phoned there. Then I remembered an incident from last year. There had been an elevator accident on the other side of my building and my mother, who lives in Chicago, had found out about it and called to see if everything was alright. I hadnt even known about it until she called me. Thinking about that incident, I had the feeling she would be hearing about this one before long. Fortunately, this time I knew something had happened in the World Trade Center before CNN was broadcasting it to the world. So I called my mother in Chicago and told her I was okay. No matter what you hear, I said. Im okay. WTC I is on fire, but its the other building. Not mine. My mother listened to me, but she had no idea what I was talking about. I told her I didnt have the time to talk, because I had to try to reach Catherine. So she asked me to keep her posted and we hung up. I tried my wifes work phone number and got her voicemail. At that time, Catherine had a very long greeting on her voicemail at HarperCollins and it was always exasperating to have to wait to leave her a message. The smell of fuel was getting quite strong now and people were beginning to head down the emergency stairs. I started to join them. I got to the emergency exit, but when I saw people flying down the stairs, I thought, I dont need this right now. It was the other building that was on fire. The people dashing down the stairs could easily get hurt in their rush and I didnt want to be one of them. I decided to wait. Then I saw a man from the North Tower die. He jumped out a window and he was very calm. He looked about my age. Thinning hair on top. Wearing a long-sleeved casual dress shirt and beige dress pants not unlike the pair I had on. He jumped from above me. I was on the 68th floor, and he must have come from maybe the 85th floor, maybe higher. I watched him go all the way down. He looked to his left and right on the way down, and when he got close to the ground, he looked straight at it, then his head was a red explosion. Blood bloomed like an early fall flower. As far as I know, he was the first person to jump. He made it look so easy. Here was a man who might have been thinking about what he wanted for lunch just a few minutes ago. He had gone from routine decisions to life and death decisions in what? ten minutes? Ten seconds? I found myself thinking how futile life was. I had spent my adulthood planning for my future. I had money in the bank, a career, a wife. But I had denied myself certain luxuries so that I could have a financially secure future. Now, after watching that man die, I suddenly saw the futility of all that planning. I should have lived more. What was the point? There were four to five standing us at the window. I started to walk away, but then I turned back and saw more people falling. This time there was a man and a woman. The woman wore a beige mid-length dress that fluttered in the wind. She was not calm. All her movements screamed of a panic that was beyond panic. For one brief awful moment, our eyes met. I felt some small part of what she was feeling, and I couldnt bear it. I got away from the window. I wouldnt go back. But she comes back to me from time to time. She is the one who invades my nightmares. At that time, I figured out that the fire must be extremely hot, and these people had known they were going to die. The thought of a death on impact was better than being incinerated. I thought some of them knew they were jumping out windows. Others may not have known. There was a lot of smoke. Some may have thought they were going through a door, not a window. But some probably knew and made the choice. A colleague came running to tell us a plane had hit WTC I. I asked him how he knew. He said he saw it on television. I asked him where the television was. He said it was in his office. So I ran down to his office, but a different story was up on the visual screen of his computer. I decided not to wait for the story to come back on. I wanted to leave the building. I went to my desk, trying to figure out if there was anything I should bring with me. I grabbed my set of personalized pens and added it to the stuff already in my briefcase. I had quit smoking months ago, but nevertheless, there was a pack of cigarettes in my briefcase. It was still semi-wrapped in cellophane and I had had it for maybe ten months. It was the last pack I had purchased when I quit smoking and I had only smoked one cigarette from it my last nearly a year ago. I put my cell phone in my left back pocket and headed towards the elevator. The PA system was asking people in my building to go back to work. I still headed for the elevators. By this time, the fire alarms were going off. When I got to the elevator, it was already deactivated. I decided to go back to my desk and call Catherines secretary. I knew I had those numbers on the mainframe. I was getting nervous. I placed my briefcase on the desktop behind my chair. I sat down and called Catherines work number. At the same time I was looking for her coworkers phone numbers. I was hoping to not have to call her boss. Watching that first man jump and hit the ground had really affected me. I wanted to hug my wife and then go home. I knew that the phone numbers for a couple of Catherines colleagues were right in front of me, but I couldnt see them. I had to listen to Catherines very long voicemail greeting before I could leave a message. Finally I heard the beep. I started to leave a message and as I did so, the building jolted. The force of it tossed me around my cubicle. I remember thinking, Finish the message or Catherine will worry. I finished it as quickly as I could. Later that day, I would learn what I said. I said: Catherine, this is Chaaa-arrr-rll-lie. I want to come see you. I want to hold you. And then I want to go home. But at that moment in time, I didnt know what I was saying. I was trying to process what was happening around me. Once again I heard a whoosh surging through the ventilation ducts. This one was much, much more pronounced than the first one. It also sounded like large pieces of furniture were being moved across the floor above me. The building lurched to one side. I thought it wasnt going to stop going in the direction it was going. Then the building started wobbling. This I knew was bad. The thought that I was about to die ran through my head. I was going to die. The building was going to fall over. I was convinced WTC I had fallen into WTC II, my building. I was going to die with no one around me. No one was going to witness my death. It all seemed so meaningless. During all this, I was still on the phone. Throughout the entire message I was leaving for Catherine, the building was moving. It was like my desk was on a platform of Jell-O. Not good when you are 68 floors up. Then the building stopped wobbling. I stood up, grabbed my briefcase, and headed for the emergency exit. The floors were not right. They looked normal, but I felt I was walking on slanted boards. I saw a colleague come from what I thought was one of the offices, although later I found out he was coming from the coffee room. Get out, now! he yelled. I reached a door leading to a hallway. Through the doors glass window, I saw a mess of what looked like a metal beam or beams, concrete, maybe ceiling debris, a chaos of junk, and it was all on the other side of the fire door. I knew I would not be able to reach the fire escape. I started thinking, Im alive. I want to get out of this building alive. Reevaluating what I might need and worried the briefcase might inhibit my escape, I took out the cigarettes and put them in my pocket. Running back to my desk, I tossed the briefcase on my chair, thinking I could retrieve it in a few weeks. At the time, it wasnt an unreasonable idea. After the bombing in 1993, people were allowed to retrieve their belongings after a few weeks. Then I headed for the other emergency exit. I reached another door and, as I started to touch the handle to check for heat, I realized I could just barely see through the window on the door. What I saw was a lot of debris and a thick white mist. But I could see the emergency exit and thought I could make a dash through the debris and get to safely to the exit. I succeeded. I reached the fire escape stairs. But as soon as I got in the door, I noticed a huge deep crack in the wall opposite the door. My God, the building is splitting apart is what went through my head. The floors and stairs still felt slanted. I went down the stairs as fast as I could. I didnt want to twist an ankle or break a leg, so I was not exactly running. Just moving as fast as I could. No one else came through the emergency door behind me. I passed floor after floor but no one came through the emergency doors on those floors either. I was alone. There was no one behind me. And for awhile, there was no one in front of me. Finally, after several flights, I started to run into people. I think I was somewhere between the 50th and 55th floor when I stopped seeing those giant cracks in the wall. The stairs and landing finally seemed level. But I was still thinking there was a good chance I wouldnt get out alive. Traffic down the fire escape stairway started getting slower. It was very frustrating. I just wanted to get out of the building. All my senses were telling me we were living on borrowed time. We reached the 44th floor. The 44th floor was the Sky Lobby and elevator exchange. You had to get off one elevator and get on another if you wanted to go further up or further down. At this floor, we had to exit our staircase to get to another one. The staircase door was closed. As they came up to it, people stopped, which forced everyone behind them for several flights up to stop as well. The people close to the door didnt know what to do next. They were afraid to open it. No one up front wanted to make a decision. They kept hesitating, and others behind them started getting impatient. Finally, a collective command from a good portion of the crowd forced the issue. We werent going back up. People started going through the door. All along the way, women took off their high heels in order to walk down the stairs more easily. Little piles of cast off high heels tossed to the side grew into larger and larger piles the further down we went. The temperature rose the closer we got to the ground floor. I began to sweat. So did several people around me. I think we were all thinking the same thing that we were descending into a fire. People carrying briefcases and the growing piles of shoes started making me feel angry. Then my anger dissolved as I realized that no one had expected this, and that I myself had almost carried my briefcase down with me. But adrenaline was still coursing through my body. We couldnt move fast enough. An announcement came over the PA system, informing us that our building was safe and there was no need to panic, but if we wanted to exit the building to go ahead and do so. That got a lot of laughs. People started cracking jokes about it. As we went down, a couple of emergency workers came up. A maintenance guy relayed a radio message that medical assistance was needed up on the 80th or 82nd floor. People were nervous, but no one was panicking. Some even stopped to rest. I couldnt rest. I picked my way around them, careful not to push or shove anyone, but anxious to keep going. At about the 20th floor, I began to think I might survive. Id be hurt, maybe badly, but I might survive. I wasnt sure, but I thought perhaps a fire ladder or rope might reach as high as the 20th floor. That gave me hope. Finally, we reached the bottom. It was odd. Eerie. Everything looked familiar in an unfamiliar way. We went through the doors. I was disoriented, then disappointed when I realized I was still not at ground level. We exited out into the concourse level. We were greeted by emergency workers, mostly firemen, directing us to the escalators leading down to the ground level. There was a jam up by the escalators, so before I went further down, I left the crowd and went over to the two-story windows overlooking the plaza. A security guard started to stop me. Within just a few seconds, a long conversation occurred between our eyes, but there were few actual words spoken. His eyes said, Dont go there. Mine responded, Im going there. He decided to ignore what I was doing. The fear in his eyes released me. I went and looked out. What I saw looked unreal. There was opaque light. Fog. Falling dust. Gray things. Reddish things. Twisted metal. But mostly what I saw was an absence of life. The plaza was usually crowded with people. They werent there. I returned to the crowd by the escalators. There were two of them. Usually one of them goes up and the other goes down, but neither of them was operating. People were going down on foot. I chose the one closest to me. So did an overweight woman ahead of me who collapsed not far from the bottom. People grew upset, calling for others to climb over her before they did themselves. Some emergency workers climbed up and carried her off. The rest of us were routed through the mall and underneath to the exit by Borders Bookstore. At this exit, there were two escalators with a staircase between, and I chose the staircase, feeling Id have more control on regular stairs. We were sent across the street to a spot between the Millennium Hotel and the cemetery. After crossing the street, I turned around and looked up into something surreal. Both towers were still standing. Both towers had smoke pouring from them. I could see flames from WTC I. The fire gave off an eerie sound. It wasnt until that moment that I realized that WTC I had not fallen into my building. Policemen started instructing us to move away from the area. Hey, buddy, move it, one of the said to me. But then he must have seen some expression cross my face and softened. I just came from that building, I said, pointing at it. I asked him what happened to it. He told me a plane had hit it. No, I dont mean Tower I, I said. What happened to my building, Tower II? He said, Planes hit both towers. Thats when I thought I might be dead. Maybe I was actually dead, and death or my own dying brain was easing me into deaths realm by making it seem like I was alive and looking up at the Twin Towers burning. The police officer asked if I needed medical assistance. I said no, I just needed to rest. He asked several times, but I kept telling him no, I just needed to rest a minute. I looked up at the burning towers again. I knew it was something I would never see again. The sight of those Twin Towers burning was I hate to use the word, but theres no other word for it magnificent. It was just -- magnificent. I reached in my pocket. I pulled out the pack of stale cigarettes. I took off the wrapping. I was going to start smoking again, right then and there. Then I realized I had no matches. It took me a minute or so to find someone who could give me a light. Then I leaned against a car on the corner of Rector and Church and smoked a very stale cigarette. Nothing ever tasted so good. When I was done, I started walking, heading towards Broadway. Just before the intersection, I remember seeing a womens shoe, what looked like a piece of an airliner seat, and large pools of blood. I thought then the blood must have come from a passenger who was thrown from the plane, but now I wonder if someone on the ground had been hit with debris. For just a moment, I looked back again at the World Trade Centers burning in the sky, but then turned away, fearing that I would see someone else jump to their death. I couldnt get a signal on my cell phone. As I headed uptown, there were hordes of people heading down to the World Trade Center. I was definitely going against the flow. Many emergency vehicles were also headed to the area. Fire trucks, police cars, special response vehicle, ambulances, unmarked cars with flashing lights. I asked an officer what he wanted me to do and he asked that I get out of the area. He said he thought the Brooklyn Bridge was still open. I considered for a moment what I should do next. I thought Catherine would probably be at work, so I decided to head up to Midtown. There were thousands of people on the street. I remember asking myself if this could be normal. Then I started talking to a guy I met along the way. He told me the MTA had shut down the subway. Some businesses were in the processing of closing, although not many yet. I passed Canal Street into Soho. I was starting to get the feeling that I was a bit player in a bad sci-fi movie, although Godzilla had not yet screamed in out of the sky. I headed up Crosby Street. My cell phone still couldnt get a signal. I was even trying to get an analog signal but had no luck. Going north up Crosby Street, I noticed a man and a woman around my age run out of a building and start looking south towards the World Trade Center. I stopped and asked them if they lived in that building and they said yes. I explained that my cell phone didnt work, that I had been in the World Trade Center, and that I would like to use their telephone to let my wife know I wasnt dead. It was amazing. I didnt even know these people and they invited me up to their apartment at once. The apartment was on the third floor. We took the elevator up and on the way, it gave a jolt. Im sure it wasnt much of a jolt, but a shudder of fear or memory stabbed through me. The Soho couple couldnt do enough for me. They kept offering me food, water, anything they could think of. They wanted to do something to help. They let me use their telephone, and I called Catherines office. Her secretary answered and said she wasnt there, then hesitatingly asked who I was. When I said I was her husband, she became ecstatic. She explained that Catherine had gotten off the train at Union Square and would be checking back with her in a little while. I asked her to tell Catherine that Id meet her at her office. After I hung up, the Soho couple asked me to sit for awhile so they could make sure I was all right. The television was on, and I saw the instant replay of my building collapsing. It was 10:00 am and I had been in that building less than half an hour ago. I asked if I could make another telephone call, this one long distance to Chicago; I wanted to let my mother know I wasnt dead. I knew that if I was watching a replay of my building falling down, she had seen it too. The Soho couple said yes, by all means, please go ahead and make the call. I made the call. When I heard my mothers voice, I could tell she had thought I died in the building. She thanked me several times for calling her. I asked her to call my brothers and sisters to let them know I was okay because I didnt have time right then; I had to go find Catherine. After I hung up, I left, but this time I took the stairs down, not the jolting elevator. The Soho couple wished me luck. I never saw them again. Back out in the street, I headed north towards Catherines office. Along the way, I struck up conversations several times with perfect strangers who happened to be nearby. I just wanted to talk to people. It would usually come up that I was in WTC II when the plane hit it. Thank God youre alive, people would tell me. Thank God youre alive. When I got to Union Square, there were thousands of people going every which way. Usually the streets were not this crowded during working hours, but this was not a usual day. Several times I called out Catherines name. I figured I might as well try. This was where she had gotten off the train. Maybe by now her secretary would have told her that I knew she was in Union Square. It was a long shot, but I had nothing to lose. As I approached Petco, I turned to see the WTC. I could see neither tower. Picking up bits and pieces of conversation around me, I pieced together that now both towers were down. Petco was just locking their doors as I started north again, going up Broadway. CATHERINES SIDE OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER STORY One September morning when I was still working at HarperCollins, I went through my normal morning routine. Showering. Dressing. Preening. As usual, I was late getting out the door. My husband Charlie, as usual, was early. He had left 30 or more minutes before me. It was a beautiful early autumn day. The sky was so blue. Even half asleep walking to the subway station, I made note of it. I always took the Q train to HarperCollins, and my commute was typically only about 40 minutes door to door. Every now and then, however, there were delays. Trains backed up, or there were switching problems, or track fires. Or the worst: a sick passenger. If a passenger got sick on a train up ahead, you could sit on the bridge or in a tunnel for half an hour or more. The last thing you wanted to hear over the intercom was the conductor saying there was a delay due to a sick passenger. That morning, there was a delay on the Q train. At first, the conductor didnt say anything at all. I suspected there was a sick passenger on a train up ahead. It was a long delay. All we passengers could do was sit or stand, hoping whatever it was cleared up soon. I hadnt even gotten a seat that morning. All the seats were filled. So I stood in the middle of the train, holding on to the middle pole, and reading a book by one of my authors (Brothers Below Zero by Tor Seidler). I wasnt particularly enjoying it. I didnt feel like reading. Putting my weight first on one foot, then the other, then back again, I was feeling restless and bored. Finally, the conductor decided to make an announcement. But his announcement didnt really offer any information. All he said was that there was a delay due to an incident at the World Trade Center. In my ignorance, I thought, Good. At least its not a sick passenger. But by then, I knew I was going to be extra late getting to work. We hadnt even reached the Manhattan Bridge yet. We were stuck in the tunnel. The train inched along at a snails pace. The conductor kept saying the delay was due to an incident at the World Trade Center. I continued to try to read. It took what felt like forever to get out of that tunnel. I was in the middle of a sentence when daylight fell across the page. We were finally on the Manhattan Bridge. I didnt look up. I just decided to keep on reading. At first no one noticed anything. We were all operating at slow speed, I guess, not unlike the Q train we were on. But then someone noticed. I heard a womans voice yell out, The Twin Towers are on fire! My eyes were still on a page in the middle of the book when the voice in my head said, No, that cant be. Not both towers. Thats cant be. The book closed. My head turned. And there out the window were both towers with huge smoke clouds billowing up into the sky. The train stopped again, and if the train windows had been open, we would have smelled the smoke. The Twin Towers were so close, you could see the flames inside the buildings windows. Only a narrow ribbon of the East River and a few blocks of lower Manhattan streets separated us from them. Like everyone else, I rushed to the train windows closest to the Twin Towers, pressing my hands against the glass. I felt like I could almost touch them, almost reach right in and touch one of the people in the World Trade Center offices. One of those people was Charlie. He worked in the World Trade Center. My hands were shaking so badly, I had trouble getting my purse open to get my cell phone out. And then I had to look his work phone number up on my Palm Pilot. I couldnt find it. Was it not there? Had I never entered it? Of course, it was there but in the chaos of the moment, I couldnt see it on the small screen. Then I found it. I pressed the numbers into my cell. I got a busy signal. My husbands in the World Trade Center, I told the woman next to me. Can I use your cell? But I only got a busy signal on her phone too. I borrowed someone else, then someone elses, then someone elses. None of the cell phones in the train car worked. All I got was busy signals on all the phones I tried. What floor is he on? someone asked me. I couldnt remember. High, I said. Hes high up. The Pentagons been hit. I just heard it on my radio, someone else said. Were under attack. No, it must be an accident, someone answered. And then we all went silent. There was a slight buzz from the radio, nothing else. We all watched the World Trade Center burn, looking like two giant smoking matchsticks over lower Manhattan. The intercom was silent. The train conductor had stopped talking about why the train was delayed. Due to an incident at the World Trade Center was a phrase that I would repeat many times that day. But at that particular moment, everyone on the train took a mental step sideways. It wasnt happening. It couldnt be what it looked like. Our senses were deceiving us. As the train started moving again, we were all just on our way to work again, dazed but still stuck in our familiar routines. Inside my own head, I decided all the people who had been in the World Trade Center must have gotten out somehow. There had been some warning. They knew something was happening, so they had all been evacuated. Thats what I thought. Thats what I decided. As we approached Canal Street, I considered getting off and going to see what I could find out about Charlie. If I had, I would have been caught in the collapse that was only a few minutes away. But as the train doors opened, I didnt get off the train. Some weird voice in my head told me that I was already very late for work and I had to get to the office. It was a work day. It wasnt a normal day, but it was a work day. I had to go to work. The doors closed. The train pulled out of the station. But as we left Canal, I knew I couldnt just go to the office as if nothing had happened. I had to get to Charlie. I had to have a plan. I started planning my strategy. I knew there was a payphone at Union Square that worked. It was right by Petco. I had seen people use it. Thats where I would go. I would get off at the Union Square stop, use the Petco bathroom (I suddenly had to pee really badly) and then use the payphone that was just outside the Petco door. And thats what I did. While I was in the Petco bathroom, I finished planning my strategy. I would phone Charlie, and I would phone my office to tell them to sit by the phone in case Charlie called. Then I would walk down to the World Trade Center and stop an ambulance worker to ask where they were taking survivors. Then I would go to whatever hospital that was and find Charlie. That was my plan. I reviewed it again as I walked through the totally empty pet store. The pet store was strange. All the animals were quiet and scared but all the employees were gone, who knows where. Out in the street probably. But despite all the strangeness, I felt I had a good plan. I left Petco and, standing just outside its door, I looked down the street at the World Trade Center. Yes, it was quite close. I thought I could walk there in about 10 or 15 minutes, maybe less if I walked fast. I went over to the payphone, found a quarter, and dialed my own home number, thinking maybe Charlie was already back home. I got the machine. I left a message, telling him to call me at the office. Then I got another quarter, dialed my office, got my assistant and asked her to please sit by my phone and do nothing but wait for Charlie to call. Then I dialed Charlies number at work, and listened to the ring. I dont know quite what I was expecting. Did I think he was going to answer his phone? Fortunately, he didnt. I got his voicemail. I left a message. It was a pretty lame message. Charlie, your building is on fire. If youre still up there, please … leave. Get out. Go home. Call me at the office. I hung up. I had just hung up and my hand was still on the receiver when I looked down the street at the World Trade Center again and saw Charlies building collapse. At first I didnt believe it. I had good reason not to believe it, for the ghost of something was still standing. Much later I learned it was probably the skeleton of the elevator shaft and the smoke surrounding it, but at the time, it was too surreal. The dark ghost faded and slithered down. Burnt clouds exploded in gray and white rolling waves. Someone standing close to me was screaming. A man at my feet was weeping. Another man in a dark blue suit appeared beside me and suddenly I was standing on the single stair just outside the Petco door, trying to get a better look. What happened? I said. The South Tower just fell down, the man beside me said in a perfectly calm, matter-of-fact voice, which I suspect matched my own tone of voice. The South Tower had fallen. That was where Charlies office was. That was where I had just left a message. How was it possible that his voicemail had worked? All over Union Square, people were standing in the street, crying, whispering, staring. I was one of them. So much was incomprehensible. I didnt know what to do. My plan to walk down there and find an ambulance driver didnt seem right anymore, although I couldnt let myself know why. I needed a new plan. I decided to call my office again and talk to my boss. Maybe he could offer some advice. My hands were shaking again, and I had trouble getting another quarter out of my purse. There was some expression on my face that must have reflected the horror in my heart because someone with a camera took my picture. I tried to turn away from him. I dialed my office number. My assistant, Liz Ann, answered the phone and immediately said, He called. Hes in Soho. Hes walking uptown and will meet you at Harper. Come to the office. My voice stopped working. My throat closed and I couldnt breathe. I heard something like a gasp coming from my mouth. I clutched the side of the pay phone. Catherine? Liz Anns voice was trying to reach me. Yes, I said. Im on my way. Tell him to wait for me. I had to walk around stunned pedestrians to get back to the subway, but by the time I got back on the Q train, I felt strangely elated. Charlie was okay. A major catastrophe had occurred, but he had survived it. I still didnt feel normal. And everything around me was sharper, more in focus, brighter, clearer. I spoke to some people on the train. I laughed with them over something. I told them my husband had been in the World Trade Center but that he was alive, that he was going to meet me at my office. The relief was so enormous, it made me happy. Yes, happy. A strange word to be using that day, but that was the most accurate word. At the 42nd Street stop, the conductor got on the intercom and said that the entire subway system was shutting down. We were instructed to leave all subway stations immediately. It was clear they thought the subway was the next target. I climbed out of the station to see ribbons of news announcements crawling across the tops of buildings in neon colors, describing the attack we had just experienced. Televisions had begun to appear in store windows so pedestrians could hear the latest news. Clusters of people surrounded the storefronts. Other clusters surrounded cars that had stopped in the middle of the street because the news was blaring from car radios. There was no automobile traffic, only foot traffic, and even then, we were stalled. Standing in place, milling around, dazed. It was at 42nd Street that I learned that all airplanes had been grounded, no planes were allowed in the U.S., Wall Street was closed down. I started moving, heading uptown towards my office, but I stopped every now and then to see if there was any new news. Watching the president on one large-screen TV in a storefront window, I asked a guy standing next to me, Are we at war? He answered, We are today. I kept going. I kept passing landmarks or, as I started thinking of them, good targets for terrorists. Times Square. Rockefeller Center. Everything still felt surreal in a bright, clear way. I reached the HarperCollins building, where nobody was working and everybody was talking about what had happened. I had messages from Charlies family and my own family on my voicemail and I called people back to tell them he was alive. But I missed a message. I dont know how. But there was one more. It was one from Charlie himself and I would hear that one later on, when he got there. It seemed like it took forever for him to arrive. I felt I couldnt be absolutely sure he was alive till I saw him, so after waiting inside for as long as I could, I went downstairs and stood outside the lobby. When he appeared, his face was red, he looked a little sick, and he was covered in sweat. But he was alive and thats what mattered. We held on to each other for awhile and he talked in snatches about watching someone die. But his story came later, and its still coming today as he occasionally recalls stuff he needed to forget. We went up to my office and he asked me if I had gotten his message. What message? I said. So he had me listen to all my messages and this time, I heard his. When you listen to it, you can tell the exact instant the plane crashed into his building. It happened while he was saying his own name. We still have a copy of the recording. We kept it for posterity. One of my colleagues had a television in her office, so everyone gathered there to watch the replay of the North Tower falling down. Then we all prepared to go home. Except there was no assurance that we could get home. All the bridges had been closed, as were many streets. But we were anxious to get to Brooklyn. If there was any single place left that was safe, it seemed like home was that place. Its been five years now, and New York City still doesnt feel safe. It still feels like a terrorist target, especially on those days when something happens. And I dont mean just the multiple bombings on international flights that Scotland Yard recently thwarted. I also mean days like last Fourth of July, when the police roped off the street we live on as well as four or five other blocks in the Park Slope area because there were a bunch of suspicious packages found near several mailboxes in the neighborhood. Those kinds of things keep us wary. The big international things make us nervous. The smaller incidents close to home do too. But we wont leave New York City. Its our home. Our hearts live here. Its where we belong. I know if you want something, youve got to take calculated risks, so Ive spent my life taking a few. Maybe more than a few. But I must admit, sometimes the big bad world looks a bit badder than it used to. And I worry about humanitys ability to retain its humanity. I have long believed that people who work in fields related to children have a little more hope than people in other professions. Because we look at children and see tomorrow. Maybe those kids will grow up and can make tomorrow a good time to be alive. Maybe. But theyre going to have a tougher job than I used to think they would. Were going to have to work harder to help them grow up to be the kind of people who can do that job. CHARLIES SIDE OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER STORY PART 2 On 9/11 after my building collapsed, I left Soho and walked up to the HarperCollins building in Midtown Manhattan. I wanted to see Catherine. I wanted to hold her. And then I wanted to go home. I did see her. I did hold her. But at first it looked like going home was going to be a problem. All the bridges had been closed. Many streets were too. Catherine and I decided to walk as far downtown as we could. If necessary, we would find a place to stay for the night until the Manhattan Bridge or Brooklyn Bridge reopened. We started the long walk home. So did thousands of others. We passed a hospital where doctors and nurses stood outside asking for blood donations. They expected huge numbers of patients to arrive any minute. Huge numbers never came. Not this time. Most of the people inside the Twin Towers either escaped with few injuries or never made it out. We had to make detours around areas the authorities had cordoned off. Some areas, like Grand Central Station and the United Nations were heavily guarded. Sometimes various building security guards chased people away and wouldnt let them walk by their buildings. Everyone charged with guarding the safety of the city even a small portion of it was nervous that day. But other New Yorkers were eager to converse. As we made our way downtown, we exchanged stories with some of the other pedestrians. The streets were filled with people trying to get home. And then there was the sunshine. It bathed the city in perfect weather, as if it were a glorious day. The blue sky was like a big pool inviting you to swim in it. The only thing that made the day less than beautiful were the ominous clouds of smoke following us home. That and the smell. A slight burning smell. In the days and weeks to come, that smell would occasionally swell with something sweetish and dusty. It was the smell of decaying flesh. For awhile, certain subway stations had to be kept closed. Not because there was anything wrong with those particular stations. They were closed because of the smell. It was so strong, it overwhelmed people and made them gag; it made them sick. But on 9/11, in the open air, the smell wasnt strong. We walked home in the sunshine. There was a strange feeling of elation upon us. All of us. There was almost a party atmosphere in the crowds of people on the street. We had survived! Something terrible had happened. Something unthinkable. Unbearable. But we had survived. Something about surviving and the adrenalin it produces does something to you. It makes you feel super alive, super aware, and, yes, even happy. And the brilliant sunshine intensified those feelings. In retrospect, it seems bizarre to have felt that way. It seems wrong. Thousands had died. How could I be happy? But I was. I was happy to be alive. Happy to be on the street. Happy to be in the sunshine. I cant deny it just because it seems inappropriate. Because in some inexplicable visceral way, it was appropriate. As the crowds approached the Manhattan Bridge, we learned that the authorities had opened it to pedestrians. We could go home, after all. So along with thousands of other people, we crossed the bridge. On the other side were people in the streets and along the curbs, handing out bottles of water. We still had a long walk to Park Slope, but at least we were in Brooklyn. I walked down 68 flights of stairs, and then 15 miles of city streets that day. Catherine walked about 10 miles. We were tired, but we hardly even noticed it. There was too much else to think about. Later that evening, there was a wind blowing from the direction of Manhattan. Looking out the living room window, I saw a sheet of 8½ by 11 sheet of paper blowing around in the parking lot. Remembering the paper flying through the air right after the North Tower was hit, I couldnt resist the urge to find out if one of those sheets of paper was in our parking lot. I went outside. I picked it up. Sure enough, it was a sheet of letterhead from a company that had been in the World Trade Center. I held it in my fingers. I smelled smoke and kerosene in its fiber. I read the address. This had been on someones desk or in some photocopy room. In another life, this piece of paper represented business as usual. A while later, I got a call from my boss at Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter, where I worked as a computer analyst. Morgan Stanley had offices on many floors in the South Tower. I was on the 68th floor. Most of our data was stored in computers in Texas. My boss, who had also been on the 68th floor, called to see if I was alive. By the next day, I was back at work, working from my home computer. Nearly everyone who worked for Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter in the World Trade Center survived 9/11. Within three years, they would lay off a vast number of employees who had been in the World Trade Center. I figure they were worried about liability. Thats why they got rid of those people. Besides, they no longer needed American computer analysts. Workers in India were cheaper. Why didnt they lay me off? Im not sure. They probably would have gotten around to it eventually. But why did they wait? Why did they hesitate? I was beginning to get confrontational, so maybe they were afraid I might be the one to cause them trouble. In 2003, my wifes boss died and HarperCollins kicked her out the day after his memorial service. The double blow was traumatizing for her, but it was offset a bit by a generous inheritance. Her boss left her quite a bit of money. So the result was that we didnt need either HarperCollins or Morgan Stanley. People who dont really need the companies they work for make it hard for those companies to control them. Needless to say, both Catherine and I have grown pretty disillusioned with corporate America. But back on 9/11, we still had a few illusions, although we no longer felt safe. Before the attack, I used to have about a dozen small toy cows who could moo. My colleagues rightly considered me to be a bit of a nut with a weird sense of humor. My cows stood in a line along the top of one of the walls of my cubicle in the World Trade Center. People passing by on the way to their own cubicles would pass the toy cows and I would have the cows moo for them. After 9/11, those cows became a topic of macabre humor among us. We called each other to make sure we were all alive, and without fail, at some point in the phone conversations, there were the toy cow remarks. Did your cows make it out? everyone asked. Theyre probably hamburgers now, right? said one. Maybe ground round? said another. No, ground chuck! Get it, Chuck? (A lot of my colleagues called me Chuck instead of Charlie.) By the time we had a temporary office to go to, I had replaced the toy cows with one crazy little cow who laughed maniacally and went moo, moo, MOOOOO and laughed maniacally again. I called it the mad cow. I said it was the only cow who had survived but he had gone mad. The mad cow helped us keep a sense a humor when we didnt even have decent desks to sit at. Much to my wifes chagrin, I kept smoking. That stale, year-old cigarette I smoked outside the World Trade Center on 9/11 had gotten me started again. For awhile, anyway. Eventually I quit once more, but for some time after 9/11, I kept smoking. My wife wouldnt let me smoke in the apartment, however. We have parrots and she was concerned about their delicate respiratory systems. Plus, she thought Id smoke less if I couldnt smoke in the house. And of course, she wanted me to quit again. The result was that, especially during that fateful September, I spent a lot of time sitting on the stoop in front of my building, smoking and talking to the neighbors coming and going from their apartments. That was the month I really got to know my neighbors. All I talked about was the World Trade Center. Everyone in my building heard my story. Essentially, my neighbors became my psychologists. They were sympathetic, interested, caring. And they were better than the free counselors that companies all over New York City were providing for their employees. Trouble was, counselors and psychologists themselves were too traumatized to deal with other peoples traumas. Plus, there werent enough of them to go around. So companies were using people who werent experienced in the kind of help we needed. It didnt matter to me. I didnt need a counselor. I had my neighbors. Those first days after 9/11, Catherine and I watched television incessantly. When I was inside WTC II, I didnt really know what was going on. I didnt know what was happening outside. I never had contact with the outside world until I escaped. What I saw that day, youll never see in a Hollywood movie. I hate the recent Hollywood movies about 9/11. I havent seen them. I dont have to. I know that the stories have been sanitized. They would have to be sanitized. If they werent, people would be getting sick in theaters all over the country. I dont like that these cleaned up stories will be what is left behind, left to posterity. At least they will be augmented by the televised interviews of people who survived. I wish more people could tell their stories. Unremembered things, of course, remain. Partly because the people who might have remembered them have died. Partly because some things are too terrible to be remembered. I know there are things that I dont remember. They sneak into my dreams and nightmares. They whisper in my ear when I least expect it. They come in flashes of images that I cant quite place. They are remembered and forgotten again, all within a second. There was a moment up there in the sky, when I looked for one brief moment into a dying womans eyes and saw something I hope to never see again, even in my nightmares. There was a moment when a calm mans death made me recognize the futility of trying to plan for the future. I still plan for the future. I still deny myself certain things so that I can have the kind of future I want. But what I want and the kind of future I plan is a little different than how I used to think of those things before 9/11. Now some part of my brain maybe not always the conscious part thinks about the point. Whats the point? My life has to have a point. The point I choose is life. That day in September changed my life forever. Some of those changes I know about. Some I dont. It put me on a different path than the one I was walking on 9/10. Hopefully, its a good path. One day, not long ago, I submitted an essay to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. I believe that essay offers an idea of how my life changed direction and what path Im treading these days. Here is that essay: MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER CENTER (MSKCC) SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY: WHY I WOULD LIKE TO WORK IN ONCOLOGY NURSING AT MSKCC, BY CHARLES E. CARAHER I used to want to make a difference. That sounds simple. It is simple. But like a lot of people, Ive just worked for the sake of survival. At least, thats what I did until 9/11. Then everything changed. I was a computer analyst at Morgan Stanley on the 68th floor of the World Trade Center when it was attacked. I saw people die. I dont remember everything I saw that day, but what I do remember haunts me. I didnt make a difference on 9/11, but I survived. Survival, however, is not enough. I went on working at Morgan Stanley for awhile, but I became disillusioned with the way they treated their employees. Thirty-year veterans were laid off, whole departments demolished. I began shopping for a new career. Why did I choose nursing? Thats hard to say. It seemed like a job that would always be needed. It seemed like it could give me a good life without requiring me to hurt other people just to keep my job. On the contrary, Id be helping people. I would be in a position where I might be able to ease their pain. Maybe I could make a difference. Why did I choose oncology? I dont know. Maybe because my sister is a breast cancer survivor. Maybe because my uncle has prostate cancer. I only know its something that draws me in on an intellectual level. I want to learn more about it. And why do I want to work at MSKCC? Thats easy. Its the top cancer hospital in the country. Its the best. And if you want to learn about something, youre better off learning from the best. I want to work in a place that makes a difference in peoples lives. I want to help make that difference. 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 story20315.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. 2006-09-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.29.142.254 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I remember that morning when I woke up and uh turned on the television It was just too much for anyone to bare. My wife woke me up. I sat there in total disbelief. I was wondering if it was all real. I am a song writer aside from what I do painting houses. Me and a couple of friends wrote and recorded some songs and put them on the internet. I happened to pass by your sight and thought I would share this with you. My prayers go out to everyone. So many were lost. I want to share these songs with you. The song that we are promoting right now is called "Evil Minds" You can review it on our web site at http://www.jmsbulk.com/smusic.html as well as a few other songs we have available. We are ultimately trying to get a video of this song together and possibly introduced into a feature film. I believe that you may be of great help to us. Let us know your thoughts and any ideas that you might have that you would like to contribute to this project. James Salazar jim@jmsbulk.com http://www.jmsbulk.com http://www.jmsbulk.net Evil Minds When I look at the sky I no longer see the towers That filled my eyes Look out your window and tell me what do you see Towers falling in ashes What a tragedy Then you wonder why All in the blink of an eye Every things no longer the same When I look at the sky I no longer see the towers That filled my eyes Tears fall down from heaven up above Evil minds that think they're right They're so wrong Look out your window and tell me what do you see Towers falling in ashes What a tragedy Then you wonder why All in the blink of an eye Every things no longer the same You can run but you can't hide You're such cowards you run and hide Can't stop/face the wrath that will find you ya! There will come a day Come your judgment day In the name of humanity You killed our brothers You'll pay indeed You can run but you can't hide Your on the run Tears fall down from heaven up above Evil minds that think they're right But they're so wrong Evil minds that think they're right But they're so wrong Tears fall down from heaven up above Tears fall down from heaven up above Tears fall down from heaven up above 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 story10207.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. 2003-11-21 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 206.149.128.102 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: i was watching the news and watched the towers fall. and cried for all the lives you knew were lost. then in the next thought was will my son go to war? well he is now in afan taking care of us all. please pray this all ends well.,and my son and everyone family will come back to us. ellpwee@aol.com 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 story5889.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. 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 had just shut off the morning news approximately 8:45 AM to begin work. The phone rang - it was my mother, telling me to turn the news back on they had heard some reports that there was an explosion at the world trade towers in New York. I immediately put the news back on television and witnessed the second plane enter the second tower. I began to cry and felt so much pain as if I was losing something myself. When the report of the Pentagon was hit as well, I felt as though our country was truly under attack. I prayed for the passengers, pilots, emergency service workers and families. When news of the fourth plane in PA was announced. I thanked the passengers for giving their lives in order to save others and prayed for the pilots (not knowing what they had to endure). I continued to watch the television with my husband, who also began to tear up with a sense of loss. We went to our childrens' school and took both of our children out of class and brought them home. We explained to them that we needed to have them home and that we loved them (ages 6 & 8 at the time) and due to the events of that morning we felt it best that we all stay home together (also having a 4 year old daughter already home with us). While all of this was taking place I had received several phone calls on my company's 800 line- it was the wife of one of our salesmen who was in Newark and was supposed to have boarded a plane at 8:30 AM that morning. She was frantic trying to find out what flight number her husband had. It wasn't until hours later that we found he was safe and in the Newark airport awaiting instructions on how to get back to Scranton, PA. He was unable to contact us by cell phone due to the number of cell phones that were in use by all in and around ground zero. The fear, pain and sorrow of that day can never fully be described by mere words. It is pain and sorrow as I have never known before. My heart goes out to all of those who perished in both towers, the Pentagon and flight 93 in PA. My heart goes out to the family and friends of those who perished, to the children who were orphaned and spouses who were widowed. I hope and pray that no one ever has to experience this magnitude of sorrow. 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 story2562.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. 207.44.41.214 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 school and I just started spanish which is my second period class. I just heard some kids talking in the hall about something happening in New York. So some kids in my classes ask the teacher if we could turn on the T.V. to watch what happened. The teacher said yes because the teachers already new what happened. I start to watch and I saw the reports about the twin towers going down. I couldn't believe it because just the other year I was in New York for my first time. Some people said that it was terrorist but i wasn't sure until I heard that the other tower was hit and then I knew that it was not just a accident. After the reports of the buildings being hit they said that one was falling when I heard that I felt bad for all of the people in the building and i felt bad for all of there familys to. The report then said a couple a mintues later that the other build was falling to I knew then that there was no way to save any of the peoples lifes who were in the building. After second period I went to lunch and that was all me and my friends could talk about it was the subject of confersation. After lunch we want to flex and then to thrid period. In Thrid period since it was world cultures are teacher had us watch cnn to see if there were any other information about who caused the plains to run into the twin towers. The said that they thought was a group of talabands led by a man named bin ladin. After they said that they said that they had pitures of the people who high jaked the plain and they said it was do by 14 people. The talaband denied any information about bin ladin and who he was. After thrid period I went to fourth and there was to much going on then and since I was in gym are teacher made use go out side. After forth period I had to stay after school for soccer practice at soccer the crushes where all on are minds. Are coach was running about 30 mins late to practice he said that it was becuase he was try to call someone he knew from college that worked in the on tower. He seemed pretty emotional about it. So we talked about how it impacted are day so we had a lite practic and then we want home. I remeber getting home and my dad being home and he said they closed the music story he worked at it seemed like it was impacting everyone even if they didn't live in New York or know anyone in New York. That night the only thing on was cnn and the news. We couldn't find anything eles so we watched it. After that the president came on and gave a speech. I thought that the speech helpe the country to think there was hope and to make them feel better. I also think that it made the talaband scared becuase what they did to try and hurt are country actually made us stronger as a country. I think one resone that we are so stronge as a country right now is because of what happened last year. I just think it is sad that it took two towers to go do for are country to become more united and stand up together. I never really want any where in plains to much but I'm a little scared to but I know that everything is alright. I also know that together as a country nothing can hurt us no matter what. 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 story3094.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. 209.50.139.249 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: As I reflect on the past five years and the changes that that one terrible day in our history have implemented in our lives, I continue to be amazed: amazed that the hatred of one religious faction for my country could generate the violence that continues throughout the world and amazed that the spirit of American citizens continues to be strong, if sometimes unfocused. I hate that I can no longer walk through the beautiful airport in Denver and either see my loved ones off at their gate of departure or welcome them home as they get off the plane. I hate that I have to think twice, three times for every item that I put in my purse or carry-on and recheck the acceptable carry-on items list on the TSA website. I hate that my heart jumps when the seat next to me on my flight is claimed by a man wearing a turban or a woman wearing a burka. I hate that for the first time in my life, I have to fight the temptation to prejudge a group of people solely on their ethnic and/or religious background. I hate that the seeds of hatred sown by a group named Al-Qaida have started taking root in my life, my heart, my soul. I am amazed that the chance sighting of an American flag here in the Central American country where I am currently living and teaching can bring tears to my eyes instantly. I am amazed that so many young people volunteered, and continue to volunteer to serve in our Nation's armed forces, even as the body bags come back from Afganistan and Iraq. I am amazed in a sad way that so many people have chosen to forget the terror and the fear in the days and months following September 11, 2001, and have pointed condemning fingers toward our President and government officials. I am amazed that even with all its faults, thousands of people strive to come to this country daily, illegally, dangerously. My life, the lives of my fellow citizens will never be the same as before that terror-filled day when planes didn't fly like planes were supposed to fly, when buildings didn't stay standing like buildings are supposed to stay, when law enforcement and fire personnel weren't able to protect and rescue like they were supposed to be able to. No, that handful of crazed radicals have changed all those comfortable pre-9/11 expectations for daily life. But, because I am an American, I believe in the future. I believe the future can and will be better, somehow--just as my grandparents believed in America's future after World War I, the Great Depression, World War II; just as my great-great grandparents believed in America's future after a family-dividing, country-dividing Civil War; just as my colonial ancestors believed in America's future after experiencing tyranny and oppression in England, after fighting victoriously during the Revolutionary War. Because I am an American, I believe in the future that may be different but will be somehow, someway better--a future bought with the blood not only of the 3000 who perished during that one day, but with the blood of the thousands who are waging the war against terrorism in foreign lands. Forever, God bless America and all those who love her. God bless those who give their time and their lives in service of this beautiful country, whether in elected office or volunteered military duty. God bless the children who will learn what it means to be an American. And, yes, God bless those who disagree with policies and practices and who attempt to make changes with their editorials and their stands. Finally, God bless me and help me to pull out those seeds of hate planted that day by those men who took so much away from this country; for if I hate, then they truly have victory. 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 story20768.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.100.70 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in my third hour class. I think it was chemistry. I am a junior in Omaha nebraska. We were sitting in class when the principal came over the intercom to tell up that we were being bombed. Everyone began to joke around about it. Someone even said it was the beginning of WW3 and that it was the Russians. No one knew the severity of the matter. My fourth hour class all we did was watch the news. My english teacher cried and so did some of the other students. I was devastated. My best freind's mom came to take him out of school. You see we live by one of the biggest air force bases are. (Epply). The president was said to be hiding out in our air force base so naturally everyone panicked and thought that Omaha would be bombed next. I was so scared. I wanted to call my mom but the lines to the pay phone were to long. I went home and hugged my mom tightly. I am so lucky. SO many people lost loved ones on that day and I am still to this day scared to walk outside. I fear that it may happen again. Will we be ready? 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 story8900.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-01-01 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 152.163.188.195